Sole traders and freelancers on Peppol in Belgium: duties and setup

If you work for yourself in Belgium, as a sole trader, a freelancer or a self-employed person with a secondary activity, the e-invoicing rules apply to you as they apply to companies. When you invoice a business established in Belgium and registered there for VAT, the legal invoice is a structured e-invoice, sent over Peppol by default, and you must be able to receive such invoices from your own suppliers. Having no staff, a small turnover or the small business exemption makes no difference.

This guide helps you decide what applies to you and set up both sending and receiving in OrdoGrid. The detailed setup is in set up Peppol in OrdoGrid, your first send in send your first Peppol invoice and franchise invoices in small business VAT exemption: invoicing. Peppol labels stay French in every interface language; translations are in brackets.

Does the obligation apply to you?

What the law requires. Since 1 January 2026, article 53 §2bis of the VAT Code (Law of 6 February 2024, amended by the Law of 10 February 2026) obliges a taxable person established in Belgium to issue a structured electronic invoice for supplies made under its Belgian VAT number to a taxable person established in Belgium that must give its Belgian VAT number. That customer must be able to receive it. Peppol BIS over the Peppol network is the default (art. 13ter Royal Decree no. 1); another EN 16931 format needs an agreement. Nothing depends on legal form, size or turnover.

A sole trader is a natural person registered at the KBO/BCE (Crossroads Bank for Enterprises); the VAT number is BE followed by the ten-digit enterprise number. Your duties depend on your VAT regime:

Sources: the FPS Finance scope page (French) and the B2B FAQ, whose question 2 reads: ‘The obligation applies if you make use of the exemption scheme for small businesses’. The table is the same for a secondary activity. Unsure which row is yours? Ask your accountant first.

Which clients get a Peppol invoice?

The fallback is article 53 §2bis, sixth paragraph, applied by FPS Finance since 1 January 2026 and laid down in law since 20 February 2026. Details and evidence: client not on Peppol.

What you need: one Peppol ID, sending and receiving

Peppol ID

Your address on the Peppol network. For a Belgian sole trader it is 0208, a colon and the ten digits of the enterprise number, for example 0208:1023458777 for VAT number BE 1023.458.777. It is never your national register number.

• The ID. FPS Finance requires every Belgian business on Peppol to be registered at least under scheme 0208 with its enterprise number; providers are contractually bound to do it. A provider may add your VAT number under scheme 9925 as an extra identifier. Suppliers can deliver to your enterprise number without asking for a Peppol ID, and you should not ask your clients for one either (B2B FAQ, question 15).
• Sending. Invoicing software that produces Peppol BIS invoices and hands them to a certified access point. OrdoGrid connects to Peppol through a certified access point.
• Receiving. Only one provider receives for your ID at a time. If your accountant's software or your bank has already registered you, keep that registration and send from OrdoGrid in send-only mode.
• Checking. On lookup.peppol.org, the tool FPS Finance points to, enter 0208: and the enterprise number: it shows whether an ID can receive, not whether it can send. The Peppol Directory (directory.peppol.eu), a separate public listing, is voluntary and updated with a delay: a missing entry there does not mean you cannot be reached.

If you lack the technical means to issue and receive structured invoices, the fine is €1,500 for a first infringement, €3,000 for a second and €5,000 for each further one (annex to Royal Decree no. 44, completed by the Royal Decree of 8 July 2025). The first-quarter 2026 tolerance ended on 31 March 2026.

Set up OrdoGrid in six steps

1. Check your company profile. In Profil entreprise (company profile; only owners and administrators can edit it), enter your VAT number in Numéro de TVA (Optionnel). It must start with BE: OrdoGrid sends on Peppol only for Belgian VAT numbers. Under Nom de l'entreprise we recommend your name as registered at the KBO/BCE: OrdoGrid publishes it on Peppol when you activate reception.
2. Sign the authorisation. Open Invoicing → Peppol: until you have signed, it shows Autorisation Peppol. Check Nom complet du signataire (signatory's full name), tick the confirmation and click Signer et confirmer l'autorisation (sign and confirm). This is a typed name and a ticked box, not a qualified electronic signature.
3. Choose reception. On Réception Peppol, OrdoGrid looks up your number. With Pas encore trouvé sur le réseau Peppol (not yet found), click Activer la réception (activate reception): OrdoGrid registers 0208: plus your enterprise number. With Déjà inscrit sur le réseau Peppol (already registered), another provider receives for you: click Continuer en envoi seul (continue send-only), or move your inbox as set up Peppol in OrdoGrid explains.
4. Check the result. On Peppol → Statut: Envoi (Outbox) shows Autorisé (authorised); Réception (Inbox) shows Enregistré (registered), or Non enregistré in send-only mode; the mode badge reads Envoi + réception or Envoi seul. Annuaire Peppol (Peppol directory) shows your Identifiant Peppol (Peppol ID).
5. Prepare your clients. In Base Clients, click Ajouter un client, choose Assujetti à la TVA (VAT-registered) or Particulier under Type de client and type the N° de TVA; for Belgian numbers OrdoGrid fills in name and address from the Registre belge (BCE). Peppol is checked when you send, not here.
6. Send. Create the invoice with Nouvelle facture, click Envoyer, keep Envoi électronique via Peppol ticked and click Sauvegarder & Envoyer (save and send). In Peppol → Outbox, Traité means delivered on the network, not accepted or paid. Delivery usually takes minutes to a couple of hours; FPS Finance advises contacting your provider if delivery takes longer than one working day.

