Who is the Digital Postman and what is its role in the Peppol network?

In the article “How e-invoicing works in practice”, we described the journey of an invoice from issue to receipt. Now we take a closer look at the Digital Postman, which handles its transmission in the Peppol network.

The Digital Postman is a certified delivery service provider that connects a company to the Peppol network and delivers electronic invoices. For this purpose, it operates an access point to the network – in Peppol terminology, an Access Point.

The international framework of the network is governed by the OpenPeppol association; in Slovakia, the role of the Peppol Authority is performed by the Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic.

What does the Digital Postman do?

The Digital Postman's task is to ensure that an electronic invoice travels securely from the sender all the way to the recipient. Ideally, the whole process runs automatically in the background for the user.

Its main tasks include:

• Registering companies in the Peppol network – registers the company and the data needed to deliver electronic invoices.
• Data transformation and validation – if transformation is needed, creates an XML file from the received data. It also checks whether the electronic document meets the technical requirements and the relevant Peppol standards.
• Finding the recipient – makes sure the document reaches the correct participant in the Peppol network.
• Sending electronic invoices – takes the invoice from the accounting or ERP system and delivers it via the Peppol network.
• Receiving electronic invoices – receives invoices and other documents from the Peppol network and passes them on to the recipient's system.
• Reporting to the Slovak Financial Administration – creates a file with information for the Slovak Financial Administration from the transmitted invoice, referred to as a TDD (Tax Data Document), and sends it to the Financial Administration's Access Point.
• Secure data transmission – ensures secure communication between the sender, the Peppol network and the recipient. Transmission between Access Points uses the AS4 protocol, which signs and encrypts messages.
• Connecting different systems – enables different accounting, ERP and invoicing systems to communicate with each other without the need for a direct connection between every pair of companies.
• MLS status messages (Message Level Status) – provide information on whether a document has been accepted or rejected.

Why is the Digital Postman important?

In essence, the Digital Postman is the technological link between a company and the Peppol network. While the user works in their accounting or ERP system, the Digital Postman takes care of everything needed to send and receive electronic documents.

Its goal is to make electronic invoicing simple, secure and as automated as possible for the company.

So it is not just about “sending an invoice”. The Digital Postman handles the entire technical communication process – from validating the document and finding the right recipient to delivering it securely into the business partner's system.

Thanks to the Digital Postman, an electronic invoice can move from one accounting system to another without e-mails, paperwork or manual re-keying of data.

MIBFORMA as a certified Digital Postman

MIBFORMA a.s. is a certified delivery service provider. It is listed by the Slovak Financial Administration under the identifier EFSK000004. Its Access Point is part of the mib:Peppol solution.

Book a consultation on connecting your ERP system to the Digital Postman.

In the next article you will read: How to choose a certified Digital Postman: A buyer's guide for CFOs and IT managers