Mandatory from April 2029

UK e-invoicing, collected on the same ledger

From April 2029, VAT-registered businesses must issue VAT invoices as structured e-invoices — not PDFs. The government confirmed Peppol as the interoperability network. ePayment is ready to issue, receive and collect against those invoices on BACS, cards and open banking. An active Enterprise SLA is required to access e-invoicing.

Talk to sales See pricing

Budget 2025 confirmed the date. Peppol confirmed 23 June 2026. Roadmap at Budget 2026.

The mandate

April 2029 is the date. Peppol is the network.

At Budget 2025 the government confirmed mandatory e-invoicing for all VAT invoices from 2029. On 23 June 2026 it named Peppol as the core interoperability network. A detailed roadmap follows at Budget 2026.

Rule What it means
When From April 2029. Phasing (large businesses first) may be set in the Budget 2026 roadmap.
Who VAT-registered businesses issuing VAT invoices for B2B and B2G supplies. Non-VAT-registered businesses are out. B2C is out.
What counts A structured, machine-readable invoice. PDF, Word and a scanned image are not e-invoices.
Network Peppol, four-corner: you connect through an Access Point, the buyer connects through theirs. No central HMRC portal at launch.
Format EN 16931 semantic model; Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL) is the working profile. A UK Peppol specification is in development.
Reporting No real-time e-reporting to HMRC in the 2029 launch. Making Tax Digital remains the VAT return path.
Already live Public bodies must accept EN 16931 e-invoices under the Procurement Act 2023. NHS suppliers already exchange over Peppol.
Records VAT invoices still have to be kept for six years.

Policy from the Budget 2025 consultation response and HMRC Tax Update 23 June 2026. Technical detail and enforcement sit in the Budget 2026 roadmap.

What it is

An e-invoice is data, not a file you email

UK e-invoicing suppliers — Pagero, Tradeshift, Storecove, Basware, Sage, Xero and the rest — all do the same core job: turn the invoice into a structured document, validate it, and move it over Peppol. That is the baseline ePayment supports.

Need PDF / email invoice Structured e-invoice
Form A picture of an invoice UBL / Peppol BIS fields the buyer’s system can post
Delivery Inbox, portal, post Peppol Access Point to Access Point
Checks Someone re-keys it Totals, VAT, identifiers validated before it leaves
Status Did they open the email? Sent, delivered, accepted, rejected, paid
Payment Separate chase Payment means on the invoice, collection on the same ledger

Core capability

The functions every UK e-invoicing stack needs

This is the set Access Point and invoice-to-cash suppliers already run in Peppol markets. ePayment covers it, then collects.

  • Issue

    Create EN 16931 invoices and credit notes as Peppol BIS Billing 3.0. Seller, buyer, lines, VAT rates, tax point and totals as data, not a layout.

  • Send and receive

    Four-corner Peppol: your Access Point talks to the buyer’s. NHS and public-sector buyers already sit on that network.

  • Validate

    Schema, VAT arithmetic, Peppol IDs (UK VAT 9932, company number 0190) and mandatory fields before the document is transmitted.

  • Status

    Message-level response and invoice response: delivered, accepted, rejected. The chase is a status, not a phone call.

  • Payment means

    Bank details, Direct Debit, open banking or card on the invoice. The document states how it will be settled.

  • Archive

    Keep the structured invoice for six years, with an audit trail of issue, delivery and collection.

Why ePayment

The invoice is only half the job. Then you have to get paid.

Most e-invoicing tools stop at delivery. ePayment is a UK collections bureau. The e-invoice, the mandate and the settlement write to one ledger — ready for April 2029 rather than bolted on in 2028.

  • Invoice to cash

    Issue INV-2041, then collect it as BACS Direct Debit, BACS Credit, open banking or card. The invoice number is the payment reference.

    Omni-payments →

  • Direct Debit on the invoice

    Recurring supplies put the mandate on the document. AUDDIS, ADDACS and ARUDD already run on the bureau. The 2029 invoice does not invent a new collection method.

    BACS payments →

  • Open banking for the one-off

    Where the buyer should pay now, the invoice can carry an account-to-account request. Immediate confirmation, no card scheme fee.

    Open banking →

  • Bank details checked first

    Sort code, account and Confirmation of Payee sit on the buyer record before a credit or a Direct Debit leaves. Bad account data does not wait for a BACS return.

    Account validation →

  • One reconciliation

    Accepted, paid, failed and credited against the same invoice. Finance is not matching a Peppol CSV to a bureau CSV to a card statement.

  • API and agents

    Issue, collect and read status from your ERP, or from an MCP agent that already runs BACS. The 2029 document is another tool call, not a new portal.

    MCP server →

Workflow

From a structured invoice to a settled collection

The same path UK Peppol suppliers use, with the bureau on the end of it.

  1. Build the invoice as data

    Buyer, lines, VAT and payment means in EN 16931. Credit notes use the same profile. A PDF can still be rendered for humans; it is not the legal e-invoice.

  2. Validate and send on Peppol

    The Access Point checks the document and delivers it to the buyer’s Access Point. Public-sector buyers already accept this form.

  3. Collect on the stated means

    Direct Debit on the next BACS cycle, open banking in session, or card if that is what the invoice asked for. Fails retry on the omni path.

  4. Mark paid and keep the record

    Status back to the buyer, settlement on the ledger, invoice retained for six years.

Pricing

From 20p to 10p per invoice

Rate falls with monthly volume. One hundred invoices at 20p, ten thousand at 10p. Collection on BACS, cards or open banking is priced on those schemes. Access requires an active Enterprise SLA (£149 + VAT / month or £1,490 + VAT / year). All + VAT.

1,000
10010,000
Price per invoice
15.0p
Invoices
1,000
Monthly total
£150.00

Volume examples

100 invoices
20.0p
per invoice
£20.00
1,000 invoices
15.0p
per invoice
£150.00
5,000 invoices
11.5p
per invoice
£575.00
10,000 invoices
10.0p
per invoice
£1,000.00

No setup fee. Prices exclusive of VAT at 20%. The slider interpolates between 20p at 100 invoices and 10p at 10,000. Enterprise SLA is required and billed separately.

Talk to sales

Questions

What businesses ask before they start

  • Is a PDF an e-invoice?

    No. The mandate is for a structured electronic invoice that a system can process automatically. A PDF attached to an email does not meet EN 16931.

  • Do I need a government portal?

    Not in the 2029 design. Peppol is decentralised. You pick an Access Point; the buyer picks theirs. HMRC does not clear the invoice in real time at launch.

  • We already invoice the NHS. Are we done?

    You are already on Peppol for that buyer. April 2029 extends structured e-invoices to your other VAT-registered customers, not only the public sector.

  • Does this replace Making Tax Digital?

    No. MTD is how you keep digital VAT records and file the return. E-invoicing is how the invoice itself moves between businesses.

  • When should we start?

    Identifiers, buyer master data and payment means are the slow part. Issue a subset of invoices on Peppol now — especially B2G — and collect them on the stack you will still be using in 2029.

  • Can we talk through our mix?

    Yes. Tell us how you invoice today, which buyers are on Peppol, and whether collections are Direct Debit, open banking or card.

    Contact form →

Be ready before April 2029, not in it.

We will map your invoices onto Peppol and onto the collection method you already run — BACS, cards or open banking.

Contact sales

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