Everything you need to know about Peppol and e-invoicing

Peppol, short for "Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line", is a network that lets businesses and governments exchange electronic documents, such as invoices, in a standardised way.

The system is designed to make purchasing more efficient and reduce the administrative burden. Peppol uses a set of technical specifications and standards that make sure documents are sent securely and reliably between parties, wherever they are and whatever system they use.

The Peppol network works through a series of so-called Access Points. These Access Points act as gateways that let different systems talk to each other. When a business sends an invoice through Peppol, it is first converted to the right format and then sent to the recipient’s Access Point.

This means the invoice is received in a uniform way, which reduces the chance of errors and speeds up processing. Thanks to this standardised approach, businesses can easily work with different partners, whatever their technical set-up.

So what now?

It all sounds good (and complicated), but why is there so much talk about Peppol right now? Because e-invoicing, and with it Peppol, has been mandatory for Belgian businesses since 1 January 2026. Since that date, all invoices between businesses have to be sent through Peppol.

What exactly does this mean for Belgian animal care professionals?

The new legislation says that every VAT-registered business that invoices other businesses must do so through the Peppol network. So it is no longer enough to print an invoice on paper or send a PDF by e-mail.

For now the new legislation is mainly causing questions and stress, and there are even business owners who are considering stopping altogether. Still, Peppol has a number of advantages too.

Key takeaways

• Peppol is a network that enables electronic invoicing and makes exchanging e-invoices easier.
• Using Peppol brings benefits such as lower costs, efficiency and faster invoice processing.
• In animal care, Peppol can help streamline invoicing and improve efficiency.
• Businesses can adopt Peppol by connecting to a Peppol Access Point and using Peppol-compatible software.

The benefits of Peppol for e-invoicing

One of the main benefits of Peppol is the time it saves. By automating invoicing, businesses save time and resources that would otherwise go into manual entry and checking. That means not only lower administration costs, but also faster payments and fewer errors when entering invoices.

Peppol also contributes to sustainability, because it greatly reduces the use of paper.

Peppol in animal care: an example

There are plenty of ways to use Peppol in animal care. Take an animal clinic that works regularly with suppliers of medication and food. By using Peppol they can send and receive their invoices electronically, which not only reduces the administrative burden but also means faster payments to suppliers.

Or think of situations where you send invoices to business clients, other practices or foundations yourself. They too will receive your invoices directly in their accounting software through the Peppol network. That means less checking, invoices no longer get stuck in a full mailbox, and they are generally processed faster.

How do I adopt Peppol in my business?

These steps will help you get ready for the new legislation:

• Look into what adopting Peppol requires for your business
• Put the software and systems you need for Peppol in place
• Test your Peppol set-up together with your service provider
• Brief your staff on the requirements for using Peppol
• Start sending and receiving e-invoices through Peppol

Peppol and Vetocare

If you already use Vetocare, there is little you need to do to send your invoices. We make sure everything is in place to send invoices through Peppol straight away. For business clients in Belgium, you only need to make sure the right VAT number or company number is stored with the client.

We will of course keep our customers informed of developments, and let you know in good time about any changes to your Vetocare environment.

Because Vetocare does not process incoming invoices, you will need to check whether your current accounting software is connected to the Peppol network. Most accounting packages in Belgium and the Netherlands already are, but it is worth checking with your provider.