Eqeep automates supplier invoice processing in IFS Cloud together with TRAILD

Eqeep, IFS Specialized Partner in the Benelux, offers its IFS Cloud customers an add-on that automates supplier invoice processing, from invoice capture to payment. We deliver the add-on in partnership with TRAILD, a Premier IFS ISV Partner and new to our partner network.

Where does supplier invoice processing get stuck?

Many finance teams still receive, process, pay and track supplier invoices by hand. Someone types in the invoice data, codes it to the right accounts, matches it to the purchase order and chases approvals. Every step takes time and can go wrong, and the paper trail wastes resources. With so many manual touch points, an incorrect or fraudulent invoice is harder to spot before it is paid.

Typical moments when an invoice stalls or goes wrong:

• One PDF holds several invoices that someone has to split first.
• The purchase order number is missing, so someone looks up the order.
• The invoice is in, but the warehouse has not booked the receipt yet.
• Someone posing as a supplier emails new bank details.

When must accounts payable be ready to receive e-invoices?

In Belgium, now. For invoices from suppliers in other EU countries, from 1 July 2030. For Dutch suppliers, from the same date if the bill becomes law.

Since 1 January 2026, structured e-invoices have been mandatory between VAT-registered Belgian businesses, in principle via Peppol. If your business there cannot yet receive via Peppol, it risks a sanction, according to the Belgian government. The general tolerance period for the first quarter of 2026 is over.

The EU date of 1 July 2030 is fixed. According to Ondernemersplein, the Dutch government’s business portal, the rules can matter even if you only receive invoices from another EU country.

On 11 September 2026, the Dutch cabinet announced that it wants mandatory e-invoicing from 1 July 2030, including domestic B2B invoices. The cabinet aims to submit the bill to parliament before summer 2027, after a public consultation in autumn 2026.

Under the plan, suppliers in the Dutch small businesses scheme (KOR) will be exempt. So expect PDFs alongside e-invoices even after 2030. Read what e-invoicing means for your business.

What are Peppol and UBL?

Peppol is the network businesses use to exchange e-invoices. Universal Business Language (UBL) is a widely used format for the invoice itself. According to Ondernemersplein, an e-invoice holds structured data that software can read automatically, following a fixed European standard. A PDF invoice sent by email does not qualify.

According to the Belgian government, you join only via an accredited Peppol service provider, or access point. In Belgium, registration uses at least your enterprise number.

So decide early which Peppol service provider delivers your e-invoices to the add-on. We record that choice with you in the analysis.

How does the add-on work in IFS Cloud?

The add-on connects to IFS Cloud through a live connection. It collects invoices received by email, as a PDF or through e-invoicing networks such as Peppol, and brings them together in one location.

Artificial intelligence (AI) reads each invoice, codes it to the correct accounts and posting lines, and matches it. New suppliers are screened through a supplier portal before they are paid. Matched low-risk invoices can be approved automatically. Higher-risk invoices are flagged and reach the approver with all the information needed.

Finance leaders can review all payment risks and approve payments in bulk. According to TRAILD’s IFS page, the add-on automatically splits a PDF with several invoices into separate ones.

What does the add-on do, and what stays in IFS Cloud?

Capture, coding, matching and approval happen in the add-on. Purchase orders and receipts stay in IFS Cloud. The add-on compares each invoice line with the order (two-way matching) or with the order and goods receipt (three-way matching).

Price and quantity differences within your tolerance can pass automatically; larger ones go to the right approver. If the receipt is still missing, you save the invoice as a draft. Once the receipt is in IFS, the add-on shows a flag.

Without the add-on, IFS Cloud does its own matching. According to the IFS documentation, it links invoice and order through the purchase order number, with a matching level set per supplier. IFS posts differences within tolerance automatically.

If the invoice arrives before the goods, the match follows once the receipt is registered. The documentation for release 25R1 calls this automatic; according to 25R2, someone should run the Match Invoices with new PO Receipts wizard.

