Correct, cancel or credit an issued invoice in Belgium

Once a customer has received an invoice, you no longer change it: you correct it with a credit note that refers to it and, when something has to be invoiced differently, issue a new invoice with a new number. Only a draft that never left OrdoGrid may simply be edited. This guide helps you choose the right correction, apply the Belgian rules and carry it out in OrdoGrid, including the balance and refund that follow.

It is written for Belgian VAT-registered suppliers who invoice from OrdoGrid and for the accountants who check their corrections. If a Peppol send failed rather than the invoice being wrong, follow Fix a failed Peppol send or a rejected Peppol invoice. The XML side of a Peppol credit note is covered in Correct a Peppol invoice with a structured credit note.

Edit, credit, or credit and reissue: decide from the invoice's state

Click the invoice in Invoices (page Factures): its side panel shows the status and the Settlement panel with payments, credits and the balance. OrdoGrid sets Envoyée (sent) when an invoice is emailed or its Peppol send is accepted by the network (not yet by the customer), and a Peppol send also appears in Peppol → Outbox.

Partial credit, full credit or a new invoice: decide from the error

Crediting in full and reissuing when the VAT, regime, customer, address or description changes is our recommendation, not a legal requirement: OrdoGrid has no rectifying document other than a credit note, and each document then carries one consistent customer, taxable amount, rate and total. Your accountant may prefer another method, and may accept a lighter correction for a pure typo.

What Belgian law requires for a credit note

Rectifying document

The legal name (document rectificatif / verbeterend stuk) of a document that corrects an invoice after it was issued. In practice, and in OrdoGrid, it is a credit note.

• When. A rectifying document must be issued when an invoice has to be corrected after issue. It must refer to the invoice it corrects, and you keep a copy (Royal Decree no. 1, art. 12).
• Content. A credit note may take the form of a simplified invoice (art. 13), except when it corrects an operation referred to in art. 14 §3, 15 §§1-2, 25ter or 39bis of the VAT Code (for example a distance sale or an exempt intra-EU supply of goods) or one for which the customer owes the VAT under art. 51 §2 or §4 (for example the construction cocontractant scheme): it must then carry all the mentions of a full invoice (art. 5). A simplified credit note needs at least its date and sequential number; your name, registered office address and VAT number; the customer's VAT number, or failing that its name and full address; the type of goods or services; the taxable amount and total VAT per rate; a specific, unambiguous reference to the original invoice; and the particulars being amended.
• Numbering and books. The number must be sequential and unique, "based on one or several series" (art. 5 §1 1°), and credit notes go in the same outgoing-invoice book as invoices (art. 14 §2). A separate credit-note series is common practice, not a legal requirement; see Invoice numbering in Belgium.
• Format. Since 1 January 2026, a document that modifies a structured e-invoice and refers to it is itself a structured e-invoice, issued in the same format (art. 53 §2bis of the VAT Code, Law of 6 February 2024). In plain terms: a Peppol invoice is corrected with a Peppol credit note (FPS Finance FAQ, Q5). A 2026 credit note for a 2025 PDF invoice has no format requirement: a PDF is fine if the customer accepts it (Q23).
• Wrong recipient. An invoice sent to the wrong company stays in your outgoing books, its VAT is included in your VAT return if VAT is chargeable, and it is corrected with a credit note (Q29). The recipient should reject it, for example with a Peppol Invoice Response RE, and must not book it (Q28).

The VAT refund mention on the customer's copy

When a credit note gives you back VAT you charged (a VAT restitution), Royal Decree no. 4, art. 4 §1, requires you to draw up the rectifying document showing the amount refunded, enter it in a register kept for that purpose and, in the situations referred to in art. 79 of the VAT Code, send the customer a copy bearing this mention:

"T.V.A. à reverser à l'Etat dans la mesure où elle a été initialement déduite"

It means "VAT to be repaid to the State to the extent that it was initially deducted". A customer that deducted the VAT repays it in grid 63 of its VAT return. You recover the VAT in the return for the period in which the reason for the refund arose, not by amending the original return (RD no. 4, art. 5 §1, as replaced by the Royal Decree of 20 February 2004).

