What is a UBL document?

UBL (Universal Business Language) is a common language for software systems to exchange information digitally, so that everything can be processed quickly and without errors. This is also called e-invoicing.
A UBL document is an .xml file containing all the details of an invoice. On the basis of this document, the details can be read into an invoicing and accounting package automatically.

The use of Peppol is based on the exchange of these UBL documents.

In Robaws, every sales invoice is available not only as a pdf, but also as a UBL document.** **In the UBL document we pass on all the information from the invoice, as well as the PDF document linked to it. The customer can use this document to read the invoice into their software package automatically.
If your supplier sends you an incoming invoice in UBL format (you recognise this by the .xml extension) , you can have this document read in via the Robawsbox. The details the supplier has passed on in it are then read into Robaws automatically. Unlike the use of OCR, reading in a UBL invoice is free of charge.

Sales invoices

You can send a UBL invoice to the customer by adding it as an attachment to the e-mail template. You do this via the settings. In that case it is added by default to every mail that is sent with this e-mail template. We recommend always adding the ordinary pdf as well.

Incoming invoices

A** UBL invoice you receive** can be processed free of charge in Robaws by sending it to the Robawsbox. If the 'Process UBL' function is activated in the settings of the Robawsbox, all the details the UBL contains are read in and processed into an incoming invoice in your environment. If a PDF is also linked to the UBL file, this is added too.

Settings

Via settings > invoices > e-mail templates you can create an e-mail template with 'UBL' as the attachment. See the screenshot above.
Via settings > incoming invoices > Robawsbox you can create a Robawsbox and activate the 'Process UBL' function on it. As soon as this function is activated, the UBL invoice that was sent to the Robawsbox can be processed.

Updated on: 08/09/2026