A UBL invoice is the standard format for electronic invoicing (which is why it is often referred to as an e-invoice). Most accounting software packages can directly import a UBL invoice for processing within the accounts payable workflow.
If the supplier is not yet known in the system, the accounting software can usually create the supplier automatically based on the data included in the UBL invoice.
UBL (Universal Business Language) is a standard for the electronic exchange of business documents, such as purchase orders, invoices and payment reminders.
UBL is built using the XML standard. Therefore, a UBL invoice always has the file extension .xml.
A UBL invoice contains a large number of predefined standard elements. In the Netherlands, the commonly used standard is EN 16931.
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a widely used standard for structuring documents and data.
XML can be seen as an overarching technical standard that forms the basis for many different message and document standards including UBL.
In this article, you can read more about the universal UBL integration in Zenvoices.