Peppol is an international, secure network for e-invoices, orders and status messages between organisations. A single connection gives you reach to all participants worldwide, with automatic routing, structured exchange and significantly lower processing costs than paper or PDF.
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The sender delivers the document to its own Access Point.
The Access Point uses SMP to look up how the receiver is technically reachable.
The document is transferred encrypted between Access Points.
The receiver gets the document directly in their own system.
Peppol uses a four-corner model in which sender and receiver communicate via certified Access Points. Sender and receiver do not need to use the same Service Provider; a single connection is sufficient.
Peppol is often associated with e-invoicing, but the network supports a much broader set of business documents. In addition to invoices and credit notes, organisations can exchange purchase orders, order confirmations, despatch advices, catalogues and status messages via Peppol. This makes Peppol suitable for the entire order-to-cash and procure-to-pay process, not just invoicing.
Status messages deserve particular attention. Via Invoice Response the sender of an invoice automatically receives feedback from the receiver: has the invoice been received, is it being processed, approved or rejected? This eliminates follow-up emails and provides direct insight into the payment status.
The Service Metadata Locator is the central register that points to the correct SMP of a receiver. It is managed by OpenPeppol.
The Service Metadata Publisher contains receiver metadata: which documents they can receive and via which Access Point they are reachable.
With every transmission, the Access Point automatically looks up the correct address via SML and SMP. The sender is unaware of this process.
Document routing in the Peppol network is fully automatic via two components that work together as the network's address book.
Every paper or PDF invoice you replace with an e-invoice saves time, money and effort. Not as an abstract promise, but measurably: lower processing costs, faster payment, fewer errors and less fraud. And the switch is becoming less and less optional, as more and more countries are making e-invoicing mandatory.
The processing costs of a paper invoice are many times higher than those of an e-invoice. No paper, no postage, no scanning, no manual data entry.
E-invoices are demonstrably paid faster. They enter the receiver's processing workflow directly and automatic status messages show where your invoice stands.
Every participant is verified via a certified Access Point. Ghost invoices, CEO fraud and invoice manipulation are effectively blocked.
No paper, ink, envelopes or transport. At high volumes, the environmental impact is substantial and physical archiving is eliminated.
The benefits are tangible and compound as more suppliers and customers also switch.
E-invoicing via Peppol is fundamentally more secure than invoicing by email or post. Every participant in the network is verified via a certified Access Point. All communication between Access Points is encrypted via the AS4 protocol with TLS security and PKI certificates issued by OpenPeppol. Invoice manipulation in transit, a real risk with PDF invoices sent by email, is therefore technically impossible.
The governance is firmly anchored. OpenPeppol, a non-profit organisation established under Belgian law, manages the framework and sets the rules that all Service Providers must follow. In each country, a national Peppol Authority (in the Netherlands: the NPa) oversees compliance. Service Providers are certified, audited and must comply with ISO 27001 for information security. This gives organisations the assurance that their documents are exchanged via a reliable and controlled channel.
Peppol started as a European project but has grown into a worldwide network. As of March 2026, the network has 23 Peppol Authorities, members in 46 countries and business documents are exchanged in 65 countries worldwide. Belgium has been mandatory for all B2B transactions since 1 January 2026. Germany is introducing mandatory e-invoicing in phases from 2027. France starts in 2026/2027. Singapore, Malaysia and the UAE follow via Peppol PINT profiles. Starting now means you benefit today and are automatically ready for the ViDA directive from 1 July 2030.
Does the provider run multiple redundant Access Points? What is the guaranteed uptime? If an Access Point goes down, invoices do not arrive.
Invoices only, or also orders, credit notes, status messages and despatch advices? The broader the support, the more processes you can digitise.
Is your accounting software already connected? Is there a REST API with documentation? Can you start for free via an invoice portal?
Is the provider prepared for the European ViDA directive? Does it support country-specific formats? Is it involved in standards development?
All certified Access Points can send and receive invoices. But under the hood, the differences can be significant. The right choice makes the difference between a connection that works and a connection that scales with your organisation.
eConnect has been a certified Peppol Service Provider in the Netherlands since 2014 and also plays a governance role as co-founder of the Dutch Peppol Authority and board member of OpenPeppol. With more than 12 million documents processed per year, thousands of connected organisations and a strong position in the Dutch Peppol network, eConnect is one of the largest Access Points in the Netherlands.
The infrastructure runs on a minimum of five redundant Access Points with a contractual uptime of 99,99%. eConnect operates its own OASIS-compliant SMP, delivers the Dutch Government Access Point on Peppol via Digipoort/Logius and supports routing to other procurement networks in addition to Peppol. With integrations to more than 100 accounting and ERP packages and a fully documented REST API (PSB), connection is achievable for virtually any software landscape.
Want to know exactly how Peppol works technically, how the four-corner model is structured and how to register? The documentation provides the technical deep dive.
View Peppol documentation
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In multiple countries, a mandate already applies for (parts of) B2B or B2G. Belgium has been mandatory for all B2B transactions via Peppol since 1 January 2026. Germany has had a receiving obligation since 2025 and is phasing in mandatory sending until 2028. France starts in 2026/2027. The European ViDA directive makes cross-border B2B e-invoicing mandatory from 1 July 2030. The full overview per country is on the Obligations page.
Yes. Via standard integrations or API you integrate Peppol directly into your existing process. eConnect has integrations with more than 100 accounting, ERP and finance packages. For packages without a native integration, there are Autopilot (OAuth connection with cloud ERP), Email Receiver or the PSB REST API. If your software does not yet support it, the free Invoice Portal is the fastest way to start: create an account, verify your organisation via iDEAL and send your first e-invoice via Peppol within fifteen minutes.
An Access Point is the certified party that provides your technical connection to the Peppol network. It sends and receives documents via the AS4 protocol to other Access Points and performs validation on format, business rules and country-specific additions. Sender and receiver do not need to use the same Access Point: that is the essence of an open network. eConnect is a certified Peppol Access Point, runs on multiple redundant Access Points and operates its own OASIS-compliant SMP. Read more on the Peppol Access Point and Choosing an Access Point pages.
The savings depend on your current processing workflow and invoice volume. The processing costs of a paper invoice are many times higher than those of an e-invoice. The difference is in every step: no paper, no postage, no scanning, no manual data entry and no error correction. At a hundred invoices per month, the structural savings are already noticeable; at higher volumes, the impact increases rapidly. You also save on physical archiving, stamps and envelopes. During an introductory meeting, eConnect can provide an estimate based on your specific situation and invoice volumes.
E-invoicing via Peppol is fundamentally more secure than invoicing by email or post. Every participant is verified via a certified Access Point and all communication is encrypted. With email, it is relatively easy to intercept an invoice or change the IBAN number; with Peppol, this is not possible. eConnect additionally checks the IBAN, VAT number and Chamber of Commerce number automatically with every invoice and offers End User Identification (EUI) as an extra verification layer that checks whether the sender is authorised to invoice on behalf of the organisation. Ghost invoices and CEO fraud are effectively prevented this way.
Schedule a no-obligation conversation about your situation, or start directly for free via the invoice portal.
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