An electronic invoice is not a PDF
Plenty of freelancers are convinced they made the move long ago. No paper, no envelope, a document sent by email: the invoice certainly looks electronic. In legal terms it is not. An electronic invoice is a file of structured data, where every piece of information sits in a defined field that the recipient's software recognises on its own.
The whole difference comes down to who reads the document. A PDF is written for a human eye: somebody opens it, finds the amount and retypes it into their accounting tool. A structured file is written for a machine. The amount excluding VAT, the rate applied, the due date and your bank account are each tagged as such, and your customer's software files them where they belong.
You will barely notice any of that machinery. You fill in your invoice the way you always have, you click send, and the software builds the file in the background. What does change is what happens at the other end: no attachment to process by hand, just a document dropping into your customer's accounts.
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A structured file, issued, transmitted and received in electronic form.
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Tagged fields: customer, dates, lines, VAT rates, total, payment reference.
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Automatic processing at the receiving end, with no rekeying.
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A courtesy PDF may travel alongside, but it is no longer the official document.
PDF invoice and electronic invoice, where they part ways
|
PDF or scanned invoice |
Structured electronic invoice |
| Readable by |
Whoever opens it |
The recipient's software |
| Processing at the customer |
Retyped by hand |
Filed automatically in the accounts |
| Route |
Inbox, with a risk of junk mail |
Peppol network, with an acknowledgement |
| Errors in amounts |
Common when rekeying |
Impossible, the data stays intact |
| Status between Belgian businesses |
A plain copy since 2026 |
The official document |
A scan of a paper invoice and a PDF from your word processor are both paper in disguise. Neither counts as an electronic invoice under Belgian rules.
Electronic invoice, e-invoicing, structured invoice
Several terms float around for the same thing, which helps nobody. The electronic invoice is the document itself. Electronic invoicing covers the whole process, from drafting to sending to filing in the accounts. E-invoicing is simply the short form that software vendors and accounting firms use. Structured invoice puts the emphasis on the shape of the file.
Peppol joins that list without being a synonym. Peppol is the network these invoices travel on in Belgium. The comparison with a bank transfer works rather well: your payment is a transfer, the interbank network is what carries it. Nobody says they are doing a Swift when they pay a supplier.
That leaves two acronyms you will meet in documentation. UBL is the grammar of the file, an agreed way of naming each piece of data so that every program understands it. Peppol BIS 3.0 is the exact flavour used on the Belgian network. You never have to write either of them, but knowing what they are saves a small panic when a supplier brings them up.
If your software vendor talks about electronic invoicing without ever naming the format produced, ask. A secure email is not the same thing as a structured transmission over the network.
What Belgian law has required since 2026
Since 1 January 2026, an invoice from one Belgian VAT registered business to another has to leave in structured form. Company size plays no part: a side business with a VAT number sits under the same rule as a company of thirty people.
Some situations fall outside the scope. Your sales to private customers carry on exactly as before, receipts and PDFs included. A customer based abroad follows the rules of their own country, even though plenty of European buyers have taken up Peppol of their own accord. Anyone whose activity consists solely of transactions exempt under article 44 is not covered for sending either.
The part everyone forgets is receiving. Your suppliers send structured invoices too, and if nothing is open on your side, their invoice arrives nowhere. An invoice that never enters your accounts is deductible VAT you quietly give up.
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Covered: invoices between Belgian VAT registered businesses for transactions in Belgium.
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Outside the scope: sales to private customers and activity limited to article 44 exempt transactions.
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Receiving falls under the same obligation as sending.
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No turnover threshold exempts you from the rule.
Small business exemption scheme, non profit, mixed activity or a branch abroad: those are the cases where confusion reigns. Have your accountant confirm your position before concluding that you have nothing to do.
Where Peppol comes in
A structured file still has to get somewhere. That is where Peppol comes in: a European document exchange network that Belgium adopted as the standard route between businesses. Every participant is listed in a directory under an identifier, in Belgium the 0208 scheme matching your company number.
The model resembles registered post. Your software hands the invoice to an access point, that access point passes it to your customer's access point, which drops it into their accounting program. Each step leaves a trace, so you know whether the document arrived instead of wondering whether your email went to junk.
