How do I receive an e-invoice?
Short answer
To receive an e-invoice, you must arrange receipt through a certified e-invoicing delivery-service provider assigned to your Peppol ID. Without this registration or access, a supplier cannot find you on the network. The received document is then made available using a method offered by your provider: a web portal or inbox, a direct API connection to your accounting or ERP system, or an agreed export or storage location. An email may notify you that a document has arrived, but the e-invoice itself is the structured XML document.
Without registration, nothing will arrive
An invoice does not arrive automatically, and you cannot receive it without preparing access first. You must select a delivery-service provider or use software that makes you reachable on the Peppol network under your Peppol ID. Until you have this registration or access, the supplier cannot find you on the network and has nowhere to send the document. If you do not yet have a provider, see Do I need an e-invoicing delivery-service provider? and How do I choose an e-invoicing delivery-service provider?.
Practical access methods
Log in to view the list
Documents appear in the list of received invoices in the provider’s portal. You can review them manually or download them as needed. This is common for low volumes.
Directly in your accounting or ERP system
The delivery-service provider transfers the document via API directly to your software, so you do not have to download it manually. This is common for higher volumes.
Folder, SFTP or shared drive
The delivery-service provider or connected software makes received documents available in an agreed export location, from which your system or accountant retrieves them.
Not the e-invoice itself
An email may notify you that a new document has arrived, but the relevant document is the XML received through the delivery service and made available in the portal, through the API or as an export.
The access methods offered by a particular delivery-service provider, and whether they can be combined—for example, an API for high volume plus a portal as a backup—are important selection criteria. See Integration and format when choosing an e-invoicing delivery-service provider.
An XML document, not an email with a PDF
Regardless of the access method, the core received document is a structured XML file compliant with Peppol BIS Billing 3.0—not an ordinary email with a PDF attachment. The provider or software may also offer a readable preview, but the original XML is the relevant document for processing and archiving; a PDF or visual preview is only an auxiliary output.
Which method suits whom
A web portal is sufficient
You can view received documents directly in the provider’s portal or pass them to your accountant—see How do I send a received e-invoice to my accountant?.
Conclusion
Receipt begins when you are reachable on the Peppol network through an e-invoicing delivery-service provider or software connected to one. You can then access the document through a portal or inbox, an API or an export. An email may serve as a notification, but it does not replace the e-invoice itself.
Verified sources
Act No. 222/2004 Coll. on VAT, Sections 76a and 85o (as amended by Act No. 385/2025 Coll.); official methodological and information materials of the Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic; EN 16931; OpenPeppol BIS Billing 3.0. Reviewed on 10 July 2026.
Separate questions
These steps follow the actual receipt of the document, and each has its own detailed answer.