Invoices in the Eurozone: A Practical Guide to SEPA Payments and Digital Processing

If you regularly ask for or administer payments in euros, there’s a good chance you’ve come across terms like SEPA, EPC QR codes, and UBL files, maybe even without fully knowing how they relate. This article is for people who send invoices, receive them, or manage the money flow in small European businesses or freelance practices.

I thought I had a decent understanding of how it all worked. But only when I recently walked through the process, from sending to receiving, did I start to see the structure and where it breaks down. It turns out that sending and receiving are two very different processes, with their own tools, timing, and logic.

Here’s what I learned, and what might help others working in euros across the SEPA zone.

1. SEPA: The Structure Behind European Payments

SEPA stands for Single Euro Payments Area, a framework that governs euro transactions across Europe. The organisation behind it is the European Payments Council (EPC). There are three main types of SEPA transactions:

• Credit Transfer: A standard bank transfer, usually with a 1-day delay.
• Instant Credit Transfer: Real-time transfers within 10 seconds, available 24/7.
• Direct Debit: A mandate that allows the recipient to collect payment automatically.

At first glance, this is just technical scaffolding. But once you're dealing with real invoices, these layers determine how smooth or clumsy the payment experience becomes.

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2. Outgoing vs. Incoming Invoices: Different Logics, Different Needs

Here’s the first realisation: sending an invoice is nothing like receiving one.

When you’re sending, your goal is to make it easy for someone else to pay, so you focus on presentation, clarity, and follow-up. When you’re receiving, you want to process the invoice quickly and correctly, so you focus on structure, reliability, and compatibility with your accounting tools.

Being aware of these roles helps you make better choices for each side.

3. QR Codes: Useful, But Not Clickable

Many invoices today include a QR code following the EPC QR Code standard. It contains structured information:

• Recipient’s IBAN
• Amount
• Payment reference
• Name of the payee

If your bank app supports it, scanning the QR code will pre-fill all fields in a payment. Handy, but only if you have the invoice open on another screen or on paper. If you’re viewing the invoice on your phone, the QR code is unusable.

So while technically helpful, the EPC QR code is still more aligned with semi-digital or paper-based workflows.

EPC QR code - Wikipedia

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4. Clickable Payment Requests: A More Flexible Alternative

What we really need is a clickable link that opens a pre-filled payment in your banking app or browser, similar to an e-commerce checkout.

Unfortunately, no universal clickable SEPA link exists. But two practical alternatives do:

a. Bank Payment Request

Banks like ING, Rabobank, bunq, and ABN AMRO offer their own payment request services (e.g. Tikkie, bunq.me). These generate a personal link you can add to your invoice or send separately. This is ideal for smaller one-off projects or informal payments.

b. Payment Link via PSP

With a payment service provider (PSP) like Mollie or Stripe, you can create iDEAL or card payment links tied to your invoice. These are more professional and scalable, but also come with transaction fees and more setup overhead.

In our case, a boutique Digital and AI consulting firm that sends out relatively few invoices, a manual bank payment link often suffices, especially for lightweight engagements.

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5. UBL Invoices: Valuable Only If Used

UBL (Universal Business Language) is a machine-readable XML format that mirrors the information found in a typical PDF invoice. Its main benefit is automation: accounting tools like Moneybird, Exact, or Twinfield can ingest UBLs without manual data entry, eliminating typos and OCR errors.

• When sending: the UBL is typically included alongside the PDF—human-readable and machine-readable in one go.
• When receiving: the value depends entirely on whether your software can process it—and whether you actually do.

However:

• Most small suppliers don’t send UBLs—because their clients don’t ask for them.
• Many recipients don’t notice or use them, and some find the extra file confusing.
• In practice: UBL is helpful if you or your recipient actively rely on it. Otherwise, it may only add noise.

Final Note: Use What Serves You, Skip What Doesn’t

Looking closely at each step in the invoicing process helps reveal what truly adds value and what does not.

QR codes support hybrid workflows. Payment links reduce friction for human recipients. UBL files offer automation, but only if you or your clients actually use accounting software that can process them. Otherwise, they are just another unexplained attachment.

Ask yourself:

• Do my clients process UBLs, or are they unaware of them?
• Does sending a UBL reduce work or simply increase file size?
• Am I adopting technology with a purpose, or by default?

Peppol and structured e-invoicing may become more relevant in the future, especially for work involving government institutions. For now, digital restraint can be a strength.

You do not have to follow every standard or protocol. Focus on what is clear and useful, and revisit the rest when the time is right.

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