B2B buyers seek Peppol-aligned e-invoicing to cut billing errors

A Censuswide survey of 550 business buyers across the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Australia, commissioned by B2B payments platform TreviPay, found persistent billing friction and strong support for a common e-invoicing standard aligned with Peppol and the UK VAT mandate. Respondents identified incorrect invoices, inconsistent file formats and gaps in ERP integration as core problems. The poll was published in May 2026. The survey reported that 30% of respondents receive incorrect invoices, 31% said their enterprise resource planning systems do not integrate well with billing, 31% cited inconsistent invoice formats and 34% experience delays in approval workflows. TreviPay said these issues persist because order-to-cash processes often span multiple systems and teams; individual steps may be automated, but the overall workflow remains fragmented and requires manual fixes when data and processes do not match. Inez Berkhof-Hollander, TreviPay vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, warned finance teams are under strain from cash flow pressures and changing regulation: “Finance teams across all industries — B2B buyers and sellers alike — are under pressure. There’s a lot of pressure from a cashflow perspective. They are also very much challenged by new regulation and compliance with countries mandating how invoicing should be done.” The UK government announced in 2025 that it will require e-invoicing for all VAT invoices from 2029. During the consultation on the plans, businesses recommended standardization to improve cross-border interoperability and reduce administrative burden, and many respondents said alignment with international frameworks such as Peppol would help. The Netherlands is adopting Peppol, and some companies hope the UK will adopt a compatible format so a single system can support operations in multiple countries. Alex Harris, parts sales manager at DAF Trucks, said his company is waiting for UK authorities to decide the format before updating its systems and that a shared standard could allow the firm to reuse development across markets. DAF Trucks uses TreviPay for centralized billing and says larger customers benefit from a single credit line and flexible invoicing across national service networks. The survey found differences by company size. Larger organisations prioritized ERP integration, purchase controls and governance, while mid-sized firms placed more value on flexibility and speed. On artificial intelligence in finance, companies with 500 or more employees were more likely to be targeting process streamlining and reduction of manual tasks (20%) compared with 9% of companies with 100 to 200 staff. Most respondents reported a lack of internal AI expertise and concerns about compliance with evolving rules, and many have not moved beyond tactical AI projects to embed the technology across the full order-to-cash cycle. TreviPay and several customers contend that a standardized e-invoicing format could reduce manual reconciliations, cut errors and simplify cross-border trade, but businesses say they need clearer regulatory guidance before making major system changes. Until formats and rules are harmonized, buyers and sellers continue to manage fragmented processes that slow approvals and complicate cash-flow management.