Simple and compliant invoicing with Peppol

E-invoicing in Austria

When you're doing business with the Austrian government you will need to comply with the e-invoicing regulations. Find out below how this affects both Austrian and foreign companies.

Vienna Austria Peppol

E-invoicing requirements in Austria

Legal obligations

Following the EU Directive Austria has implemented B2G e-invoicing since April 18 2020.

The obligation applies to all contracting partners (both domestic and foreign) from the federal Austrian government. Electronic invoices must be used when invoicing goods and services but only if they surpass the EU threshold.

E-invoicing between businesses is not yet mandatory in Austria but it is encouraged.

Find out more about the e-invoicing requirements in Austria.

Options for sending e-invoices to Austria

There are several ways to send an e-invoice to the Austrian government or to a private company. Choose your option below.

How to send e-invoices to Austria via Peppol

If you want to send invoices via Peppol you only have to register on an official Peppol Access Point.

Follow the steps below to register on the Billit Access Point and send your first invoice.

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Step 1

Create a Billit account

  • Create your free trial account using the button below.
  • Enter your company information in the 'My company' tab.
  • Through the menu item 'My Profile' you can further complete your company details.
Billit - Create Account
Step 2

Create a customer (B2B)

For all customers:

  • Click on 'Customers' in the menu on the left and click the '+add' button
  • Fill in your customer's details
  • In the section 'invoicing address' set the country to 'Austria'
  • Add your customer's VAT number at the top. You can look up VAT numbers in the VIES VAT portal

 

For B2B only:

  • You will now need to add the FN identifier. Do this by clicking the + sign next to 'VAT' and selecting 'FN'.  A new field will appear. Fill in the FN number assigned to the company.
    You can choose the FN number as prefered identifier in the customer's 'e-invoice' tab. This is only necessary if your customer registered on Peppol with their FN number.
Billit - Dashboard
Step 3

Create customer (B2G)

For B2G only:

If you want to send an e-invoice to a public entity in Austria you will need to specify an order number and your purchase supplier number and add them in Billit. You also need to enter a specific FN number. To do this, follow these steps:

  • Add the FN identifier via the + sign next to the 'VAT' field. Fill in 'test' here when sending from the test Peppol environment or 'b' when sending from the production environment.
    Now you to your customer and select the e-invoicing tab'. Choose the FN number as preference. The FN number is the mandatory identifier for B2G invoicing.
  • If you don't have your supplier number yet, you need to ask the commissioning governmental departmentThe section 'Sending e-invoices to government services in Austria' above explains how you can register
  • Next, you need to add a special field in Billit for your supplier number. In the menu on the left go to 'Customers' > 'Additional fields'. In a blank field under 'Name' fill in the following text:
    Invoice.AccountingSupplierParty.Party.PartyIdentification.ID.Text
  • Set the type to 'text' and fill in a description. Confirm with 'Save' at the bottom
  • Go back to your invoice and the new field will appear where you can fill in your number. Make sure the switch 'Additional fields' is on
Billit - Dashboard
Step 4

Create & send invoice

  • Go to the income tab to create your first invoice and click the '+Add' button
  • In the customer field, select the customer you've just created
  • For B2G: fill in the order number under 'Your reference' and your supplier number in the additional field you created in step 3
  • Fill in the rest of your invoice and click 'create invoice' to finalize
  • Click the 'Send' button to see all sending options
  • Billit will automatically recognize if your customer is connected to Peppol. Click the green 'Send via Peppol' button to send your invoice
Billit - Create Invoice

Why use Peppol?

Peppol is a secure and closed network with many advantages:

Safely exchange sensitive financial data

The identity of everyone affiliated with the network is verified, so you can be sure that the invoices you receive are genuine, and you avoid invoice fraud.

Automate your invoicing process

The invoices you send through the network are completely digital, so you can process them automatically in your invoicing software.

Avoid retyping data

E-invoices in the UBL standard are automatically read correctly. This prevents human error during processing.

Gain more financial insight

Linking to your bank account means that outgoing and incoming invoices are automatically matched and you get a better overview of your company's financial situation.

Send invoices quickly

Peppol is fast: your recipient will receive your invoice within 10 minutes of sending it. Combined with automatic processing, this will save a lot of time.

What is Peppol?

Peppol is an open network for securely sending and receiving business documents such as invoices. It is designed to simplify the purchase-to-pay process between governments and suppliers. Peppol was developed by the European commission but is on its way to become a global standard.

More info about Peppol

Which identifiers are being used in Austria?

There are many kinds of identifiers for sending invoices via Peppol. Find out the difference between each option below.

Type Description Example
VAT (indentification) number or VAT-id number A unique identification number for entrepreneurs liable to VAT. It should be included on each invoice to customers. ATU74357509
Business Register Number (FN) The "Firmenbuchnummer" is used to identify business entities in Austria. It must be included in official documents. FN 105353g
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