What is UBL invoice?
A UBL invoice is an invoice in a standardised XML format, in which every detail has its own field. The receiver therefore has nothing to recognise: amounts, lines and VAT are present as data, not as text on an image.
Also known as: e-invoice, XML invoice, SI-UBL, UBL 2.1
UBL stands for Universal Business Language. In the Netherlands the SI-UBL variant is normally used, based on UBL 2.1. A UBL file often travels as an attachment next to the PDF in the same email, so a human can read the PDF and a system can read the XML.
The advantage is obvious: no recognition errors, because there is nothing to recognise. The drawback is just as obvious: you only get UBL from suppliers that send it, and in most payables flows that is a minority. A UBL strategy therefore does not replace invoice recognition, it complements it.
UBL is a format, not a network. Peppol is the network over which e-invoices are exchanged between parties, often in a UBL-based format. The two are often conflated, but you can receive UBL files by email without ever being connected to Peppol.
In Exact Online
Exact Online can read UBL invoices in as purchase invoices. Glimps supports UBL 2.1 in the SI-UBL variant for both import and export, alongside PDF and scanned documents. Glimps is not a Peppol access point: we process what arrives in your mailbox or folder, and Peppol is not part of our product.
Why a UBL still needs checking
Read without error is not the same as correct. A UBL contains exactly what the supplier put in it, including the wrong price, the wrong quantity or a line you never ordered. Perfect data removes the need for recognition, not for matching, coding and approval.
When PDF and UBL disagree
It happens: the PDF shows an amount after discount and the UBL does not, or the lines are grouped differently. The rule of thumb is that the UBL leads for processing and the PDF leads for the archive, because the PDF is what a human saw. What matters more is that your system flags the difference instead of quietly picking one.
Where it usually goes wrong
- 1Thinking UBL solves the recognition problem. It solves it for the suppliers that send it, which is usually a minority.
- 2Reading the UBL and discarding the PDF. For retention and for disputes you want the document the supplier actually sent.
- 3Treating UBL and Peppol as the same thing. One is a format, the other a network.
- 4Posting a UBL through unchecked because the data is structured. Structured does not mean agreed.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about UBL invoice.
Questions about your situation?
Open the demoUBL is the format the invoice is written in, an XML structure with fixed fields. Peppol is the network over which invoices travel between organizations. You can receive UBL invoices by email without using Peppol.
Yes, UBL 2.1 in the SI-UBL variant, for import and export. We do not support Peppol; it is not part of our product.
Yes, provided it contains the legally required invoice details. The form, paper, PDF or XML, does not determine validity; the content and the ability to retain it do.