Latest / Sidekick's What Just Shipped / Peppol e-invoicing in HubSpot, and what's confirmed | Shipped Aug 2026
Transcript
- Dana (AI host): Bill businesses in Germany or Belgium? Dana (AI host): The PDF invoice is on its way out, replaced by structured e-invoices. Rob (AI host): Our research says HubSpot now sends them over Peppol. Rob (AI host): HubSpot's own billing page says that's still being built. Dana (AI host): Stick with us, because which one is true changes what you do before your next invoice goes out. Narrator (AI voice): This is Sidekick's What Just Shipped, presented by Sidekick Strategies. Narrator (AI voice): Your hosts, Rob and Dana, are AI. Narrator (AI voice): The voices are synthetic, the research is real, and humans check every claim before it reaches you. Dana (AI host): Before we dig in: Rob and I are AI hosts. Dana (AI host): We've never sent an invoice, and we couldn't test this in a real HubSpot account. Rob (AI host): Fine by me, because today I'm playing a finance manager in Germany who bills other businesses and has strong opinions about invoices. Dana (AI host): Perfect. Start with the basics. Dana (AI host): HubSpot's billing page says e-invoicing means structured, machine-readable formats instead of PDF invoices. Rob (AI host): So not a PDF attached to an email. Dana (AI host): Right. The other side's software reads it as data. Dana (AI host): Our research describes Peppol as the European network that carries those files into a customer's accounting system. Rob (AI host): Why does this matter to me right now? Dana (AI host): Rules. Dana (AI host): HubSpot's page says businesses in Germany must be able to receive compliant e-invoices as of January twenty twenty-five, with sending requirements phasing in from twenty twenty-seven by business size. Rob (AI host): So receiving already applies, and sending is coming. Dana (AI host): And France and Belgium are rolling out similar mandates in twenty twenty-six, also phased by size. Dana (AI host): These cover domestic business-to-business invoices, and invoices to government are already live in most countries. Rob (AI host): Huh, so the clock is real. Dana (AI host): Now, the update, and this is where our sources split. Dana (AI host): Our write-up says businesses in Belgium and Germany can now send Peppol e-invoices straight from HubSpot, with a connected Stripe account, on every hub and tier. Dana (AI host): HubSpot's billing page, as of our check this week, says HubSpot does not yet support e-invoicing in countries with specific compliance mandates, and that it's actively building native e-invoicing for Revenue Hub customers in the EU. Rob (AI host): Those can't both be the whole story. Dana (AI host): Agreed. Dana (AI host): That page says the invoices will be delivered over each country's required channel, starting with Peppol where it applies, and that businesses in France, Belgium, or Germany can contact HubSpot for early access. Rob (AI host): So the honest read is early access you ask for, not a switch everyone already has. Dana (AI host): That's our read too. Rob (AI host): Then walk me through the setup our research describes, and label it clearly. Dana (AI host): Everything in this stretch comes from our research, not a HubSpot page. Dana (AI host): Go to Settings, then Commerce, then E-Invoicing. Dana (AI host): Connect a Stripe account with charges and payouts turned on. Dana (AI host): Enter your VAT number, confirm your legal name and billing address, then turn on Enable E-Invoicing, which registers you on the Peppol network. Rob (AI host): Wait, so customers have to pay through Stripe? Dana (AI host): According to our research, no. The Stripe link is for setup, not for how customers pay. Dana (AI host): And HubSpot's invoice help page, updated in late October, says you don't need a payment processor to collect payments, because payments can be added manually. Rob (AI host): Okay. And when I click Send? Dana (AI host): Per our research, HubSpot checks whether your customer is registered on Peppol. Dana (AI host): If they are, the e-invoice goes out. Dana (AI host): If not, it falls back to a standard HubSpot invoice. Rob (AI host): Let's try a hypothetical. A made-up Belgian design agency invoices two clients. Rob (AI host): One is on Peppol and gets structured data. Rob (AI host): The other isn't, so it quietly gets a regular invoice. Would anyone notice? Dana (AI host): In that description, an E-Invoicing card on the invoice shows the status, from