What free means in accounting
On the Belgian market, four very different things carry the same label. The first is the free trial: the complete product, for a limited period. The second is the capped free version, often restricted to a handful of invoices per month or to a single client. The third is the free module inside a wider offer, free because everything else is billed. The fourth is the genuinely free tool, usually a spreadsheet or an official form.
The confusion costs time. You record two months of expenses in a free version, then discover that exporting your data or filing the VAT return sits behind the subscription. The work is done, but you either start again elsewhere or pay without having compared anything.
Novadesko took the first route, with no capped free version. Fourteen days of full access, no credit card, then a subscription if the software suits you. The rest of this page sets out exactly what that covers.
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Free trial: every feature, for a limited time.
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Capped free version: a few documents a month, features held back.
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Free module: one piece given away, the rest billed.
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Genuinely free tool: spreadsheet, invoice template, official form.
One question usually settles the debate: what happens to your data the day you leave? If you can take everything with you, a trial commits you to nothing.
The 14 day free trial at Novadesko
The trial runs for fourteen days and gives you the real product, not a frozen demo. You create your own clients, send your own invoices and photograph your own receipts. That is the only way to know whether a piece of software holds up in your line of work.
No credit card is requested when you sign up. At the end of the fourteen days nothing is charged automatically: you decide whether to subscribe or to stop. Do nothing and you pay nothing.
Documents created during the trial are not lost if you subscribe afterwards: you carry on in the same file, with the same invoice numbering. If you stop, you can export your data and your supporting documents before access closes.
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Fourteen days of access, no credit card at sign-up.
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No automatic charge at the end of the period.
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Your real invoices and real receipts, not a demonstration dataset.
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The same file if you subscribe, a full export if you stop.
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Support reachable during the trial and afterwards.
The best test takes twenty minutes: record three real expenses, invoice an actual client and watch the VAT balance update. You will know straight away whether the tool speaks your language.
Testing without accounting knowledge
Most self-employed people who land here have never sat through an accounting class. They do not need to. There is no chart of accounts to memorise and no debit to line up against a credit: you issue an invoice, you photograph a receipt, and the software files the underlying work where it belongs.
Invoicing and bookkeeping live in the same file, and that is where most of the effort disappears. A sent invoice lands straight in your turnover, a scanned purchase invoice lands in your expenses, and the VAT balance moves with them. Nothing gets typed twice, and you do not wait until the end of the quarter to know where you stand.
Unsure about an entry? Leave it pending. Your accountant sees the file through the practice portal and fixes what needs fixing. That is the honest way to use a trial: do the part you understand, and leave the awkward cases to someone who handles them daily.
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Invoices in Dutch, French or English, with the legal mentions already in place.
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Receipts photographed in the app, with the figures read automatically.
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VAT rates suggested from your activity, with a balance that follows live.
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Electronic invoices sent and received over Peppol, with no technical setup.
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Your accountant watching and correcting, without you forwarding anything.
No accounting knowledge needed does not mean alone in front of the screen. If you would rather grasp the logic first, our guide to bookkeeping without accounting knowledge starts from scratch.
What stays free for good
Some things are not free only during the trial: they stay free for as long as you are a customer. That is where other vendors often hide their extra fees, so that is where to look before comparing two monthly prices.
Your accountant's access is one of them. Your practice opens your file from its portal, reviews the documents and pulls the entries, without paying a licence of its own. Many tools charge for that access, sometimes per file.
Updates too. When Belgian rules change, for VAT as well as for e-invoicing, the compliance work arrives inside your subscription, with no new version to buy and no migration fee.
Free, included or paid at Novadesko
| Item |
Status |
| 14 day trial, every feature |
Free, no credit card |
| Your accountant's access to the file |
Free, no licence for the practice |
| Legal updates, VAT and Peppol |
Included in the subscription |
| Mobile app |
Included in the subscription |
| Support by chat, email and phone |
Included in the subscription |
| Export of your data and documents |
Free, including if you leave |
| Using the software after the trial |
Paid, from 19 € excl. VAT per month |
| Add-on modules and hardware |
Paid, activated on request |
Always compare the full price: subscription, accountant access, updates and support. A low headline rate becomes expensive once those three lines are billed separately.
What you pay for, and why
After the trial, using the software becomes paid. Plans start at 19 € excluding VAT per month, with no minimum term, and you pick one based on what you actually manage: invoicing alone, bookkeeping and VAT, or full management with stock, a till and a team.
The principle is simple: the price follows usage, not the number of features printed on a sales page. A freelancer invoicing a few clients a month does not pay what a shop with a till and three users pays.
Specific needs go through add-on modules such as the point of sale, the AI assistant or electronic signatures. You switch them on when you need them, and not before. Regulated hardware for the hospitality sector, the fiscal data module of the certified cash register scheme, also remains a separate cost, since it is physical equipment.
