Why your invoicing works differently
A full time self-employed person invoices every week and has set aside time for it. Your rhythm is nothing like that. You might send three invoices in a month, sometimes none at all, then five in the same week because a client hands you a large project.
That irregularity makes classic accounting packages awkward. They assume you work in them daily and know the vocabulary. You open one every six weeks and have to hunt for where everything is all over again.
What you actually need is short: an invoice that is legally in order, numbering without gaps, and somewhere for your expenses to land before the receipts go missing.
If it is the status itself you are unsure about, start with the page covering the conditions, contributions and ceilings instead. This page is about the tool, not the status.
Simplicity: an invoice in two minutes
For your first invoice you enter your details and your client's. From the second onwards you pick the client from a list, type what you delivered and send. The number is assigned automatically, in order, with no spreadsheet to maintain.
The legal mentions are there by default. If you benefit from the exemption scheme, the right wording appears on the invoice without you digging for it on a forum.
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An invoice number that keeps running, even after three months without invoicing.
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Your company number and your client's, filled in from the Belgian company register.
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A pdf you email, or a Peppol delivery to companies and public bodies.
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Your expenses photographed with your phone, then read and sorted.
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A reminder that leaves on its own when a client misses the due date.
Recording expenses pays off twice in your case. Your social contributions are calculated on net income, so after deducting professional expenses. Every receipt you skip raises the base you will settle on later.
Price: what you actually pay
Subscriptions start at 19 euros excluding VAT per month, with no commitment, and you can try it for fourteen days without a bank card. The amount depends on the modules you switch on: if you only invoice, you pay for neither a till nor stock management.
Put that next to what half an hour of your time is worth and the sum is quickly done. One forgotten client reminder usually costs you more than a year of subscription.
The table below helps you choose based on what you do today, not on what you might be doing in three years.
What you need based on what you invoice
| Your situation |
What you switch on |
| A few invoices a month to private customers |
Invoicing only, with automatic numbering and the exemption wording |
| Invoices to companies or public bodies |
Invoicing with Peppol delivery, mandatory between Belgian companies since 2026 |
| Plenty of purchases and equipment |
Invoicing and expense management, since every receipt lowers the net income your contributions are based on |
| Turnover above 25,000 € a year |
Invoicing with VAT tracking and periodic returns |
If your situation changes mid year, you adjust the modules. You are not stuck with a plan you picked back when you had two clients.
The exemption scheme and the 25,000 € threshold
Most student entrepreneurs and side business owners start under the small business exemption scheme. You charge no VAT and file no periodic return, but you recover nothing on your purchases either.
That scheme holds as long as your annual turnover stays below 25,000 €. Above it you become VAT liable, and that happens by accident more often than by choice: one last assignment in December that tips the total over.
Your turnover therefore stays visible on screen. You see the threshold coming well before you reach it, and you can still push an invoice into January or prepare the switch.
If you mostly work for companies that recover VAT themselves, check whether the exemption really benefits you. Becoming VAT liable gives you the right to reclaim VAT on your equipment.
Peppol, side business included
Since 2026, invoicing between Belgian companies runs through structured electronic invoices on the Peppol network. The obligation makes no distinction based on the size of your activity: invoicing a company as a side business puts you under it too.
In practice you barely notice. You click send and the invoice leaves in the right format for your client's address. A pdf by email remains fine for private customers.
If a client asks for your Peppol identifier, it is simply your company number in the right notation. No separate subscription needed for it.
When your business grows
The student entrepreneur status ends around your twenty fifth birthday or when your studies finish. A side business can turn into your main activity. In both cases your social situation changes considerably, while your invoicing can stay exactly the same.
Your history comes along: same clients, same numbering, same accounting export for your accountant. That matters, because your first years of figures serve as the basis for the adjustments that land two to three years later.
Frequently asked questions
Do I really need invoicing software as a student entrepreneur?
Legally no: an invoice made in Word is valid as long as it carries every mandatory mention. In practice things go wrong on the numbering and on keeping your expenses. Software takes over precisely those two jobs.
What does Novadesko cost for a side business?
Subscriptions start at 19 euros excluding VAT per month, with no commitment, and you choose which modules run. The trial lasts fourteen days and asks for no bank card.
Do I have to charge VAT as a student entrepreneur?
Not if you benefit from the small business exemption scheme and stay below 25,000 € of turnover a year. Your invoices then mention the exemption. Above that you become VAT liable, with periodic returns.
Can I use Peppol with a side business?
Yes, and since 2026 it is the rule for invoices addressed to Belgian companies. Your company number is enough as an identifier on the network.
Can my accountant look into the file?
You give them access or you send an accounting export. Most side business owners keep an accountant for the annual return, which works out cheaper when the books are already clean.
What happens if my side business becomes my main activity?
Your social contributions change, your invoicing does not. Clients, numbering and history stay in place, and you simply update your status with your social insurance fund.
See also
The thresholds, ceilings and amounts on this page are indexed every year. Check them with your social insurance fund, with the FPS Finance or with your accountant before you decide.
