How to choose e-invoicing software in Belgium: a buyer's checklist

Choose e-invoicing software in Belgium around your actual workflow: how many invoices you send and receive, and how your accountant gets the documents. For transactions within the Belgian B2B mandate, check structured sending and receiving, credit notes and exports of originals. Then compare plan allowances and total cost, rather than the headline price alone. Unlimited receiving may suit a business that invoices occasionally; projects, online payments or an API require different selection criteria.

This guide gives pass/fail criteria, a trial script, the cost lines including the 120% deduction, and a worked selection. It does not rank products. Who is legally in scope is covered in Belgian e-invoicing obligation 2026; how access points work in Peppol access point.

What the law asks of your software

The law regulates invoices, not software, but these rules decide what a tool must handle.

For these flows the structured invoice is the only legal invoice; a PDF copy is optional.

Which capabilities you need

Headcount and legal form do not matter: a sole trader with three business customers needs the same capabilities as a company of fifty.

Must-have criteria and how to test them

Treat each row as a knock-out: if the vendor cannot show it working, the tool is out. Run the tests in this order, in the vendor's demo or with real documents, and note each result with the date. If another provider already receives for you, run test 1 in the vendor's demo account: do not move your live registration just to test a tool.

Why these rows: FPS Finance tells businesses to deliver to the customer's enterprise number without asking for a Peppol ID, to reject a misaddressed invoice with RE, and warns that Peppol does not detect duplicates. Peppol BIS Billing changes twice a year; release 3.0.21 has been mandatory since 17 August 2026, so ask how the vendor keeps up. Peppol's test and production networks are separate, so ask which one the demo uses. "Delivered" means network delivery, not acceptance or payment.

Check the access point claim yourself

Peppol service provider (access point)

A company certified to connect businesses to Peppol. In Belgium it joins OpenPeppol, signs an agreement with the Belgian Peppol Authority (FPS BOSA; FPS Finance from 2027), passes conformance tests, obtains production certificates and is then listed by OpenPeppol and the Belgian authority.

Software can be its own provider or connect through one, embedded or white-label. Both are fine if you can name the provider and check it:

1. Ask the vendor for the legal name of its Peppol service provider.
2. Find it on the OpenPeppol list of certified service providers, which shows whether it is certified as an access point and as an SMP (the register that publishes what you can receive), and which Peppol Authority supervises it.
3. After registration, look yourself up on lookup.peppol.org with 0208: and your enterprise number (FPS Finance's own example: 0208:0308357159). It shows what you can receive, not whether you can send.
4. Do not rely on the Peppol Directory: listing is voluntary and delayed, so it neither proves nor disproves delivery.

Belgian rules require providers to register every Belgian participant under its enterprise number (scheme 0208). The VAT number (scheme 9925) may be added, but not in its place.

The certification that matters is the Peppol provider's. Do not confuse it with two unrelated regimes: FPS Finance does not approve archiving systems at all, and the registered cash register system is a separate regime for till receipts.

Sending and receiving: one provider per document type

Peppol's addressing layer holds one registration per participant identifier: only one provider at a time can receive a given document type for your enterprise number. Sending needs no registration.

Before switching, agree a cut-over date, ask whether both the old and the new provider support the migration key (OrdoGrid does not) and export your archive: switch Peppol access point.

Online, desktop and cash registers

• Online or desktop. Both work if the Peppol path is real: a desktop program connected to a certified provider passes; a cloud tool that only emails PDFs fails.
• Where data is kept. Cloud storage is allowed. A business established in Belgium keeps its invoices in Belgium unless it has full online access to them from Belgium, and needs a backup (FPS Finance archiving guidance).
• Cash register. A till receipt does not replace the invoice you owe a business customer (FPS Finance FAQ). If that customer is a Belgian business, the invoice must be structured, so a shop selling to businesses needs both functions.

Costs: what you actually pay

You do not buy a "Peppol ID" from the government: your provider registers your enterprise number as part of its service. You pay for the software and the provider's service, often in one subscription.

The 120% deduction

What the law provides. Small companies and self-employed natural persons can deduct 120% of e-invoicing costs for taxable periods 2024 to 2027 (art. 64ter Income Tax Code 1992, restored by the Law of 6 February 2024). FPS Finance lists periodic subscriptions to invoicing packages, advice incurred specifically to prepare or implement the obligation, and a separately invoiced e-invoicing surcharge on an existing subscription. Depreciation never qualifies, so a capitalised licence does not get the 120%; digital assets acquired from 1 January 2025 can instead qualify for a 20% investment deduction.

What we recommend. Ask the vendor to show e-invoicing costs on separate invoice lines and let your accountant claim the deduction. The FPS page covers only advice for preparing or implementing the obligation; circular 2026/C/46, as summarised by professional sources, excludes advice on choosing a package. Do not count on 120% for selection advice, and confirm with your accountant.

Worked example: Atelier Nord SRL compares four tools

Atelier Nord SRL, a four-person joinery workshop in Namur that counts as a small company for tax purposes, issues about 25 invoices a month (22 to Belgian businesses) and receives about 40 supplier invoices. Until 2025 it emailed PDFs and sent a spreadsheet to its accountant. Prices are illustrative, excluding VAT.

Step 1: knock-outs.

Step 2: weighted score (0 = not shown, 1 = partly, 2 = fully shown; points = weight × score).

C scores 80 out of 100 and D 77.5: close enough for cost to decide.