Pending and Sending through Delivered, Accepted, Refused, or Will Not Send. Rob (AI host): And if I spot a typo after sending? Dana (AI host): That's the sharp edge. In our research, the invoice locks on send. Dana (AI host): Edits, deletions, and voids are disabled. Rob (AI host): Wow, no undo button. Dana (AI host): Fixes go through credit memos. Dana (AI host): In our research, a credit memo travels over Peppol when you apply it to the original invoice, not when you create it, and only one can be applied at a time. Rob (AI host): So who is this really for? Dana (AI host): Our research points to companies in Belgium or Germany already using HubSpot invoices, finance and RevOps leads running a separate tool just for compliance, and agencies with clients there. Rob (AI host): Why it matters: billing usually lives outside the CRM, and our research argues this closes the gap between a closed deal and the cash. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Hey, it's George B. Thomas from Sidekick Strategies. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Full honesty, this is my AI voice clone, made with my permission. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Moving invoices into HubSpot is one question. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Knowing what HubSpot is actually worth to your business is a bigger one. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Our HubSpot ROI calculator asks six questions, then estimates your time savings, cost savings, and payback timeline. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): It weighs your team size, current tool costs, manual processes, and growth goals. George B. Thomas (AI voice clone): Find it under tools at Sidekick Strategies dot com. Rob (AI host): Dana, where does that leave our August article? Dana (AI host): It needs two corrections. Dana (AI host): First, it calls this available on every hub and tier, including Free and Starter. Dana (AI host): HubSpot's billing page describes early access you request, so don't assume it's already in your account. Dana (AI host): Second, it calls the invoices fully compliant. Dana (AI host): HubSpot's invoice help page says requirements vary by jurisdiction, and to check with your legal or tax advisors. Rob (AI host): Okay, that one stings. Dana (AI host): And a naming note. The August piece calls it a Commerce Hub update. Dana (AI host): HubSpot's billing page now talks about Revenue Hub, and says invoices are available across all Revenue Hub plans. Dana (AI host): And one gap we couldn't close. Dana (AI host): We found no HubSpot help article for the Peppol setup, and no Peppol entry in HubSpot's August product updates. Dana (AI host): So the steps we walked through stay unconfirmed until HubSpot documents them. Rob (AI host): So the screens might not match what a finance team sees? Dana (AI host): They might not, and the status names could change too. Dana (AI host): If you're in the early access group, trust what HubSpot shows you over what we described. Rob (AI host): So what would you tell a finance team this week? Dana (AI host): Step one: if you bill businesses in Belgium or Germany, ask HubSpot about early access, and get the requirements in writing. Rob (AI host): Step two: confirm your own mandate dates with a tax advisor, because HubSpot says that call is yours to make. Dana (AI host): Step three: if you get access, test with one customer who's on Peppol and one who isn't, then watch the status card. Rob (AI host): Step four: review every invoice before sending, because if the lock works as described, there's no editing afterward. Dana (AI host): Step five: write down your credit memo process, one memo at a time. Rob (AI host): Finance verdict, then: ask for early access now, but keep your current e-invoicing tool until HubSpot publishes its own setup guide. Dana (AI host): One thing to do tonight: list which of your customers are in Belgium or Germany. Rob (AI host): HubSpot's billing page, the help article, and our research are all linked in the show notes, with more at Sidekick Strategies dot com. Dana (AI host): Thanks for listening, and may your invoices land the first time. Rob (AI host): Structured data, fewer headaches. Narrator (AI voice): Sidekick's What Just Shipped is presented by Sidekick Strategies, with AI hosts Rob and Dana and AI-generated music. Narrator (AI voice): We're independent, and not affiliated with HubSpot. Find our research at Sidekick Strategies dot com.