The subscription is monthly and commitment free: you can stop, and your data stays exportable. That is the honest counterweight to paid software, and the real difference with a free tool that holds your documents hostage.
For tax purposes, a subscription to professional software is a deductible expense, and the VAT is recoverable if you are VAT registered with a right to deduct. The real cost is therefore lower than the listed price.
The genuinely free alternatives
Let us be straightforward: there are ways to keep your books without paying for software, and they suit certain profiles. A spreadsheet, a well ordered folder of receipts and a return filed through Intervat are enough when the business is small and steady.
The limits appear quickly. A spreadsheet guarantees neither continuous invoice numbering, nor the retention of supporting documents, nor the reception of electronic invoices through the Peppol network, now the standard between Belgian businesses. Every copying mistake costs time, and sometimes lost VAT.
Public services do offer genuinely free tools: Intervat for VAT, Biztax for companies, the business counter for formalities. They handle the filing, not the day to day bookkeeping. And it is precisely that day to day part that software automates.
What each free solution covers
| Solution |
What it does well |
Where it stops |
| Spreadsheet and invoice templates |
No cost, usable straight away |
Numbering, receipts, VAT and Peppol all handled by hand |
| Intervat and Biztax |
Official filing of returns, free of charge |
No day to day bookkeeping, no receipts kept |
| A vendor's capped free version |
Enough for a few invoices |
Monthly cap, features held back, export often paid |
| A full free trial |
A test in real conditions on your own documents |
Limited duration, subscription afterwards |
Our guide to doing your own bookkeeping sets out the full method, including for those who would rather stay with a spreadsheet for a few more months.
Judging a free offer in ten minutes
A free offer is judged on what it does not say. Four questions are usually enough to know whether the advertised free will hold until your next VAT return.
First ask what happens at the end of the period: an automatic charge, or your own decision. Then ask whether your data can leave, and in which format. Finally check who pays for your accountant's access, and whether Belgian compliance, VAT and Peppol, is part of the base offer.
If the four answers suit you, the trial carries no risk. If not, better to know before spending an evening on data entry.
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Credit card requested at sign-up, yes or no.
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Automatic charge at the end of the trial, yes or no.
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Export of your invoices, purchases and receipts when you leave.
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Accountant access included or billed separately.
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Belgian VAT compliance and Peppol reception inside the price.
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Support reachable in your language, in French or Dutch.
Frequently asked questions
Is Novadesko accounting free?
It is free for fourteen days, with every feature and no credit card. After that period, use becomes paid from 19 € excluding VAT per month. There is no capped free version, because an invoice limit mostly creates disappointment after three weeks.
Do I need accounting knowledge to use Novadesko?
No. You work with invoices, receipts and clients, not with debits and credits. The software suggests the VAT rates, keeps the numbering in order and updates the balance as you go. For the doubtful cases, your accountant steps into the same file.
Can I send real invoices during the free period?
Yes. The trial opens the full invoicing software: your own clients, your own numbering, your own layout. Those invoices are valid and stay in place if you subscribe afterwards.
Do I need a credit card for the free trial?
No. Signing up requires no credit card and nothing is charged at the end of the fourteen days. If you do not subscribe, access simply stops, with no invoice and no chasing.
What happens to my data at the end of the trial?
If you subscribe, you carry on in the same file, with your clients, your invoices and their numbering. If you stop, you can export your documents and receipts before access closes. Either way, your data belongs to you.
Is there genuinely free accounting software in Belgium?
There are free public tools, such as Intervat for filing the VAT return, and homemade spreadsheet solutions. They cover the filing or the calculation, not the day to day bookkeeping, the retention of receipts or the reception of electronic invoices through Peppol.
Does my accountant have to pay to access my file?
No. Access to the practice portal is free for accounting firms: only your subscription is billed. Your accountant reviews the documents and pulls the entries in the format of their own software.
Can I test with no obligation, even as a side business?
Yes, and it is a common profile. Fourteen days is more than enough to cover one invoicing cycle on the side. Our page for people self-employed on the side explains what differs from a main activity.
Does the free trial include Peppol e-invoicing?
Yes, the trial gives you the complete product, including sending and receiving electronic invoices. Since 2026, invoices between Belgian businesses travel through the Peppol network, so testing software without that part would make little sense.
Does the subscription tie me to a minimum term?
No, the subscription is monthly with no minimum term. You can stop whenever you want and take your data and documents with you when you go.
Is the cost of the software deductible?
A subscription to professional management software is a deductible expense, and the VAT is recoverable if you are VAT registered with a right to deduct. Your accountant will confirm the exact treatment for your regime.
See also
Prices and plan contents can change over time. The pricing page always prevails, and your bookkeeping obligations should be checked with the FPS Finance or with your accountant.
