Peppol e-orders: the complete guide to electronic ordering

A complete guide to electronic ordering on the Peppol network — what e-orders are, the message types and order profiles, the order and punchout process, the policy landscape, and how to get started.

Last updated June 2026.

A Peppol e-order is a structured electronic purchase order exchanged through the Peppol network in a standardized format (Peppol BIS). It is delivered instantly to the seller’s Peppol ID and can be processed automatically in an order management system, with responses such as acceptance, change, or rejection sent back the same way.

In this guide we cover the value of e-orders, the forces driving their adoption, the advantages of the Peppol network, how it differs from the traditional VAN network, the message types and order profiles, how the order and punchout processes work, the policy landscape, and how to get started.

Electronic business messages are transaction-related documents companies exchange digitally when trading goods and services.

Electronic invoices are the most common, but there are business messages covering all steps in a transaction process, including ordering, delivery notes, responses, and credit notes. Business messages offer numerous advantages over analog formats such as PDFs and prints, for both buyers and sellers: a business message is transferred instantly and securely with a significantly reduced risk of errors and no data loss, enabling more effective automation and analytics and cutting the overhead lifecycle cost of managing transactions.

E-invoices have been in use for years. In Finland, around 98% of business-to-government invoices are already electronic — among the world’s highest adoption rates — and nearly 90% of business-to-business invoices are sent electronically.

As new business message types become digital and structured, the logic of the transaction process — purchasing, procurement, e-commerce — also changes. Here are four forces driving development.

Peppol is an open international network for exchanging structured electronic business messages — e-invoices, e-orders, catalogs, and more — based on the 4-corner model. It is a modern way of managing business messages and one of the fastest-growing networks for electronic trade, replacing a fragmented landscape of national formats and closed networks with one standard and one distribution infrastructure, accessible to organizations of all sizes.

It differs from how business messages have previously been exchanged, using a closed network of service providers (VAN). Peppol is an open international business network, initiated by an EU project and now managed by the non-profit OpenPeppol. The only requirements to send a message are access to the network via an access point and the recipient’s Peppol ID. An access point can always deliver a message regardless of type — both e-invoices and e-orders, for example — with no approvals or technical connections required between operators.

A prominent benefit is its standardized data formats, combined with an international network and distribution infrastructure for seamless exchange, replacing a multitude of national data formats and traditional EDI messages. Peppol also includes an open directory for participants, which simplifies connectivity between business partners. As of 2026, 45+ countries and territories are members of OpenPeppol, including all EU countries, with non-European members such as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Japan. In Sweden, for example, B2G e-invoicing has been mandatory since April 2019, overseen by the digitization agency DIGG, the Swedish Peppol Authority. See current status by country in our Peppol global reach guide.

One reason Peppol gained such a strong position so quickly is its openness: the network is like a telephone directory where no one owns the record. Registration is free, and you can switch access points to change service provider. E-invoices and e-orders can be created directly in an access point’s web interface, which suits small businesses, or integrated via API for larger organizations (an older model uses SFTP servers).

National formats across the Nordics are converging on Peppol. Denmark has confirmed it will replace OIOUBL with NemHandel BIS 4 — built on Peppol BIS 4 — with migration running across 2028 and 2029. Norway’s EHF Billing 3.0 is already aligned with Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, and Norway has introduced a B2B e-invoicing mandate starting January 1, 2027 (e-invoice issuance). The direction of travel is clear: a single, shared European standard in place of fragmented national formats.

There is a big difference between the Peppol network and traditional business-network solutions. Beyond direct EDI connections, e-invoices and other documents have primarily been exchanged via VAN operators — a closed network where private operators create connections between each other. Peppol shifts the logic: no prior connection or setup is required between specific operators. Any access point can distribute messages to any organization; the only requirement is a Peppol ID, the unique address of each connected end user.

The simplicity significantly reduces the need for testing compared with the VAN network, where testing is a key part of setup and drives cost and manual work. Because the VAN network connects actors across regions, it leads to a variety of file formats and XML-based message types, requiring data conversion in each ERP — with cost, effort, and a constant risk that valuable data is lost. One disadvantage of Peppol is that the recipient’s country must be connected by a so-called Peppol Authority — often a government body (in Sweden, DIGG). Even so, Peppol is a cheaper, faster, and more flexible solution for almost all organizations, which has driven its strong growth.

