Key takeaways
- A Peppol access point is the certified provider that connects your business to the network: you never plug into Peppol directly.
- It validates your invoices, locates the recipient, routes the document and receives your suppliers' invoices.
- The network follows a four-corner model: you, your access point, the recipient's access point, the recipient.
- In Belgium, you are identified on the network by your CBE enterprise number, through the 0208 scheme.
The Peppol access point, your gateway to the network
With the B2B e-invoicing mandate in Belgium, one question comes up for every self-employed person and SME: how does my invoice actually reach my customer? The answer fits in three words: through a Peppol access point. It is the piece that connects your software to the Peppol network and moves your invoices from one business to another.
The idea is simpler than it sounds. You do not connect to the Peppol network the way you plug into a socket: you go through a certified provider, the access point, which speaks the network's language on your behalf. You enter an invoice in your tool; the access point takes care of validating it, finding the recipient and delivering it.
This article explains what an access point actually does, where it sits in the Peppol architecture and what that means for you. For the detailed steps to get connected, see Connecting to Peppol: the access point explained.
What a Peppol access point is for
An access point is not a plain pipe. It provides several services that, together, ensure an invoice issued at your end is accepted and read at your customer's end, without any prior exchange between the two pieces of software. These services are the same for every access point, because they follow the specifications published by OpenPeppol, the association that governs the network.
What an access point does on every send
It validates the document
The invoice is checked against the Peppol BIS rules before any send; a non-compliant file is rejected at source.
It locates the recipient
It queries the network's directory services (SML and SMP) to learn where and how to deliver the document.
It transports the document
The exchange between access points follows a standardised protocol (the AS4 transport profile), the same for everyone.
It receives your incoming invoices
The connection works both ways: the same access point receives your suppliers' invoices.
It confirms delivery
A technical acknowledgement indicates whether the document was delivered to the recipient's access point or rejected.
This division of labour is why you do not have to know how the network works internally. The access point absorbs the complexity: validation, addressing, transport, reception. Your job is limited to issuing invoices with correct data.
The four-corner model places the access point
To understand where an access point sits, you need to see Peppol's exchange architecture, called the four-corner model. It describes a document's journey end to end and shows that no business ever talks directly to another.
corners
sender, sending access point, receiving access point, recipient
connection is enough
a single access point to reach the whole network
directions of exchange
the same connection sends and receives
The four corners read left to right. The first corner (C1) is the sender, that is you. The second (C2) is your access point. The third (C3) is the recipient's access point. The fourth (C4) is the recipient itself. Your invoice passes from C1 to C2, travels from C2 to C3 over the network, then is delivered from C3 to C4.
The value of this model is decisive: you connect once, to a single access point, and you reach every participant on the network, whatever their country or software. For a step-by-step reading of this architecture, see The four-corner model of Peppol explained simply.
You never connect directly to Peppol
This is the most commonly misunderstood point. There is no "Peppol button" to switch on at your end, no public portal to drop a file into. The network only accepts documents sent by access points certified by OpenPeppol. So you reach the network through software or a provider that is already connected.
| Without an access point | Through a Peppol access point | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to the Peppol network | ||
| Separate contract with OpenPeppol | — | None |
| Automatic invoice validation | ||
| Sending and receiving in one connection | ||
| Reach every participant with a single hookup |
In practice, choosing a "Peppol-compliant" tool means choosing turnkey access to the network. The vendor did the connection work once for all of its customers. That is what spares you any technical dealings with OpenPeppol.
Your identifier on the network: the 0208 scheme in Belgium
For an access point to deliver an invoice to the right recipient, every business must be identifiable on the network by a unique address. That address rests on an identification scheme. In Belgium, the scheme used for B2B billing is the 0208 prefix, which designates the enterprise number registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE). It matches your Belgian VAT number without the "BE" prefix.
So a business whose VAT number is BE0123.456.789 is reachable on Peppol via the identifier 0208:0123456789. That address is what your access point writes into the invoice and what the network uses to route it. In practice the directory works in two steps: the sending access point queries the locator service (SML) to find the recipient's SMP, the directory that publishes the documents that recipient can receive and the address of its access point. The document then heads to the right destination.
A built-in Peppol access point, with no technical steps
YouInv validates your invoices, sends them over the Peppol network and receives your suppliers' invoices, all in one tool.
What it changes for your business
The good news is that the access point works in the background. You do not have to install it, configure it or watch the transport protocol. The only criterion that concerns you, when choosing or updating your software, is simple: is the tool properly connected to a certified Peppol access point, able to send and receive?
That connection, and it alone, brings you into line with the Belgian B2B e-invoicing mandate. For the timeline and scope of that mandate, see Peppol in Belgium: the B2B mandate on 1 January 2026.
Further reading
- Connecting to Peppol: the access point explained: the steps to activate your connection.
- The four-corner model of Peppol explained simply: the exchange architecture in detail.
- Understanding the Peppol network in 5 minutes: a quick overview of the network.
The reference source is authoritative: the OpenPeppol documentation on the network architecture and access points.
What is a Peppol access point for?
A Peppol access point connects your business to the Peppol network. It validates your invoices against the Peppol specifications, locates the recipient, forwards the document to the recipient's access point and receives your suppliers' invoices in return. You never connect directly to the network: you go through an access point.
Do you need a separate contract to use a Peppol access point?
No. You choose software or a provider connected to a Peppol access point certified by OpenPeppol. The provider registers your participant identifier and enables sending and receiving. You have no separate contract to sign with OpenPeppol.
What is my identifier on the Peppol network in Belgium?
In Belgium, the participant identifier rests on the enterprise number from the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE), in the format 0208:number. The 0208 scheme matches your Belgian VAT number without the "BE" prefix.
How does the access point find an invoice's recipient?
The sending access point queries the locator service (SML) to find the recipient's SMP, which publishes the documents that recipient can receive and the address of its access point. The document is then forwarded to the right access point, which delivers it to the recipient.
Can you send a Peppol invoice without an access point?
No. The Peppol network only accepts documents sent by certified access points. That requirement is what guarantees every participant exchanges under the same rules, without a prior arrangement between each pair.
