“The combination of our own connection to Peppol and the extensive conversion options gives us a great deal of flexibility,” says Döne Savas, a functional specialist at Attero. In this case study, Döne explains the key considerations that played a role and the decisions they made when connecting their SAP software to Peppol’s secure e-invoicing network.
Attero manages the waste streams of millions of Dutch residents and hundreds of companies. Attero is a nationwide and internationally operating environmental company that is the market leader in recovering and reusing energy and raw materials from waste.
The background
A large portion of Attero’s customers are in the public sector. “We were receiving an increasing number of requests from municipal customers to submit invoices electronically,” says Döne Savas, functional specialist at Attero. “We’d like to accommodate our customers in this regard and have begun exploring the possibilities.”
The principles
E-invoicing can be implemented in various ways. The solution that best fits depends on the organization’s specific needs. “We use SAP software for invoicing,” explains Döne. “We also wanted to be able to send our e-invoices directly from SAP. In addition, we work with custom applications. To ensure these can communicate seamlessly with one another , we need flexible conversion options. Finally, it was important to us that we be able to deliver e-invoices to our customers via the secure Peppol network.”
Data security is becoming increasingly important. This also applies to invoice data. Unlike email, the Peppol network is secure. For this reason, in addition to the Dutch government, more and more (commercial) organizations are using it.
“Once the basic principles were clear, we started looking for a service provider who could advise and support us with the implementation,” says Döne. “We compared various service providers, and 4CEE gave us the confidence that they could offer us sound advice, a suitable solution, and efficient implementation.”
E-invoicing with SAP software
“We started the process with our SAP software,” says Döne. “SAP can generate an e-invoice, but unfortunately, it wasn’t immediately usable. That’s because SAP has its own e-invoice format, the iDoc, while Peppol uses a different format. 4CEE therefore converts our iDoc invoices to the Peppol format, and they are then sent to the customer via Peppol.”
As a Peppol Access Point, 4CEE provides us with access to Peppol. Our SAP software is now directly connected to this network through them. The major advantage of this is that we can easily decide for ourselves which invoices we want to send via this channel. The combination of our own connection to Peppol and the extensive conversion options gives us a lot of flexibility, and that works very well for us.
Increased demand for e-invoices
Since April 18, 2019, all local governments and other contracting authorities have been required to be able to receive and process e-invoices. “The number of requests from municipalities to receive e-invoices is clearly increasing,” says Döne. “In addition to municipalities, large companies in particular also want to receive e-invoices. It’s great that we can now set this up quickly and offer our customers an extra service.”
Experiences with e-invoicing
Attero has been sending e-invoices via Peppol for some time now to customers connected to this network. “Our experience so far is that everything is going very well,” says Döne. “We’re keeping a close eye on the processes, and the invoice flows are running smoothly and efficiently. This initiative has provided us with a future-proof and secure way of working, through which we contribute to process optimization for our customers.”