Which credit notes fall under art. 79 depends on why the VAT is refunded: confirm it with your accountant. OrdoGrid adds the mention to every credit note that refunds Belgian VAT to a customer with a VAT number. We quote only the French text of the decree, as reproduced in the FPS Finance consolidated compilation of VAT royal decrees; on a credit note in another language, have your accountant check the wording OrdoGrid prints in that language.

What OrdoGrid locks and keeps once an invoice is issued

• Locked amounts. Once an invoice has a recorded payment, or has been prepared or sent on Peppol, its lines, prices, VAT, discounts, customer and number cannot change (error DOCUMENT_FINANCIAL_CONTENTS_LOCKED). Notes and other non-financial fields stay editable. Every credit note is locked the same way from its first save.
• Emailed-only invoices are not locked. Opening one shows Éditer ce document ?, and Éditer quand même (edit anyway) regenerates the PDF on save. The customer keeps the old PDF under the same number, so use it only when you are sure they never received the invoice. If you change lines, amounts or the customer, Original document then shows the new version: OrdoGrid no longer keeps the PDF the customer received.
• The original stays available. Settlement links to Original document (the PDF as issued) and Current statement (a dated statement of payments and credits). For Peppol sends, OrdoGrid archives the exact XML and PDF transmitted, downloadable from Peppol → Outbox.
• Deletion. Only a draft with no payment, Peppol transmission, linked document or payment link can be deleted. A credit note linked to an invoice can never be deleted.

Create and send a credit note in OrdoGrid

You need the owner or administrator role.

1. Start from the invoice. In Invoices (Factures), tick exactly one invoice and click Note de crédit (credit note). Alternatively, open Credit Notes (Notes de Crédit), click Nouvelle note de crédit (new credit note) and pick the invoice in Sélectionner une facture (select an invoice). The screens always start from an invoice that exists in OrdoGrid.
2. Check what is prefilled. The credit note copies the invoice's customer, lines and VAT regime. Facture d'origine (original invoice) shows the original Numéro (number) and Date, and Notes reads "Note de crédit pour la facture" followed by the invoice number. N° proposes the next credit-note number (NC-2026-0001, NC-2026-0002… by default) and Date is today.
3. Set the amount. For a full credit, keep every line. For a partial credit, delete the lines you are not crediting or lower Quantité or Prix Unitaire. Keep amounts positive: the document type makes it a credit. Leave Options de TVA as on the original; if the regime itself was wrong, credit in full and reissue.
4. Write the reason in Notes after the prefilled text, for example "taux de TVA erroné (21 % au lieu de 12 %)" on a French-language document. You do not type the VAT refund mention: OrdoGrid adds it where it applies.
5. Preview with Aperçu du PDF (PDF preview): original number and date, lines, totals. The credit note cannot exceed what remains to be credited on the invoice; otherwise saving fails with the message "The credit note amount exceeds the remaining invoice capacity."
6. Save. From now on the credit note's amounts are fixed, it cannot be deleted, and it already counts against the invoice's balance.
7. Send it the way the original went. Click Envoyer, choose the channel, then click Sauvegarder & Envoyer (Save & Send):
   • Peppol original: keep Envoi électronique via Peppol (electronic sending via Peppol) ticked (OrdoGrid ticks it when it finds the customer on the network) and untick Email, which is pre-ticked when the customer has an email address. From the list, the globe button Envoyer à Peppol sends on Peppol only. Since 8 September 2026, the Belgian Peppol service providers forum has recommended not emailing a second copy to a customer that receives on Peppol, as it can be booked twice (a recommendation, not a prohibition).
   • Emailed original: use Email only.
8. Check delivery in Peppol → Outbox with Vérifier. Traité means delivered over the network, not accepted by the customer.
9. Update the status if you track it. When the credit note is accepted for Peppol delivery, OrdoGrid moves it from Brouillon to Envoyée automatically. Emailing does not change its status, and the other statuses (Traitée…) change only when you set them with Statut.

