It doesn’t seem to be EU-mandated? Only Italy and Belgium have it mandatory, according to [0], in other countries it’s only relevant for B2G.

Outside that Wikipedia entry, I have also heard nothing about it becoming required in Germany (we are mainly B2C, but do some B2B and B2G), here we are instead moving forward with X-Rechnung/ZUGFeRD/Factur-X, which is an XML standard that can also be embedded in PDFs, and doesn’t require certification or anything.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEPPOL

We make a niche B2B software which has an invoicing module and we've had to add EHF[1] support, which is the Norwegian implementation of electronic invoices delivered through PEPPOL.

The gov't in Norway has mandated use of EHF for billing the gov't for about a decade now, which really drove adoption. Our customers has to have an agreement with one of the access points[3], so the cost of sending the EHF goes directly to the customer.

Adding support wasn't terribly hard, but it wasn't trivial either. The XML is fairly straight forward, but when you submit one the access point doesn't just do a schema verification, it also verifies that intermediate values are calculated and rounded correctly for example.

[1]: https://anskaffelser.dev/postaward/g3/spec/current/billing-3...

[2]: https://peppol.org/learn-more/country-profiles/norway/

[3]: https://anskaffelser.no/verktoy/veiledere/aksesspunkter-ehf-...

I’m using VISMA e-conomic to do my bookkeeping/invoicing. They launched an eInvoice system some time ago which I would expect was PEPPOL based, or something similar. They enabled it by default without informing anyone.

A couple of my clients didn’t see the invoice in my monthly email, so they asked me to resend it. I re-sent the PDF manually.

To address OP’s question: I don’t expect it will change much for me. The customer configuration will let me choose whether the invoice is sent by email or another way, and I’ll still create my invoice by clicking “book and send” in e-conomic.

I’m using bookkeeping software that has already integrated it. It’s just a switch to turn sending invoices via peppol. It’s no extra charge on my paid plan.

I’m assuming all bookkeeping software will integrate it, just as all suppliers are able to send PDF invoices.

For the ones sending invoices manually, like OP, maybe software with free tiers will pop up. Just like many suppliers have free tiers for sending PDF invoices.

There's a Stripe app in their marketplace for sending invoices over PEPPOL, I'm sure it'll become a feature once it's mandatory in enough places.

Here in France there's a similar system, I just require a certain tier to accept payments through it.

What’s your reference for the EU forcing this on businesses? The link you provided is only about Belgium.

This thread is already the 2nd most popular search result for “PEPPOL” which surprised me. There isn’t much else out there on this topic. How are non tech enabled businesses planning to comply with this order?

Our local accounting app just supports it. And as I understand participating to PEPPOL network is not mandatory - you can still send those electronic invoices via email as far as I understand. But yeah, your accounting software better support PEPPOL.

In Germany peppol will not be mandatory for a very very long time. Most people still sending invoices via mail, even in b2b. Only in 2027 will make electronic invoices (xml format) mandatory, it will probably another 2-5 years until peppol will be necessary.

It’s really not that complicated or expensive. Broken down for most people it’s gonna work just like email. What’s your grievance besides the general stuff in your post?

I’m using an intermediary saas platform that has a free plan. I don’t like being forced to use an external provider, just for being able to send invoices, but at least it’s not costing me any money (yet).

In Spain it is mandatory since this year. There's a free Java app by the government, FACTURAe, that is capable of generating the digital invoices and it's not that complicated to use. Electronic invoices have been mandatory for public administrations for 10 years already.

Definitely going to be a smart follower on this one. My accountant pretty much convinced me to let others experiment if they want, on our end we have a peppol compatible system, so we'll enable the feature a few days before it becomes mandatory.

>All business-to-business invoices in Belgium will have to be sent over PEPPOL as of next year [1]. Gone will be the days of emailing PDFs.

>Access to the PEPPOL network is not free. Direct access is nearly impossible (it is expensive and requires technical audits). A variety of third parties are popping up to mediate access. They all seem complex and expensive.

So what you're saying is that a certain group of companies ("third parties") successfully lobbied your government(s) to mandate an artificial monopoly on a practical necessity for ostensibly honorable and convenient reasons, and everyone will pay up for this divine virtue.

I'm sorry if this comes off as dismissive, but as an American who deals in this sort of officework as part of $dayjob you guys need to vote in better politicians.

Romania has a similar system for some time. The over regulation in EU is bad, but still better then a grifter president, that uses a shit coin to scam the people.

[dead]

Wow, didn't know that. Seems like crooks in Brussels are trying to impoverish europeans further up, while latter are already taxed to the brink.

Additional revenue for access plus data who paid who for what, perfect set up for communist EU.

As european living outside of that happy garden, eeally hope it will collapse soon and countries in it will gain real independence.