Where is the fraud risk, from supplier to bank?

The risk sits with the supplier, the invoice and the payment file. In business email compromise, criminals pose as a supplier and ask for new payment details, TRAILD explains. The add-on checks a supplier’s bank account, business credentials and identity before payment, and alerts you to changes.

Every invoice also gets an automatic risk check for duplicates, unusually high amounts and altered bank details.

TRAILD lists its payment service, TRAILD Pay, only for the US, Canada and Australia. If you send SEPA payment files from IFS to your bank without a cryptographic signature or end-to-end SSL connection, a risk remains. These XML files are relatively easy to alter, and IFS does not protect them against tampering by default.

With Eqeep’s hash code solution, IFS calculates a SHA-256 code when it creates the file. If the bank’s code matches, the file is unchanged. Read how hash codes protect your SEPA payments.

Who is your point of contact?

Eqeep is your single point of contact for process design, installation and configuration. We design and build the finance processes in IFS Cloud and then install the add-on, developed by TRAILD. IFS Cloud becomes the central place for invoices from e-invoicing networks and other sources, which reduces manual work. The finance team keeps sight of which invoices need action.

How does Eqeep set up the add-on?

Here too we follow our Solution Design Team methodology. In Analysis & Design, we work with your team to identify where invoice processing causes bottlenecks, errors or excess manual work.

In Implementation & Realisation, we configure the add-on to fit your finance processes in IFS. In Development & Optimisation, we evaluate how invoices are reviewed and validated and make improvements where needed. In Training & Education, we prepare the finance team for the new way of working.

People decide: before configuration, your finance team settles these choices.

• Which purchases run through an order and a registered receipt, so the add-on can match them.
• The tolerance for price and quantity differences.
• Which invoices may pass automatically, and at what amount or risk senior management reviews them.
• Who picks up an invoice without an order or receipt: accounts payable, purchasing or the warehouse.

“We’re very pleased to collaborate with Eqeep,” says Warren Steinberg, Director of Growth EMEA at TRAILD. “Together we offer IFS customers a combined offering that includes experienced implementation along with automated accounts payable capabilities. This allows finance departments to spend less time on manual invoice handling while retaining control.”

Do you want to see how the add-on works in IFS Cloud? Book a demo.

When does the add-on make little difference?

When your business buys little against purchase orders, or handles only a few invoices. If you buy a lot without orders, the gain lies mainly in capture, coding and approval.

With few invoices, the set-up effort can outweigh the time saved. Measure the processing time and cost per invoice first, so you can see the result after go-live. Start with an analysis.

Questions about supplier invoice processing in IFS Cloud

Does the add-on work with IFS Applications 10?

That is not confirmed. TRAILD only describes an integration with IFS Cloud. If you still run IFS Applications 10, check this first. Read how to plan your IFS Applications 10 migration.

What happens to an invoice that does not match?

It goes to a person. In the add-on, it goes to the right approver with the difference shown. If the receipt is missing, it can go to purchasing or the warehouse. If you match in IFS itself, the invoice line gets a status such as Unable to Match.

How do you avoid paying an invoice twice?

By matching and checking for duplicates. The add-on compares every incoming invoice with past transactions and flags a duplicate before payment. According to IFS, matching also prevents paying twice for the same parts or paying for returned goods.

Tell us where you stand with IFS. After one conversation you will have a clear next step. Discuss your IFS question

About Eqeep

Eqeep is an IFS Specialized Partner based in Utrecht. Eqeep helps organisations with analysis and design, implementation, optimisation, managed services and training for IFS.

About TRAILD

TRAILD is a Premier IFS ISV Partner and a cloud-based accounts payable platform that integrates with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. TRAILD automates the whole process from invoice capture to payment and receives e-invoices through multiple networks. It uses AI to improve operational efficiency and financial control, with fraud detection built in from the start.