E-invoicing in UBL: create and read
Turn a sales invoice into a UBL 2.1 file under Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 with NLCIUS, and read UBL purchase invoices in as a proposal for an entry.
The short answer
An e-invoice is an invoice in a structured format that software can process without retyping; a PDF in the attachment of an e-mail is not. In Jaarrekening.io you turn every sales invoice into a UBL 2.1 file under Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 with the Dutch NLCIUS characteristics. Received UBL purchase invoices you read in as a proposal for a purchase entry.
When is an e-invoice mandatory?
If you supply to the Dutch central government, e-invoicing is already the norm: according to the KVK, the central government only accepts e-invoices (KVK, e-invoicing). Between businesses, an e-invoice is not yet mandatory in the Netherlands.
That is changing. For cross-border supplies between businesses in the EU, e-invoicing becomes mandatory from 1 July 2030. The Dutch cabinet wants domestic invoices between businesses to go electronic from the same date too, and a digital report to the Dutch Tax Administration from 1 July 2031. The domestic obligation is still a bill; the KVK gives the dates subject to that reservation.
A UBL file that meets the European standard EN 16931 is the basis for all these routes. According to the KVK, the cabinet has not yet decided which network the domestic e-invoice will have to run over; Peppol is the international network most often mentioned for it now.
What the module does
UBL export of sales invoices
Per invoice a UBL 2.1 file with the NLCIUS CustomizationID and the Peppol profile for invoices. VAT categories: taxable, zero rate, exempt, reverse charge, intra-Community and export.
Reading in UBL purchase invoices
Invoices and credit notes in UBL become a proposal for a purchase entry with relation, amounts and VAT. You check and confirm; nothing is booked automatically.
Invoice layout and sending by e-mail
PDF in Dutch, English or German, continuous numbering guarded by the database, credit notes, collective and instalment invoices, and sending the PDF by e-mail from the app.
Quotes and recurring invoices
A quote becomes an invoice after approval. Recurring invoices are ready on the due date; you issue them yourself, so nothing leaves unseen.
What the module does not do
- No sending via Peppol. No Peppol access point is linked: you download the UBL file and send it via your own access point or the channel your customer prescribes. Downloading a file is not yet sending.
- The UBL export only works for invoices in euros.
- Invoices with a G-account part or under the Union scheme (OSS) do not go as a UBL file.
- Receipts and PDF invoices without UBL are not read with OCR.
From e-invoice to VAT return and annual accounts
Every invoice line gets a VAT code. That code determines in which rubric of the VAT return the turnover or input VAT lands, so that the worksheet for the return follows directly from the invoices. Open invoices are in the trial balance at the balance sheet date as accounts receivable and payable and, through the takeover, end up in the annual accounts under receivables and current liabilities.
That makes the e-invoice more than a file format: the same data goes without retyping from invoice to entry, to return and to balance sheet.
Availability in the app
In the menu (part of Bookkeeping). This module is in the app menu by default as soon as you open an entity.
Frequently asked questions
Is a PDF invoice an e-invoice?
No. A PDF that you e-mail as an attachment still has to be retyped by the recipient or read out. An e-invoice is a structured file, such as UBL, that software can process directly.
Can I send e-invoices to the government with Jaarrekening.io?
You can create the UBL file, but not send it: the app has no Peppol access point. You send the file via your own access point or the channel that the government body prescribes.
Is a UBL purchase invoice that is read in booked automatically?
No. The file becomes a proposal for a purchase entry. You check the relation, amounts and VAT code and confirm the entry yourself.
Do I have to e-invoice from 2030?
For cross-border supplies between EU businesses, 1 July 2030 is the date. For domestic invoices between businesses the Dutch cabinet wants the same date, but that still depends on legislation.
Which UBL format does the module export?
UBL 2.1 under Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 with the Dutch NLCIUS characteristics, for invoices in euros.
Read more
Invoices that land in the annual accounts without retyping
Your first set of annual accounts is free, for every size class. Create an account and prepare the annual accounts of your Dutch company under Title 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
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