Peppol eInvoicing in Belgium
According to Billentis’s report ‘The E-invoicing Journey, 2019-2025’, 80% of companies will have switched to eInvoicing by 2025. This will occur either through regulation or through necessity when transacting with a partner that requires or prefers eInvoicing.
In this context, Belgium continues its push to encourage eInvoicing using Peppol eDocument specifications. The country’s national B2B mandate is set to come into force at January 1st 2026, which will offer huge cost savings where more than 1 billion invoices transacted in the country annually. It will also ensure entities are adequately prepared to abide by the European Union’s VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) initiative, which aims to bring in funds that are currently lost to VAT fraud.
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If you haven’t joined Peppol already, it’s not too late! No matter your business or specific requirements,Tickstar will get you effectively leveraging the Peppol network for your operations in just a few steps.
Benefits of Peppol eInvoicing with Tickstar
A proudly European company, we have worked with the network since 2012, growing to be one of the world’s largest Peppol infrastructure providers.
One connection allows you to efficiently and securely exchange eDocuments with verified local and international B2G and B2B partners. Tickstar handles setup and maintenance, while you enjoy the benefits.
Cost savings
Belgian authorities have calculated that around 1 billion invoices are transacted each year, representing €3,5 billion that could be saved annually through automation. This is backed up by estimates released by Australia’s Peppol Authority, showing entities can realise cost savings of up to 66% — AUD 9,18 (EUR 5,61) to process an eInvoice, as opposed to AUD 27,67 (EUR 16,90) for a PDF invoice sent through email.
Faster invoice payout
Peppol’s direct secure connection without middlemen allows for faster receival and even the automation of payments, without any of the errors that can come from manual entry of information.
Compliance with EU regulations
Peppol was built to European specifications and complies with directive 2014/55/EU on eInvoicing in public procurement. In addition, Tickstar is at the forefront of all developments, assuring compliance is ongoing in the face of changing regulations.
User-friendly interface and advanced tools
Refined over 11 years by Tickstar’s Peppol pioneers, we offer expert tools that eclipse those offered by our competitors. This includes our Peppol Validator, Participant Lookup API and Service Metadata Publisher (SMP), designed to ensure you get the most out of your eInvoicing experience within your own applications!
Direct connection to ERP systems
If you’re a large government agency, you will already be using Mercurius which transacts through the Peppol network. However, if you’re an enterprise with your own platform, Tickstar’s API connection allows Peppol to be built into your ERP systems. For software vendors, Peppol can become part of your customised software packages used by businesses around the world—opening another revenue stream with ease.
The Peppol standard is the world standard
Belgium has adopted Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 for transactions, which is not only compliant with European regulations, but allows for the transfer of electronic documents to any other Peppol participant in the world—through just one connection!
eInvoicing in Belgium
Following the lead of other early adopters, the Belgian Government was already working towards eInvoicing adoption back in 2012, implementing Mercurius—described as the electronic mailroom service for the entire Belgian public sector—for B2G transactions. Soon after, Mercurius was brought in line with the Peppol framework, which meant that it could easily conform to Directive 2014/55/EU, which mandates that public sector authorities be able to receive and process eInvoices according to the European standard (EN16931).
Furthering its commitment to promoting eDocumentation in government procurement, Belgium became the 6th country to house a national Peppol Authority, the Department of Digital Transformation (DT) of the Federal Public Service Policy and support (Beleid en Ondersteuning / Stratégie et Appui — BOSA-DT).
Belgium eInvoicing stats
For the year of 2023, Belgium counted over 15.000 new Peppol participants, the third-highest in the world in terms of absolute growth. Overall, the country boasts over 73.000 Peppol participants in total, sitting behind only Norway and Sweden, the two countries regarded as Peppol pioneers. This shows a really strong level of adoption that is also reflected in statistics provided by the Mercurius system — over 1,8 million eInvoices were received by the government alone in 2023, up from over 1,3 million in 2022.
Belgian’s participants are seeing greater benefits as the network as a whole continues its steady growth beyond the EU and most notably into the Asia-Pacific region. Peppol authorities have been established in Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and Japan…and Malaysia will soon join them! This means if you’re thinking of adopting Peppol for your business, now is the perfect time.
About Tickstar
Tickstar has been a certified Peppol service provider since 2012. Based in Sweden, the company works with governmental bodies, large enterprises, and ERP providers around the world. As the number of Peppol participants within the network continues to grow, so does Tickstar’s footprint, with a reputation as a dependable partner, providing the infrastructure for in-house use or third-party organisations that wish to deliver Peppol services to market.
In 2021, Tickstar was acquired by Xero—a global cloud accounting software platform. Xero saw the strong connection between our purpose and theirs, which is to help businesses thrive through the use of better tools, information and connections. Tickstar has enabled eInvoicing functionality for all Xero customers with an ongoing subscription.
As a proudly European company, we understand the challenges that public sector organisations and private companies face in keeping up with domestic and Europe-wide regulations. By signing up with Tickstar, you can efficiently exchange eInvoices and other electronic documentation with any partner, while staying compliant at all times.
About Peppol
Peppol is a set of standards and technical specifications ensuring the secure and rapid transfer of electronic documents globally. Peppol’s components ensure interoperability of eInvoices and other eProcurement documents, facilitating easier global trade and full compliance with the regulatory requirements and taxation laws of transacting parties’ respective countries. It also significantly cuts down on instances of invoice fraud, as is easily achieved when transacting through email or other unsecured messenger service.
The communication nodes in the network, called Access Points, allow direct connections between verified participants to send and receive standardised documentation, in what is called the Four-corner model. In short, Peppol is a connect once, reach all network.
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What's inside
- Peppol in context
- Four-corner model and technology explained
- Peppol Access Points and SMPs – Their roles in the network
- Statistics and insights from Tickstar
- How you can get the most out of Peppol