PEPPOL-EN16931-R003

Peppol BIS 3.0 FATAL

Peppol requires either a buyer reference (BT-10) or a purchase order reference (BT-13). Public-sector buyers route incoming invoices with these fields, so at least one must be present.

How to fix it

Add cbc:BuyerReference with the reference your customer gave you, or
Add cac:OrderReference/cbc:ID with the PO number.
Ask the buyer which one they expect - sending the wrong one delays payment even when validation passes.

Example

− Rejected

<Invoice>
  <!-- neither BuyerReference nor OrderReference -->

+ Accepted

<Invoice>
  <cbc:BuyerReference>PO-4711</cbc:BuyerReference>

Official rule text

A buyer reference or purchase order reference MUST be provided.

Developers also reach this page searching for a “Peppol invoice error”, an “e-invoice rejected by access point” message, or how to resolve a failed Peppol BIS 3.0 check — it's the same issue, explained above.

Fix it faster

Paste your invoice XML in our free validator - every finding comes with its rule ID. Then generate, convert and render compliant invoices through one API.

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PEPPOL-EN16931-R003

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