Supported Formats
eMessaging supports a comprehensive range of electronic document formats for both sending and receiving. This page provides a complete reference of all supported formats, their direction, status, and typical use cases.
Format summary
| Format | Standard | Direction | Status | Primary use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 | EN 16931 / UBL 2.1 | Send and Receive | Active — recommended | Electronic invoicing across Europe and globally |
| PEPPOL BIS Order 3.0 | EN 16931 / UBL 2.1 | Send and Receive | Active | Electronic purchase orders |
| PEPPOL BIS Despatch Advice 3.0 | EN 16931 / UBL 2.1 | Send | Active | Shipping notifications |
| BII04 (Invoice) | CEN BII | Send and Receive | Deprecated — July 2026 (Iceland) | Legacy Icelandic e-invoicing |
| BII05 (Credit Note) | CEN BII | Send and Receive | Deprecated — July 2026 (Iceland) | Legacy Icelandic e-credit notes |
| EDIFACT INVOIC | UN/EDIFACT D.96A+ | Send and Receive | Active | B2B invoicing in retail, logistics, manufacturing |
| EDIFACT ORDERS | UN/EDIFACT D.96A+ | Receive | Active | B2B purchase orders |
| EDIFACT DESADV | UN/EDIFACT D.96A+ | Receive | Active | B2B despatch advice |
| X12 810 | ANSI X12 | Receive | Active | North American invoice standard |
| X12 850 | ANSI X12 | Receive | Active | North American purchase order standard |
| BASDA eBIS-XML | BASDA | Receive | Active | UK B2B document exchange |
| X400 | ITU-T X.400 | Receive | Active | Legacy message-based document exchange |
| XML (custom) | Custom schema | Receive (API) | Active | Custom structured documents via REST API |
| JSON (custom) | Custom schema | Receive (API) | Active | Custom structured documents via REST API |
| — | Receive (AI/OCR) | Active | Scanned or emailed invoices, processed via AI pipeline |
PEPPOL BIS 3.0
PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 is the primary format for electronic invoicing across Europe and is expanding globally. It implements the European standard EN 16931 and is the recommended format for all new integrations.
Document types
| Document | UBL type | UNCL 1001 code | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoice | UBL 2.1 Invoice | 380 | Send and Receive |
| Credit Note | UBL 2.1 Credit Note | 381 | Send and Receive |
| Debit Note | UBL 2.1 Invoice | 383 | Receive |
| Corrected Invoice | UBL 2.1 Invoice | 384 | Receive |
| Prepayment Invoice | UBL 2.1 Invoice | 386 | Receive |
| Self-billed Invoice | UBL 2.1 Invoice | 389 | Receive |
PEPPOL BIS Order 3.0
| Document | UBL type | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Order | UBL 2.1 Order | Send and Receive |
| Order Response | UBL 2.1 Order Response | Receive |
PEPPOL BIS Despatch Advice 3.0
| Document | UBL type | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Despatch Advice | UBL 2.1 Despatch Advice | Send |
All outbound documents from eMessaging are sent in PEPPOL BIS 3.0 by default. The format is validated against the official PEPPOL schematron rules before transmission.
BII04 / BII05 (deprecated)
BII04 (Invoice) and BII05 (Credit Note) are legacy formats from the earlier CEN BII profiles. These formats are still in use in Iceland but will be deprecated in July 2026.
| Format | Document type | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| BII04 | Invoice | Send and Receive |
| BII05 | Credit Note | Send and Receive |
If you are currently using BII04/BII05, plan your migration to PEPPOL BIS 3.0. eMessaging handles the conversion — update your Document Sending Profiles to use PEPPOL BIS 3.0. Incoming BII04/BII05 documents are converted transparently to the internal format.
The Icelandic Localization extension provides additional support for BII04/BII05 specific fields and Icelandic tax rules.
EDIFACT
eMessaging supports UN/EDIFACT messages for organizations that use EDI-based document exchange. EDIFACT is commonly used for large-scale B2B integrations, particularly in retail, logistics, and manufacturing.
| Message type | Description | Direction | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| INVOIC | Invoice and credit note | Send and Receive | B2B invoicing |
| ORDERS | Purchase order | Receive | B2B order exchange |
| DESADV | Despatch advice | Receive | Shipping notifications |
EDIFACT messages are transmitted via SFTP, AS2, or direct API integration with CentaraIQ.
X12
ANSI X12 is the dominant EDI standard in North America. eMessaging supports receiving X12 documents:
| Transaction set | Description | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| 810 | Invoice | Receive |
| 850 | Purchase Order | Receive |
X12 documents are typically received via SFTP or AS2 connections configured in CentaraIQ.
BASDA eBIS-XML
BASDA (Business Application Software Developers’ Association) eBIS-XML is a UK standard for B2B document exchange:
| Document type | Direction |
|---|---|
| Invoice | Receive |
| Credit Note | Receive |
| Order | Receive |
X400
X400 is a legacy ITU-T standard for message-based document exchange, still used by some organizations in Northern Europe:
| Document type | Direction |
|---|---|
| Invoice | Receive |
| Credit Note | Receive |
X400 messages are received through gateway integration with CentaraIQ.
XML / JSON (custom API)
For trading partners who use proprietary or custom document formats, eMessaging accepts structured XML or JSON documents via the CentaraIQ REST API:
- XML — custom schema documents submitted to the
/api/v2/documents/inboundendpoint - JSON — custom schema documents submitted to the same endpoint
Custom format documents are mapped to the internal eMessaging format using configurable field mappings in CentaraIQ. Contact Centara support to configure custom format integrations.
PDF (AI/OCR)
PDF documents — whether from email, portal upload, or scanning — are processed through the multi-engine AI extraction pipeline:
| Source | How it arrives | Processing |
|---|---|---|
| Email attachment | Forward to designated inbox email | AI extraction pipeline |
| Portal upload | Upload via CentaraIQ web portal | AI extraction pipeline |
| Scanned paper | Scan to PDF, upload to portal | AI extraction pipeline |
The AI pipeline (Mistral OCR → Claude Opus 4.6 → Mistral Medium → Azure Document Intelligence) extracts header fields, line items, amounts, dates, and references. Extracted documents appear in the Document Inbox with the same structure as PEPPOL documents.
See Purchase Documents Overview for details on the AI extraction pipeline.
EN 16931
EN 16931 is the European standard for electronic invoicing. PEPPOL BIS 3.0 is a conformant implementation of EN 16931. If your trading partners require EN 16931 compliance, PEPPOL BIS 3.0 satisfies that requirement.
Format conversion
eMessaging can convert between formats when needed:
| From | To | Scenario |
|---|---|---|
| BII04/BII05 | PEPPOL BIS 3.0 | Receiving legacy format, storing in current standard |
| EDIFACT | Internal format | Receiving EDI, processing in BC |
| PDF (AI extraction) | Internal format | Receiving unstructured, converting to structured |
| BC posted document | PEPPOL BIS 3.0 | Sending outbound documents |
| PEPPOL BIS 3.0 | BII04/BII05 | Sending to recipients who still require legacy format |
Format conversion is handled transparently — you do not need to manage the conversion process manually.