Components

The following are some of the basic components of VRBL:

Documents

Documents is the collective term for the files that you create to represent your e-invoices and credit notes.

Elements

Elements are the XML tags that are used to model information in VRBL.

For example AllowanceCharge is the element used to model Allowances and Charges. Each element has a reference topic like AllowanceCharge and then usually some more business centric topics like Allowances and Charges.

The Document- and Line-Level Elements section lists the Elements that you can use at each level.

Extensions

Where needed, the standard VRBL elements can be extended using VRBL Extensions. An overview of how these work is provided in the Extensions topic. You can find a list of all extensions and topics on each in the Extensions Refence Guide.

API

You use the API to send your VRBL Documents to the service. More information is provided in the Using the Vertex e-Invoicing API section.

Rules, Schematrons, and Receivers

Rules and Schematrons govern the processing of the elements in your Documents. Receivers are used in routing. More information is provided in the Rules, Schematrons, and Receivers topic.

The complete list of Rules is provided in the Rules section.

Receivers are listed in the Receivers section.

Standard Values and attributes

Some countries and formats require

VRBL Introduction

The Vertex Universal Standard (VRBL) is the business language format for the Documents that you send to Vertex e-Invoicing. VRBL is based on Universal Business Language (UBL). All inbound Documents must be sent in VRBL.

The VRBL Reference Guide describes the components, including Receivers, Attributes, Example Documents, Country Specific Configurations, Elements, and Extensions.

The source of an element can be identified from the prefix:

• ubl originate in Universal Business Language (UBL) .
• vrbl are extensions that are exclusive to VRBL.

For example:

/ubl:Invoice/cec:UBLExtensions/cec:UBLExtension/cec:ExtensionContent/vrbl:InvoiceExtension/vrbl:RoutingDetails/vrbl:Receiver

Some countries use only UBL and PEPPOL with no extensions, like Belgium. Some countries, like Italy, use their own format. These details are provided in the country's overview topic, for example, Italy: Overview. A list of the formats used by all supported countries is provided in the Supported Countries topic.

VRBL Compatibility

VRBL is based on UBL and it can also be configured to be compatible with PEPPOL and EN 16931, as well as other country specific formats.

Universal Business Language (UBL)

VRBL uses Universal Business Language (UBL) and custom extensions to create the format for the Document files. You can find out more about UBL here.

All files are UBL 2.4 compliant by the time of the final submission to the Tax Authorities.

When you create your Documents in VRBL, this is mapped to the UBL 2.4 standard by Vertex e-Invoicing.

Many countries also use UBL as the basis of their own formatting. You can see the details in the Supported Countries topic.

Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line (PEPPOL)

Some countries use PEPPOL. This is a framework or network used for the transfer of electronic files. For more information about PEPPOL, see Peppol PINT.

Similar to the UBL-based countries, you must submit your documents in VRBL where it is transformed into the PEPPOL-based format for the country.

European Standard EN 16931

The European Standard EN 16931 is an 8-part series of standards developed by the European Technical Committee CEN/TC 434. It defines a uniform semantic data model for e-invoices in Europe. More information is provided in the EN 16931: Modeling Overview section.

Country-specific formats

Some countries require specific configurations to support their country specific formats. These are listed in the Country Specific Configurations topic. For example, Germany B2G: Overview uses the Xrechnung format. Information is provided to help your create compatible

How VRBL is processed

The VRBL Processing topic explains how the service processes VRBL Documents.

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