What does it involve?
A certified service provider is a member of OpenPeppol, has concluded a Peppol Service Provider Agreement with a Peppol Authority and has completed the mandatory tests. This entitles you to run an Access Point and/or SMP in production. In countries without their own authority, OpenPeppol itself acts as the authority.
Step by step
- Define your role and business case: Access Point, SMP or both, and for which customers and countries.
- Become a member of OpenPeppol: Membership is mandatory for every service provider.
- Choose your Peppol Authority: Usually the authority of the country where you are established. Each authority can set its own requirements in its Specific Requirements.
- Build or acquire your Access Point and SMP: Develop it yourself, use open-source software or buy a commercial solution.
- Test: Using test certificates in the OpenPeppol test environment.
- Sign the Service Provider Agreement and go live: You receive production certificates.
- Fulfil your ongoing obligations: See below.
Obligations after certification
Identifying end users
Establish who your customers are before you register them.
Agreement with each end user
Covering, among other things, the authority to send and receive on their behalf.
Logging
Keep records of sent and received messages for at least three months.
Up-to-date registrations
Keep data in the SMP and the Peppol Directory accurate.
Reporting
Periodic mandatory reporting to OpenPeppol.
National requirements
Comply with the Specific Requirements of your authority.
National requirements: the Netherlands as an example
The Netherlands Peppol Authority requires, among other things, ISO 27001 or an equivalent statement, registration of end users under at least a Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK) number, an OIN (the Dutch government organisation identification number) or a VAT number, and transfer of a registration within three working days when a customer switches provider. Other authorities publish their own requirements with OpenPeppol.
Costs
The costs consist of OpenPeppol membership (depending on your category), any security certification, the development or licensing of your Access Point and SMP, testing, and ongoing operations and support.
An alternative: Access Point as a Service
Would you like to offer Peppol without becoming certified yourself? Then you can build in the functionality of an existing service provider via an API. Read Integrating Peppol into your software or filter the comparison tool by the category Peppol Access Point as a Service.
Finally
As a certified service provider, would you like to be visible to businesses looking for a provider? Sign up as a Peppol.now partner to be listed in the comparison tool. You can read more about the supervision of service providers in What is a Peppol Authority?.
