The Municipality of Nijmegen was looking for a way to receive e-invoices without upending its existing application landscape. The organization already had its own Enterprise Service Bus and wanted a solution that was technically compatible with it, rather than an additional platform layer that would displace existing processes. With the eConnect Procurement Service Bus, they chose a route that fit perfectly. The implementation went smoothly, with a notable moment being the receipt of the first e-invoice within just two days. In this customer story, the Municipality of Nijmegen shares how the choice was made, how the invoice flow is structured, and what next steps are planned to further increase the share of e-invoices.
For the Municipality of Nijmegen, the issue began with legislation. Since April 18, 2019, government organizations must be able to receive and process e-invoices. The municipality wanted to meet this obligation in a way that was technically logical within its own architecture. A working chain for financial processing, document management, and archiving was already in place. The challenge was therefore not only to be able to receive e-invoices, but especially to do so without unnecessarily disrupting existing processes.
Therefore, more than just functionality played a role in the choice. Sophie Groenen, Senior Functional Manager, indicated that several parties were considered and that the process took time. An important consideration was how heavy or light the solution felt in practice. The municipality was not looking for a cumbersome system with a lot of overhead, but an agile solution that easily connected to its own ESB. The experience with collaboration also weighed in. Being able to act quickly on issues and a good working feeling in the collaboration were part of the decision-making process.
A second context of change was added to this. During the same period, an intensive project around Unit4 Financials was running within the municipality, because the existing version was at the end of its support and an upgrade was necessary. That made the timing sensitive. Major technical and functional changes were already underway, so the e-invoicing solution had to be implementable without overburdening the team.
A third challenge lay in adoption. Between 30,000 and 35,000 invoices are received annually, through multiple channels. The majority comes as a PDF, in addition there are invoices by post and a smaller portion as e-invoices. The municipality first wanted to set up the reception facility properly and make suppliers findable on the network, before actively pushing for a large-scale migration to e-invoicing.
The Municipality of Nijmegen chose the eConnect Procurement Service Bus, precisely because it could easily be connected to its own ESB via an API. This kept the core architecture intact and allowed the e-invoice flow to be embedded in the existing processing chain.
An internal project team was set up to guide the implementation. According to Sophie, this went smoothly, partly because eConnect had experience with Unit4 Financials. The technical connection was operational quickly. Within two days of implementation, the municipality received the first e-invoice, which immediately confirmed that the chosen route worked.
The invoice flow is structured as follows:
- E-invoices enter the own ESB via the PSB.
- From the ESB, they go to the Document Management System Corsa.
- Corsa creates a view of it for archiving.
- The invoice is then forwarded to Unit4 Financials via Invoice Matching.
This setup was in line with the administrative requirements regarding retention obligation and with the existing process steps that were already in use within the municipality. As a result, the organization did not have to design a new end-to-end process, but mainly add an extra, standardized reception channel.
On the supplier side, the Municipality of Nijmegen opted for a phased approach. The municipality communicated in various places that it is findable on the Peppol network and can receive e-invoices. This was done through messages to suppliers, information on the website, and inclusion in delivery conditions. The tone was informative and facilitating. Suppliers were given the opportunity to send e-invoices, without a hard obligation being imposed immediately.
This first focused on technical readiness and visibility, with room to further accelerate adoption in a subsequent phase. A clear wish has also been formulated on the outgoing side. Sending e-invoices is not yet done actively, because this was not available via Unit4 Financials at that time. However, the municipality does see that outgoing e-invoicing can offer advantages, including in preventing ghost invoices and duplicate invoices.
The most important outcome of this project is that the Municipality of Nijmegen has set up a working e-invoicing chain in a short time that connects to the existing architecture and processes. The implementation was fast, manageable, and without major process disruption.
Specifically, this led to:
- A successful connection of the PSB to its own ESB.
- The first e-invoice received within two days of going live.
- An integrated processing chain towards Corsa and Unit4 Financials.
- Securing archiving steps within the existing working method.
- Findability on Peppol with a slight increase in received e-invoices.
At the same time, the picture is realistic. The majority of incoming invoices still arrive as PDFs, with a portion by post and a smaller e-invoice part. In the source period, the share of e-invoices was about 8 to 10%. So that is not a final station, but a phase in a longer transition. That is precisely where the value of this case lies. Nijmegen shows that you do not have to wait for full supplier adoption to already lay a technically robust foundation.
Organizationally, the case also sends a relevant signal. A municipality that is simultaneously working on major system renewal can still implement e-invoicing well if the chosen solution fits the existing IT direction. The choice to connect to its own ESB has helped here to make speed without extra complexity.
"Because of eConnect's experience with Unit4 Financials, the implementation went very smoothly. We had our first e-invoice within 2 days." Sophie Groenen, Municipality of Nijmegen
- Choose an e-invoicing solution that fits your existing integration landscape.
- Involve technical architecture criteria early in the selection process.
- Make the processing chain end-to-end transparent, including archiving and matching.
- Start with technical readiness and then build up supplier adoption in phases.
- In change processes, allow for realistic intermediate phases, instead of wanting to do everything in one step.
- For municipalities and other governments with their own ESB that want to receive e-invoices.
- For organizations that use Unit4 Financials and want to embed e-invoicing in existing processes.
- For teams that first want to lay a stable technical foundation and then accelerate adoption.
- For organizations that want to achieve compliance without a heavy extra system layer.
Do you want to know how this works in your situation? Schedule a meeting.