Can This Business Receive E-Invoices? Checking an ABN on Peppol

How do you check whether an Australian business can receive e-invoices?

To check whether an Australian business can receive e-invoices, look up the identifier 0151: followed by its 11-digit ABN. If the lookup returns an entry, the business is registered on Peppol and the entry shows which document types it accepts. If it returns nothing, the ABN is not registered under that scheme, or it was typed wrongly. You can run the check yourself, free, in GoRoute's Peppol lookup or in the public Peppol Directory.

This matters before you change how you send. A supplier does not want to switch an invoice from email to Peppol and have it fail. A buyer does not want to tell suppliers they can send e-invoices when their own address is not live.

What do you need before you look?

Two things:

• The ABN, exactly. It is 11 digits. Take it from a tax invoice or purchase order you already hold, not from memory. The ABN Lookup service run by the Australian Business Register (abr.business.gov.au) confirms that an ABN exists and which entity holds it, so use it first if you are unsure.
• The scheme code. For an Australian ABN the Peppol scheme is 0151. The full identifier is the scheme, a colon and the number. The idea of a scheme code is explained in which Peppol identifier is yours, and Australia's page covers ABN-based identifiers specifically.

How do you look up an ABN in GoRoute's lookup?

1. Open the Peppol lookup. It needs no sign-in.
2. Pick the scheme for the Australian Business Number from the list.
3. Enter the 11-digit ABN with no spaces.
4. Run the search.

The search reaches every service metadata publisher (SMP) on the network, not only the one GoRoute operates. An SMP is the directory record that tells other access points where a business receives. Behind the page the lookup works in two steps: the network's root directory finds which SMP holds the record, and that SMP returns what the business accepts. It is the same lookup a sending system runs before it delivers to you.

How do you look up an ABN in the Peppol Directory?

The Peppol Directory is a public search run by OpenPeppol at directory.peppol.eu. Search by the participant identifier, 0151: plus the ABN, or by business name.

Two differences from the live lookup are worth knowing:

• The Directory is a convenience listing, not the network's routing record. A participant chooses whether to publish a business card there. A business can be reachable and not appear.
• It can be searched by name. That helps when you have a name and no ABN, but confirm the ABN before you rely on a name match, because similar names exist.

If the two disagree, trust the live lookup for the question "can I send to this ABN today", and treat the Directory as a way to find the business.

What does a result mean?

A hit returns a service group for the identifier, and one entry for each document type the business accepts. Read it like this:

PINT A-NZ is the profile an Australian receiver is expected to use. PINT A-NZ is now the only accepted profile explains why a European-format invoice is not a substitute.

What does "not found" mean?

On GoRoute's lookup, an unregistered identifier returns a 404 and the page says so in words. That is the answer, not a fault. There are four likely explanations, in the order to check them:

1. A typing error. Re-enter the ABN from a document. A single wrong digit looks identical to an unregistered business.
2. The wrong scheme. Make sure you chose the ABN scheme, not another.
3. A different identifier. Some businesses register under a number other than their ABN. Ask which identifier their accounts software receives under.
4. Not registered. The business has not joined the network, which is common today because there is no business-to-business mandate.

Only the fourth is a real "no". In that case nothing is lost: send the invoice by your current route and tell the business what registering involves, which is the subject of how an Australian business starts receiving e-invoices.

What should a supplier do with the answer?

• Found and the right type: send on Peppol. If you use GoRoute, the platform runs the same lookup at sending time, so you do not need to check by hand for every invoice.
• Found, wrong type: ask the buyer to add the invoice and credit-note types, or keep emailing.
• Not found: keep your normal route and record that you checked and on what date, because the answer changes when the buyer registers.

An online shop that asks for an ABN at checkout is a special case. Does your Australian or New Zealand online shop need to send e-invoices? covers what happens when a business buyer is not on the network.

What should a buyer do with the answer?

Look up your own ABN before you tell anyone to send to it. If it is not found, you are not yet reachable. If it is found but does not list invoices and credit notes, your registration is incomplete. After that, give suppliers the exact identifier in the form 0151:<ABN>. The follow-on questions are whether the file will support a GST credit, which Can you claim GST credits on an e-invoice? answers, and what Peppol does and does not change about fraud, which Does e-invoicing stop invoice fraud? covers.

What to do next

Run the lookup on your ten biggest trading partners and keep the results in a sheet with the date. If you want it done as part of sending, or want to register your own ABN, book a demo. The e-invoice receiving page describes what happens once a document reaches you, the tutorials show it working, and the documentation covers the lookup in the API.

Related guides

• How an Australian business starts receiving e-invoices
• Can you claim GST credits on an e-invoice?
• Does e-invoicing stop invoice fraud? What Peppol changes
• Which Peppol identifier is yours?
• E-invoicing in Australia

Sources: OpenPeppol and the Peppol Directory for the identifier scheme and the public search; the Australian Business Register's ABN Lookup for confirming an ABN; the ATO eInvoicing page for the ATO's role; GoRoute's Peppol lookup page for how the lookup behaves. This page describes how a lookup works and is not tax or legal advice. GoRoute operates certified Peppol Access Point and SMP POP000991.