OrdoGrid has no Peppol test mode: your first send reaches your client, so check the invoice with Aperçu du PDF (PDF preview) first. As of October 2026, the pricing page lists unlimited reception and one Peppol send per month on the Free plan; a further send that month shows Limite du plan gratuit atteinte (free plan limit reached). Plans: Billing & Subscription in the profile menu.

Worked example: Léa Dumont, graphic designer in Liège

Léa Dumont is a sole trader in Liège: enterprise number 1023.458.777, VAT number BE 1023.458.777, normal VAT regime, documents in French. Her Peppol ID is 0208:1023458777. She works for an events agency, private couples and, now and then, a Dutch agency.

Léa can be found, has sent one structured invoice and has received one. Had she been on the Free plan, F-2026-0042 would have used October's Peppol send, and sending F-2026-0044 over Peppol too would show Limite du plan gratuit atteinte.

Variants. Under the franchise, F-2026-0042 would read €1,200.00 with no VAT and the mention ‘Régime particulier de la franchise de taxe’, and would still go over Peppol. OrdoGrid's Régime de la franchise de taxe option prints that mention on her French documents, including the PDF embedded in the Peppol invoice, and sends it in the structured data: in the document-level note (BT-22) and, for VAT category E, as the exemption reason (BT-120) (franchise invoicing). Had her accountant's software already registered her, OrdoGrid would have shown Déjà inscrit sur le réseau Peppol on Monday: she would have continued send-only, and the printer's invoice would have arrived in that software.

Mistakes sole traders make, and what to do instead

Turning your business into a company. A new SRL/BV gets its own enterprise number and therefore its own Peppol ID. In OrdoGrid, create it with Créer une nouvelle entreprise (create a new company), then sign the authorisation and activate reception there. Release reception for your sole-trader number (Libérer la réception on Statut) only when no supplier still has invoices to send to that number, on a date agreed with your accountant.

The 120% deduction for e-invoicing costs

What the law provides. Self-employed people and small companies may deduct 120% of their direct e-invoicing costs for taxable periods 2024 to 2027: invoicing software subscriptions, advisory fees to meet the new obligation, and an e-invoicing surcharge on an existing subscription if shown separately on the invoice. Depreciation never qualifies (Law of 6 February 2024; FPS Finance incentives page, French).

Example: a subscription of €15.00 a month excluding VAT, €180.00 for 2026, gives a deduction of €216.00 instead of €180.00. Keep those invoices separate and ask your accountant to claim the deduction.

Evidence to keep

What the law requires. Keep invoices sent and received for seven years from 1 January of the year after their date (art. 60 VAT Code, as amended by the Law of 18 December 2025): F-2026-0042 until 31 December 2033, with authenticity, integrity and legibility guaranteed throughout.

What OrdoGrid keeps. Your authorisation (signer, statement, VAT number, date) and, for each Peppol send, the exact XML and PDF. OrdoGrid is not a legal archive.

What we recommend:

1. A dated screenshot of lookup.peppol.org and of Peppol → Statut after setup and after any provider change.
2. In send-only mode, written confirmation from the provider that receives for you.
3. For each fallback invoice, a dated record that the client could not receive (the Peppol — ignoré message or a lookup screenshot), the email you sent and the client's agreement to receive PDFs by email.
4. Each month, a ZIP of your Peppol documents (select the rows on the Peppol page and download): it contains the original XML, which we strongly recommend keeping.
5. The invoices for your e-invoicing costs, for the 120% deduction.

FAQ

Do sole traders and freelancers have to use Peppol in Belgium?

Yes, if you are established in Belgium, registered for VAT and invoice businesses established and VAT-registered in Belgium: since 1 January 2026 those invoices must be structured, over Peppol by default. You must also be able to receive. Legal form, size and turnover make no difference. Exceptions: under the flat-rate (forfait) regime you need not send but must be able to receive; under the special agricultural regime you must be able to receive and issue no invoices for the regime supplies (the buyer documents them with a purchase slip), but the duty to send applies to supplies outside the regime; with only art. 44-exempt supplies, neither duty applies.

I am under the small business exemption: do I have to send Peppol invoices?

Yes. FPS Finance states that the obligation applies to the franchise scheme. Your invoices to Belgian VAT-registered businesses go over Peppol without VAT and with the franchise mention, and you must be able to receive.

Is my VAT number or my national register number my Peppol ID?

Your Belgian Peppol ID is 0208 followed by your ten-digit enterprise number, the digits of your VAT number without BE. Your national register number is never used. A provider may add your VAT number under scheme 9925 as an extra identifier.

Most of my clients are private individuals: do I still need Peppol?

Not for those clients: invoices to private individuals are outside the obligation. If you buy from Belgian businesses, though, you must be able to receive their structured invoices.

My supplier still emails me PDF invoices: what should I do?

Ask it to send over Peppol to your enterprise number. A supplier that cannot send risks fines, and you may in principle refuse its invoice, but you keep your VAT deduction on an invoice issued in another form (B2B FAQ, question 7).

A Belgian business client is not on Peppol: can I send a PDF instead?

Yes, if it cannot technically receive: you then issue the invoice on paper or, if the client agrees to electronic delivery on a secure channel, as a PDF by email, and that invoice is valid. Keep proof of the failed check and do not re-send it over Peppol once the client joins.

Can I test Peppol in OrdoGrid before sending a real invoice?

No. OrdoGrid has no Peppol test or sandbox mode, so every send reaches the real recipient. Check the PDF preview, then send a real invoice; to check reception, ask a regular supplier to send its next invoice over Peppol.

Does Peppol send my invoices to the tax administration?

Not today: FPS Finance says no invoice data goes to the administration in the current phase. On 18 July 2026 the Council of Ministers approved a preliminary draft law on near-real-time e-reporting; it is not yet law and has no official start date.