Peppol: what is it? A question that few people know how to answer. Many brands are completely familiar with this term, especially large companies that do business with the public administration. However, there are still many companies that are reluctant to undertake the digital transformation of their business, and others that, although they have digitized, do not fully understand its function. That is why, despite the fact that we have previously we have already discussed PEPPOL and its importance in electronic invoicing, there are still many questions surrounding it. So, with this series of questions, we will try to clarify the concept.
What exactly is Peppol?
Specifically, PEPPOL is the acronym for Pan-European Public Procurement OnLine. However, this translation is not entirely representative, as it is too literal.
So, what is PEPPOL conceptually? We could say that it is a broad set of protocols, standards, and tools that has been designed and grouped into a system that promotes the automation of public procurement processes through the digitization of these processes.
In accordance with PEPPOL guidelines, any company or public administration can exchange different electronic documents securely and efficiently. By digitizing the business fabric, the efficiency and transparency of all sales transactions are improved. Systems like this one greatly contribute to this.
What are the objectives you are pursuing?
And if we talk about what PEPPOL is, after defining it, we must mention the reasons for its creation. That is, the objectives that were set at the outset. In this regard, the main objective, as we have said, was to to automate public procurement processes in Europe, although it has since expanded. However, it currently pursues other objectives, such as:
–– Facilitate the secure exchange of electronic documents electronic documents securely.
– Make all public procurement processes more transparent, which are recorded in software.
– Optimize the resources of private and public companies in relation to economic costs and time spent on processes.
– Promote innovation throughout the business community.
– Help improve communication between customers and suppliers by eliminating technical barriers and communication obstacles in processes.
– Contribute, especially at the fiscal and tax level, to compliance with European Union and other national and regional government regulations and rules national and regional governments on public procurement.
In short, PEPPOL seeks to promote the adoption of electronic invoicing in commercial transactions and thus facilitate the exchange of e-invoices between companies and public administrations.
And what benefits does PEPPOL offer brands?
In this way, PEPPOL provides a number of that are of great interest. Many of these are highly relevant to governments (mainly traceability). However, it also offers very attractive advantages for brands. The most notable are:
Reduces economic costs
By automating processes, PEPPOL enables both businesses and public administrations to reduce economic costs. These are mainly those associated with process management.
Time optimization
As with economic costs, by adhering to PEPPOL standards using software optimizes time. In other words, you need to allocate fewer human and technical resources to accounting and invoicing processes and can invest them in other functions, which saves time.
Improving business efficiency
By using PEPPOL, companies and public administrations exchange a multitude of electronic documents securely and efficiently. As a result, reduces the time spent on these tasks and their associated costs are lower and the efficiency of your business is much greater.
Greater transparency between companies and with the relevant authorities
PEPPOL improves process transparency. Therefore, another key benefit it offers is that traceability is much easier and, for the competent authorities, they can carry out a much more agile and convenient audit.
Competition is growing
By removing so many technical barriers to interaction between buyers and suppliers, PEPPOL offers SMEs, micro-enterprises, and start-ups the opportunity to compete in markets that were previously unattainable. Therefore, market competition is much greater.
Legal compliance assistance
As we have already mentioned, PEPPOL complies with the laws and regulations of the European Union and other governments in the field of public procurement. For all these reasons, companies and administrations find it much easier to comply with established regulations in terms of taxes and fiscal matters.
Promotes the adoption of electronic invoicing
PEPPOL encourages the use of electronic invoicing. Software adapted to it facilitates the exchange of electronic invoices between companies and public administrations. In this sense, greater efficiency in payment processes is also achieved.
Who manages PEPPOL?
As for its origin and creation, in PEPPOL was launched in 2008, which was developed by the OpenPEPPOL project. It is currently an international non-profit organization and continues to be responsible for the development and maintenance of the PEPPOL specifications.
What is now known as PEPPOL Association, which manages it, is made up of members from both the public and private sectors. It aims to promote and guarantee security in the interoperability of public procurement operations and in B2B areas.
It should also be remembered that in 2008, the European Commission was the driving force behind the launch of PEPPOL. Its primary objective was to improve the efficiency and transparency of public procurement processes in Europe. How? By mandating the use of the use of electronic invoicing.
In any case, in the OpenPEPPOL project project. In other words, those who participated in the entire process included private companies, national governments, and sectoral organizations and associations from several European countries.
How does PEPPOL work technically?
As we indicated when defining PEPPOL, it is a set of standards, protocols, and tools. Now then, how does it work technically? It operates on the basis of four pillars: standards, identification, infrastructure, and security.
– Standards. It uses a set of open standards for the exchange of electronic documents. These have the document format known as OASIS UBL, the AS4 transport protocol, and the PEPPOL BIS service access protocol.
– Identification. It uses unique identifiers for each company and each public administration. This ensures the privacy of the data exchanged in each transaction.
– Infrastructure. It uses a cloud-based network infrastructure to connect administrations and companies. This infrastructure has access points (commonly referred to as Access Points) that are responsible for delivering electronic documents.
– Security. It uses digital certificates and standard security protocols, also with the aim of ensuring security in operations.
Is it only used in Europe? In which countries is it currently used?
Another question that arises when asking ourselves what PEPPOL is, is whether it is only used in Europe. The acronym refers precisely to this, as it includes the term Pan-European. Furthermore, as we have mentioned, it was promoted by the European Commission. Therefore, you might think that it is only used between governments and companies belonging to the EU.
However, PEPPOL today has a completely international. It is currently being implemented in other countries outside Europe. Specifically, it is fully established in the vast majority of European Union countries. Without going any further, in addition to Spain, we are talking about countries such as Norway, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, and Greece. But it is also being implemented in others such as Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.
At easyap, we adapt to you and to what PEPPOL is.
To conclude, we would like to mention that with the solution we developed at easyap , you and your business will also be able to work comfortably and in accordance with PEPPOL standards. Not only that, but there are no obstacles in relation to your sector, your country, or your business volume.
On the one hand, you should know that we have experience in multiple markets and fields. From automotive and distribution to finance and banking, telecommunications, marketing, and tourism, among others.
Secondly, you should know that in more than 20 years of experience we have accumulated, we have carried out projects all over the world. There are companies in Spain, Europe, America, and North Africa that work with easyap on a daily basis.
Finally, we would like to mention that we adapt to companies of various sizes, since with our solution, you will pay for each invoice rather than a fixed recurring amount. So you will have a variable cost instead of having to pay a constant amount that does not fit your financial standards.
Still have questions about PEPPOL, what it is and how it works, or about our digital solution? At easyap, we offer several ways to contact us through which you can send us all your questions, get to know us, and tell us about any issues regarding accounting and your business.