On Peppol, OrdoGrid sends a UBL CreditNote (type code 381) carrying the original invoice number as the preceding invoice reference (BG-3, BT-25). A credit note refunds nothing by itself: the sidebar's Remboursement (refund) block says so and, for an OrdoGrid invoice, offers Ouvrir la facture d'origine (open the original invoice), where you record the money you pay back, as described next.

How a credit note changes the balance and refunds

Open the original invoice again: its Settlement panel now shows the credit.

Record refund appears only while Refund due is above zero, and the refund you record cannot exceed that amount. Fill in Amount, Method (for example Bank transfer), Occurrence time (UTC) and Reference, then tick I confirm this money has already been received or refunded. Record it only after the money has left your account. A refund or payment recorded by mistake is cancelled with Reverse refund or Reverse payment: OrdoGrid never edits a movement, it adds a reversal that stays visible in Movement history.

OrdoGrid does not offset a credit against another invoice. If the customer would rather deduct the credit from a later invoice than receive a refund, agree it in writing and ask your accountant how to record it; never record a refund that did not happen.

Issue the replacement invoice

1. Create it with Nouvelle facture, or use Dupliquer on the original and correct the copy. A new invoice can also copy lines with Importer depuis une facture.
2. Check that N° shows a new number in the invoice series. Never reuse the credited number: each number must identify one invoice only, and OrdoGrid refuses a number that already exists.
3. Carry over the customer's references: N° bon de commande (PO number) if they use one, the agreed due date, and a new structured communication rather than the credited invoice's one.
4. We recommend a line in Notes such as "Remplace la facture F-2026-0042, créditée par la note de crédit NC-2026-0005", so the customer can match the documents.
5. Send it through the same channel as the credit note.

Worked example 1: wrong VAT rate on a Peppol invoice

Domaine des Hêtres SRL in Durbuy hosts a seminar for Peeters Consultancy BV (Leuven) from 20 to 22 April 2026: 20 room-nights at €50.00. Since 1 March 2026, furnished accommodation is taxed at 12% (previously 6%), but the invoice line kept OrdoGrid's default rate of 21%. The hotel issues its documents in French.

1. Peeters' accountant flags the rate on 28 April; nothing has been paid.
2. In Invoices (Factures), Domaine des Hêtres' bookkeeper ticks F-2026-0042 and clicks Note de crédit. Line, 21% rate and customer are prefilled; she keeps them all.
3. In Notes she writes: "Note de crédit pour la facture F-2026-0042 – taux de TVA erroné (21 % au lieu de 12 %)." OrdoGrid adds "T.V.A. à reverser à l'Etat dans la mesure où elle a été initialement déduite" itself, because the credit note refunds Belgian VAT to a customer with a VAT number.
4. She checks the preview and saves, then in Envoyer keeps Envoi électronique via Peppol ticked, unticks Email and clicks Sauvegarder & Envoyer. The Outbox shows Traité.
5. F-2026-0042 now shows Credits €1,210.00 and Outstanding €0.00, and Annulée in the list.
6. She duplicates F-2026-0042, sets the line to 12%, checks the new number F-2026-0047, adds "Remplace la facture F-2026-0042" and sends it on Peppol. Peeters pays €1,120.00.

Effect on VAT: Domaine des Hêtres recovers €210.00 through the credit note and owes €120.00 on the new invoice, €90.00 less in total. Any part of the €210.00 that Peeters deducted is repaid in grid 63 of its VAT return.

Worked example 2: partial credit after the customer paid

Studio Lambert SRL (Namur) invoices Atelier Claes BV (Ghent) for 10 days of web development at €650.00: invoice F-2026-0051 of 30 April 2026, €6,500.00 + 21% VAT €1,365.00 = €7,865.00. Claes pays in full on 12 May, recorded with Record payment. On 18 May both agree that one day was not delivered.

1. Credit note NC-2026-0006 is created from F-2026-0051 with Quantité lowered from 10 to 1: net €650.00, VAT €136.50, total €786.50. Notes: "Note de crédit pour la facture F-2026-0051 – une journée non prestée"; OrdoGrid adds the VAT refund mention itself.
2. After saving and sending, Settlement on F-2026-0051 shows Invoice total €7,865.00, Payments (including prepayments) €7,865.00, Credits €786.50, Outstanding €0.00 and Refund due €786.50.
3. Studio Lambert transfers €786.50 on 20 May and clicks Record refund: amount 786.50, method Bank transfer, reference "Remboursement NC-2026-0006", confirmation ticked. Completed refunds shows €786.50, and the Refund due row disappears: nothing is owed to the customer any more.