Step 3: trial documents. With tool C, Atelier Nord sends an invoice it had to issue anyway: F2026-0042 to Studio Berg BV in Ghent for six made-to-measure oak shelves at €110.00, delivered without installation: €660.00 excluding VAT, €138.60 VAT at 21%, €798.60 in total. The tool shows Studio Berg can receive, validates the file and reports delivery the same morning; the XML downloads. Its supplier Houthandel Vermeulen BV sends a purchase invoice of €1,000.00 plus €210.00 VAT, which lands in the inbox with XML and PDF.

Step 4: yearly cost and deduction.

D's larger extra deduction is worth far less than its €180 higher cost, so Atelier Nord chooses C. The extra tax saving from the 120% rule is €152 multiplied by its tax rate; the accountant calculates the exact amount.

How OrdoGrid meets this checklist

Choose the plan that fits your activity

OrdoGrid's free forever plan is not a 14-day trial. It has no expiry and requires no payment card, with unlimited Peppol receiving and one outgoing invoice per month. Check the features you need before choosing:

Paid prices are monthly and exclude VAT. Their 14-day trial is separate from the continuing free plan. Unlimited receiving does not mean unlimited storage on the free plan.

Explore Peppol sending and receiving with OrdoGrid, then compare allowances and pricing. If the offer fits your needs, create a free account.

What OrdoGrid does. OrdoGrid connects to Peppol through a certified access point; it is not itself a Peppol service provider.

The free forever plan does not include credit notes or email sending. To test those features, use a paid plan's 14-day trial: that is not the validity period of the free plan. See OrdoGrid pricing for the conditions and included features.

What OrdoGrid does not do. No Peppol test mode and no migration key: to move reception to OrdoGrid, your old provider must deregister you first. One VAT number can receive in only one OrdoGrid company. There is no purchase ledger or approval workflow, no self-billed invoice issuing, no automatic sending of recurring invoices (they are prepared as drafts), no automatic reminders, no currency selector, no single sign-on or two-factor authentication (roles: Owner, Administrator, Viewer) and no one-click export of the whole account. OrdoGrid is not a certified archive and guarantees no retention period.

To run the trial in OrdoGrid:

1. In Profil entreprise (company profile), enter your BE VAT number in Numéro de TVA (Optionnel).
2. Open Peppol → Autorisation Peppol: type the Nom complet du signataire (signatory's full name), tick the confirmation, click Signer et confirmer l'autorisation. This is a typed name and a checkbox, not a qualified electronic signature.
3. On the Réception Peppol page, click Activer la réception. If it shows Déjà inscrit sur le réseau Peppol, another provider receives for you: choose Continuer en envoi seul (send-only) or have that provider deregister you first.
4. In Peppol → Statut, note the Identifiant Peppol and check it on lookup.peppol.org.
5. Click Envoyer, keep Envoi électronique via Peppol ticked and untick Email, which is pre-ticked whenever the customer has an email address, so the invoice does not go out twice. Then click Sauvegarder & Envoyer (save and send) and follow Peppol → Outbox: Traité means network delivery, not acceptance. Details: first Peppol invoice and set up Peppol in OrdoGrid.

Common mistakes

Evidence to keep

What the law requires. Keep sent and received invoices for 7 years from 1 January after the year of issue, with authenticity of origin, integrity and legibility guaranteed; invoices linked to immovable property may need 15 or 25 years. FPS Finance approves no archiving system, so the responsibility stays yours: invoice archiving.

What we recommend. Keep the dated trial results, the contract naming the Peppol service provider, a lookup.peppol.org screenshot of your registration, any written agreement on a non-Peppol format, the invoices supporting the 120% deduction and the exit procedure.

What OrdoGrid gives you. XML and PDF downloads from Peppol → Outbox, the XML of each received document from Inbox or a ZIP of several (select the rows, then download), and the Statut tab as proof of registration. File them in your own archive.

FAQ

What must e-invoicing software do in Belgium in 2026?

By law, it must let you send and receive Peppol BIS invoices and credit notes, normally through a certified Peppol service provider; a PDF-only tool does not meet the obligation for Belgian B2B invoices. In practice it should also check the customer before sending, keep the original XML (strongly recommended by FPS Finance) and export it to your accountant.

Is Peppol free?

You do not buy a Peppol ID from the government: the provider registers your business. Cost depends on software, volume and features; some plans are free. OrdoGrid offers a free forever plan, with no payment card, unlimited Peppol receiving and one outgoing invoice per month. Credit notes and email sending require a paid plan.

Can I deduct e-invoicing software at 120%?

Yes, as a small company or self-employed person, for subscriptions, implementation advice and a separately invoiced e-invoicing surcharge in taxable periods 2024 to 2027. Depreciation does not qualify. Your accountant claims it.

Can I keep my old tool for receiving and send with a new one?

Yes. Sending needs no registration, and the old provider keeps your 0208 registration for receiving. Customer responses about your invoices then reach you only through the old provider.

How do I switch access point without losing invoices?

Export your archive, agree a cut-over date, and, if both providers support the Peppol migration key, have them use it; otherwise have the old provider deregister you just before the new one registers you. Check lookup.peppol.org the same day.

Is PDF invoicing software still enough?

No, not on its own. A PDF tool can still serve invoices outside the obligation, such as consumer or cross-border invoices, and the fallback invoice for a Belgian customer that technically cannot receive, but you also need the means to send and receive structured invoices.

Does e-invoicing software have to be online?

No. A desktop program connected to a certified Peppol provider is fine, provided it also receives and your invoices stay accessible from Belgium with a backup.

Do sole traders and businesses under the small business exemption need it?

Yes. Size and legal form do not matter, and businesses under the small business exemption issue structured invoices to Belgian business customers and must receive. Only businesses making exclusively art. 44-exempt supplies, and businesses with no seat or fixed establishment in Belgium, fall outside both the issuing and the receiving obligation.