Although e-invoicing is the most well-known use case, Peppol supports a wide range of structured business documents. These documents are based on the Peppol BIS specifications (Business Interoperability Specifications).
Below are some of the most common documents that can be sent over the Peppol network.
Document type | Description | BIS specification | Typical use case |
---|---|---|---|
Invoice (BIS Billing 3.0) | Electronic invoice in structured UBL format | BIS Billing 3.0 | Sales invoices to customers or governments |
Credit Note (BIS Billing 3.0) | Structured credit note, often linked to an invoice reference | BIS Billing 3.0 | Correction of previously invoiced amounts |
Order (BIS Order 3.0) | Official purchase order from a customer to a supplier | BIS Order 3.0 | Procurement orders, especially in e-procurement |
Order Response (BIS Order Agreement 3.0) | Confirmation or adjustment of a received order | BIS Order Agreement 3.0 | Approval, rejection or modification of orders |
Despatch Advice (BIS Despatch Advice 3.0) | Shipping notice with details about the goods sent | BIS Despatch Advice 3.0 | Confirmation of shipment or delivery |
Receipt Advice (BIS Despatch Advice 3.0) | Message confirming the goods have been received | BIS Despatch Advice 3.0 | Receipt confirmation after delivery |
Catalogue (BIS Catalogue 3.0) | Product catalogue with prices, references and descriptions | BIS Catalogue 3.0 | Synchronizing product information between systems |
Self-Billing Invoice | Invoice created by the customer on behalf of the supplier | BIS Billing 3.0 (Self Billing variant) | Common in agriculture, retail and platform economy |
Reminder / Statement (in development) | Overview or reminder of outstanding documents | — | Expected in future Peppol extensions |
In short: Peppol is evolving from an invoicing network into a fully interoperable business communication network. This allows companies to fully automate their purchase-to-pay (P2P) or order-to-cash (O2C) processes in a secure and structured way, without manual processing.