Not every invoice travels via Peppol. eConnect combines Peppol with email, portal, PDF receipt, ERP integrations and hybrid document formats in one flow. No invoice falls through the cracks, regardless of how the sender or receiver works.
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"Hybrid" means two things simultaneously in this context: multiple channels in one flow (Peppol, email, portal, ERP, PDF) and hybrid document formats (PDF with embedded XML, such as Factur-X and ZUGFeRD). Both are essential when you serve suppliers and customers at different stages of digital maturity.
When sending, the platform automatically chooses the best channel: Peppol if the receiver is registered, otherwise another network or email. No channel choice per invoice needed.
Peppol inbound, email receipt, IDR for PDF attachments, API delivery and procurement network receipt, all in the same inbox.
Suppliers who do not yet send structured data are handled by IDR/OCR. Result: for every incoming invoice, an e-invoice is created.
Combine your own Peppol AP with eConnect fallback, or standard connection with white-label for specific customers. One platform, multiple configurations.
A single processing layer normalises documents from every channel into the same semantic model. The user and the accounting department see the same invoice everywhere.
A hybrid invoice (Factur-X, ZUGFeRD) combines a visual PDF with a machine-readable XML attachment in one file. This makes hybrid formats suitable for the transition phase: receivers who do not yet process automatically can read the PDF, while receivers with automated systems use the XML directly. eConnect supports all common hybrid formats and can automatically transform them between each other.
The French hybrid format, also used in France and widely across Europe. Has its own Peppol DocumentTypeId and is fully EN 16931 compliant.
The German hybrid format, technically identical to Factur-X. Widely used alongside XRechnung in Germany.
The Czech and Slovak hybrid format. eConnect handles the transformation to UBL for cross-border use.
For Peppol exchange, a PDF can be included as an attachment in a UBL invoice. The receiver gets both the structured data and the visual PDF.
The right format for every country and every receiver. eConnect handles the transformation automatically.
An organisation active in multiple countries does not have one but ten different invoicing patterns: Peppol suppliers, suppliers who still invoice by email, customers who only want a PDF, a handful of procurement platforms and a legacy SFTP delivery. The hybrid approach prevents this from becoming ten separate projects. One normalisation layer, one routing mechanism, one reporting framework.
Hybrid channels is about the transport layer: using multiple networks and channels simultaneously (Peppol alongside email, portal, ERP, PDF). Hybrid formats is about the document format itself: one file that contains both PDF and XML (Factur-X, ZUGFeRD). eConnect supports both. Hybrid channels solve the problem that not all suppliers and customers are on the same network; hybrid formats solve the problem that not all receivers process structured data.
#PeppolFirst is the routing principle in the eConnect platform. For every transmission, the platform first checks whether the receiver is reachable on Peppol. If so, the invoice goes via Peppol (the safest and cheapest route). If not, the platform automatically chooses another structured channel (DBNAlliance, procurement network) or email as a last resort. The sender does not need to make a channel choice per invoice.
Yes. SFTP, HTTPS and SOAP remain available for enterprise customers with on-premise systems that do not connect via REST API. The PSB supports these legacy channels in parallel with the modern API routes. An SAP system that already delivers via SFTP does not need to be modified to get Peppol routing; eConnect handles the conversion.
Then IDR (Intelligent Document Recognition) handles it. PDF invoices are delivered via email or upload, classified, validated and converted to structured invoice data. The result is the same e-invoice in the same inbox as what arrives via Peppol. For line recognition, the "No Lines No Pay" guarantee applies: you only pay for recognised invoice lines.
By default via Peppol you use BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL). Hybrid formats like Factur-X and ZUGFeRD are useful when the receiver explicitly requests a PDF alongside the structured data, for example for visual verification by staff who do not yet process automatically. In France, Factur-X is a mandatory option within the CTC trajectory. eConnect automatically transforms between UBL, CII, Factur-X, ZUGFeRD and other formats.
Schedule a meeting and discuss which suppliers, customers, channels and formats matter to you.
Ask Cora
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