You do not choose Peppol the way you choose an internet provider. Either your invoicing software is an access point itself, or it rents one from an operator. Both are perfectly defensible, provided it is stated plainly and receiving is not a paid extra on your quote.
Once a quarter, check that your company number still appears correctly in the Peppol directory. Two minutes that save you invoices lost along the way.
What changes in your working week
The common fear is having to relearn everything. In practice, writing an invoice does not shift an inch: you pick your customer, your lines and your VAT rate, and you send. What happens after sending, on the other hand, looks completely different.
The clearest gain is on the purchase side. A supplier invoice arriving in structured form already carries its amount, its rate and its bank details. You confirm the expense category and the document slides into your journal. Over a busy quarter that easily saves an evening of data entry.
There is another effect nobody anticipates until they live it: payment terms shorten. An invoice landing straight in a customer's approval flow does not sit three days on someone's desk. With large organisations and the public sector, the difference runs into weeks.
Before and after, on the paperwork side
| The task |
Before |
Now |
| Sending an invoice |
Export to PDF, write an email, attach |
One click from the invoice |
| Knowing it arrived |
Chase and hope |
Acknowledgement from the network |
| Recording a purchase invoice |
Read, retype, file |
Confirm the expense category |
| Preparing the VAT return |
Gather scattered documents |
The journals are already filled in |
| Passing it to your accountant |
One batch at the end of the quarter |
Permanent access to the file |
Keep sending a readable PDF to customers who like receiving one. Nothing prevents it, as long as the official invoice leaves in structured form.
Sending your first structured invoice
The switch takes less work than feared. A freelancer with their details at hand gets through it in half a morning, first real invoice included. A company with a product catalogue and hundreds of customers should count on a full day.
Start with the dullest part, your company details. Correct company number, full address, bank account, default VAT rate: that is what feeds the structured file, and one missing item blocks the send. Then activate your identifier under the 0208 scheme, import your customer list and see who is already reachable on the network.
Finish with the only test that counts: a real invoice to a real customer you know is connected. The acknowledgement coming back tells you more than any help page, this one included.
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Complete your company details before anything else.
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Activate your Peppol identifier under the 0208 scheme, your company number.
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Import your customers and spot the ones already in the directory.
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Send one real invoice and wait for the acknowledgement.
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Open the reception of purchase invoices and test it with a regular supplier.
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Agree with your accountant on how they collect your documents.
At Novadesko your Peppol identifier is activated in one click from the dashboard, sending and receiving are included in every plan, and access for your accountant is free.
Frequently asked questions
Is a PDF sent by email an electronic invoice?
No. A PDF remains a picture of the document, readable by a person but not usable by software. An electronic invoice is a structured file where every item of data is tagged. You may keep attaching a PDF for your customer's comfort, as long as the official invoice leaves in structured form.
What is the difference with a scanned invoice?
Scanning means capturing a paper document to keep a copy of it. The invoice stays an image and nobody can process it automatically. An electronic invoice is born as data and has never existed on paper.
Do I need particular software to send one?
You need an invoicing program connected to the Peppol network, either because it is an access point itself or because it uses one. A spreadsheet or a word processor produces no structured file, however careful the layout.
How do I know whether my customer can receive electronic invoices?
Your software queries the Peppol directory using their company number and answers immediately. If they are not listed, the invoice goes out the traditional way with nothing extra from you, and sending switches to the network the day they register.
Does an electronic invoice have to be signed?
An electronic signature is not required in Belgium for an invoice between businesses. What matters is being able to guarantee the origin, the integrity of the content and the readability of the document. Travelling over the network and keeping the original file answer that.
How long must electronic invoices be kept?
Books and invoices have to be kept for ten years. Preferably keep the structured file as it was issued or received, not only a printed version. Good software handles that and lets you export everything whenever you want.
Do the same rules apply to credit notes?
Yes, a credit note follows the invoice it corrects and therefore leaves in structured form to a Belgian VAT registered customer. It takes the same route and carries the reference of the original document.
What if I mostly invoice private customers?
Your way of working does not change for those sales. Opening reception is still worth it, because your own suppliers will send their invoices in structured form and you have every interest in receiving them properly.
Worth reading too
Belgian electronic invoicing rules are still moving, in particular on deadlines and support measures. This page is kept up to date, but your own situation is best confirmed with your accountant or the FPS Finance.
