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Speak the language of the government with the PEPPOL framework of agreements

Simplify e-invoicing to governments with PEPPOL and 9A Document Management—fully automated and ERP-integrated.
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As you may know, the Flemish government now only accepts e-invoices. To manage this process smoothly, these digital invoices are received through the Mercurius platform. Together with PEPPOL, this platform ensures that each invoice is delivered in a digital format to the correct government service.

To receive e-invoices correctly, European businesses and governments use the PEPPOL framework. But what exactly is PEPPOL, and what impact does it have on your company?

XML UBL2.1, PEPPOL, Mercurius…

Let’s clear up a common misconception right away: invoices in PDF format are not e-invoices. True e-invoices are built to allow full automatic processing by the recipient. This means exchanging and handling information in a structured format, specifically XML.

The PEPPOL Framework

As mentioned earlier, the government receives e-invoices via the Mercurius platform. This platform is an “Access Point” that accepts invoices in a standardized format.

The PEPPOL agreement is a set of arrangements made at the European level to standardize and thus simplify e-invoicing. This allows companies to send their e-invoices correctly to the government and to other public or private entities that use the PEPPOL agreement.

The big advantage for companies connected to the PEPPOL network is that everyone speaks the same language. Without this standard, the IT department—already under pressure—would be responsible for managing every possible mapping and monitoring of e-formats, which would be unmanageable and costly.

Submitting invoices via the Mercurius Platform

We also mentioned “Access Points,” the gateways used to submit documents. For the government, this is the Mercurius platform, which operates using the PEPPOL framework.

You can still manually submit and track e-invoices one by one via the Mercurius platform. But what if you need to send out dozens or even hundreds of invoices every week?

Automate with an E-Platform

9A Document Management not only solves the issue of multiple formats and access points, but it also supports your entire business process through the use of an integrated e-platform.

This e-platform enables you to send, receive, and track invoices and other documents directly from your ERP system. E-documents no longer require extra time or manual actions—they are now a fully automated part of your business flow.

A second benefit is the dynamic nature of the 9A Document Management e-platform. The XML UBL2.1 format used by PEPPOL is not the only format in use today. Your customers and suppliers will increasingly ask to do business using one or more e-formats. With the 9A Document Management e-platform, these needs and investments are covered—there’s no need to create one-to-one connections each time. Everything flows through the same e-platform.

In other words, the e-platform enables you to say ‘yes’ to every customer or supplier who wants to go digital with you!

This article was originally published on the Ex Arte blog.

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