Each recipient of messages, for example e-orders or e-invoices, has a unique Peppol ID. Sellers need a Peppol ID to receive e-orders; buyers need a Peppol ID to receive e-invoices on ordered goods or services. The recipient’s provider of Peppol services (the Peppol Access Point) registers the organization on the network by creating one or more Peppol IDs, ensuring messages are delivered to the recipient.

The Peppol ID registration specifies which types of messages can be received, and the information is openly accessible in the directory for all participants. Together, the distribution network, the use of Peppol IDs, and common message format standards make business messaging accessible to companies of all sizes, significantly easier to use and integrate, and highly cost-efficient.

Peppol covers a complete set of structured business messages across the transaction lifecycle — e-invoices, credit notes, orders, catalogs, despatch advice, and response messages:

Peppol e-orders make sales and procurement processes more efficient and secure, with increased automation and improved communication between buyer and seller throughout the transaction. Peppol uses one structured order format with three profiles that enable a varying degree of communication, and adds punchout for dynamic B2B e-commerce.

The profiles enable a varying degree of communication throughout the order process.

In Peppol, the order process and information exchange are structured and follow a unified standard, delivering instant, lossless, and secure distribution. The transactional information is machine-readable, and Peppol’s rules specify what each field must contain, which are mandatory, and other requirements. The seller can respond with detailed information such as stock and delivery time, and incoming e-orders can be accepted in full, partially, or rejected.

When a supplier partly accepts, the response can be line-based — highlighting changes such as quantity or specifying substitute products — and Peppol also supports order processes that do not require an order confirmation. The Peppol BIS Ordering message carries information about the order and the status of requested products or services, but not about the process itself. That is what Peppol BIS Punch Out adds, with a whole layer of on-demand flexibility.

Punchout is a combination of a business message and process that connects a buyer’s procurement system directly to a seller’s online catalog. The buyer “punches out” to the supplier’s store, builds a cart with buyer-specific pricing, and returns it to their own system as a structured order — combining the familiar e-commerce experience with automated, lossless ordering.

The business message Peppol BIS Punch Out enables a more advanced and dynamic ordering process than Peppol BIS Ordering, with more flexibility for both buyers and sellers — especially in traditional e-commerce. It combines order and catalog into a single process, ideal for B2B e-commerce scenarios.

Peppol is supported by authorities at all levels in Europe. B2G use cases have been legislated through directives, and private-sector companies must use the network to send invoices to municipalities, regions, and government authorities.

The Nordic Council of Ministers established the Nordic Smart Government & Business (NSG&B) initiative to promote technology development, with Peppol as the infrastructure and the goal of harmonizing regulations across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The programme’s ambition was for the region to become the world’s most integrated by 2027. NSG&B entered its active phase in 2021 and completed a pilot on harmonizing e-orders and e-invoices in 2022. The programme concluded at the end of 2024, and Nordic cooperation has continued in selected areas since.

A key milestone came in 2024: as the first market in Europe, Finland began moving public procurement to e-orders. From 1 April 2024, the Finnish State Treasury required public-sector orders to be sent electronically through Peppol, meaning suppliers had to be able to receive these orders and send order responses via the network. The rollout has since extended across applicable public procurement through 2026, and more countries are expected to follow Finland’s example.

It is already possible to digitize your order processing today while future-proofing access to all Peppol message types and content, ensuring compliance for both customers and authorities. In practice, getting started means deciding whether you will send e-orders, receive them, or both; choosing the right message types and profiles (including punchout); registering for a Peppol ID; and selecting an access point that supports the messages and integration you need.

With around EUR 2,000 billion in annual purchasing volume, the European public sector remains a significant force for change by setting requirements on its suppliers. Today, invoices to the public sector must be electronic, and new policies — such as e-orders and e-catalogs — are underway. These changes can happen relatively quickly, as Finland’s 2024 e-order requirement showed. Specific organizations also make demands: in Sweden, the Employment Agency required its suppliers in 2021 to be able to receive e-orders with a few months’ notice. The digitization of order management — and a shifting emphasis from invoice to order — will reshape how companies handle transactions. Ten ways we believe the B2B transaction landscape will change:

Use Qvalia and get a compliant Peppol e-order management system for your business, online or ERP integrated. Receive and review e-orders, communicate with your customers, and take action. Turn orders into invoices with a few clicks, get full insight into your transaction history, and combine e-orders with punchout for seamless B2B e-commerce. Choose a price plan and pay according to your transaction volume — no complexity, and you can be up and running in minutes. Get in touch to book a demo.