Edge cases and common mistakes

Not a credit note: unpaid invoices and write-offs

A customer who does not pay is not a reason for a credit note: the invoice was correct. Follow up the balance as described in Follow up an invoice and record a partial payment.

• The reminder labels (1er rappel, 2e rappel, Dernier rappel, Recouvrement) and Abandonnée (written off) are for your own follow-up. They send nothing, create no credit note and change no VAT.
• Getting VAT back on an invoice that will never be paid falls under separate restitution rules for a lost claim, with their own conditions. Ask your accountant before you issue any document for it.
• If the customer pays after all, set the Abandonnée invoice back to Brouillon. OrdoGrid asks you to confirm in Reactivate written-off invoice after checking linked credits and accounting entries. Then record the payment.

Evidence to keep

Keep these for 7 years from 1 January of the year after issue (VAT Code art. 60, as amended by the Law of 18 December 2025), and longer for documents tied to VAT revision on immovable property:

• the original invoice: the Original document PDF and, for Peppol, the XML from Peppol → Outbox (keeping the original XML is strongly recommended);
• the credit note PDF and XML, showing the reference to the original;
• the reason: the customer's email, its Peppol response or your written agreement on the reduction;
• for refunds, the bank statement line that matches the Record refund entry;
• the replacement invoice.

Give your accountant the documents together and say which VAT return period the credit note belongs to. For a bulk export, select rows in Factures or Notes de Crédit and click Download (tooltip: Download as ZIP); on the Peppol page, select rows and download a ZIP with xml/ and pdf/ folders. OrdoGrid is not a legal archiving service and gives no retention guarantee.

FAQ

Can I simply edit an invoice the customer has not paid yet?

Only if it was never sent. Once the customer has received it by email or on Peppol, Belgian law requires a rectifying document that refers to it (Royal Decree no. 1, art. 12). OrdoGrid locks the amounts after a Peppol send or a recorded payment; an emailed-only invoice can still be edited, but the customer would keep a different version under the same number.

Do credit notes need their own number series?

No. The law allows one or several series and requires credit notes to be entered in the same outgoing-invoice book as invoices. OrdoGrid uses a separate NC- series by default. You can change its format under Profil entreprise → Formats de numérotation, but each document type keeps its own counter, so keep a prefix distinct from your invoices.

Must the credit note for a Peppol invoice refer to the original?

Yes. It must go through Peppol, in the same format as the original, and Belgian law requires a specific, unambiguous reference to the invoice being corrected. Peppol BIS Billing makes the preceding invoice reference (BG-3) optional, but OrdoGrid always fills it with the original number, and the PDF shows the original number and date.

Do I need the ‘TVA à reverser à l'Etat’ mention on my credit note?

Royal Decree no. 4 requires it on the customer's copy in the situations referred to in art. 79 of the VAT Code, when you recover VAT through the credit note. Confirm with your accountant which credit notes it covers. OrdoGrid adds it automatically to a credit note that refunds Belgian VAT to a customer with a VAT number, on the PDF and in the Peppol XML: you do not need to type it.

The customer already paid. How do I handle the refund?

After the credit note, the invoice's Settlement shows Refund due. Pay the customer, then click Record refund with the amount, method, date and bank reference. Record nothing until the money has actually left your account.

Can I delete a credit note I created by mistake?

No. A credit note linked to an invoice can never be deleted and its amounts are fixed from the first save. Ask your accountant how to undo its effect, for example with a new invoice for the amount credited by mistake.

Does a Peppol rejection cancel my invoice?

No. An Invoice Response RE says the buyer will not process the invoice, but the invoice stays in your outgoing books. Find out why: if it is wrong or was sent to the wrong company, correct it with a full credit note and, where needed, a new invoice.