Peppol and e-invoicing: what freelancers and small businesses need to know
Updated on 14 September 2026 · 7 min read
Belgium already requires it, the Netherlands is heading for 2030. E-invoicing via Peppol is coming for everyone with business clients. What an e-invoice actually is, how the Peppol network works, when it becomes mandatory for you, and what you can sort out now so there is nothing to do later.
An e-invoice is not a PDF
An invoice you email as a PDF feels digital, but to your client's computer it is a picture. Someone has to retype the amounts, the VAT number and the due date, or leave it to recognition software that sometimes reads it wrong.
An e-invoice is a structured file in which every piece of data has a fixed place: invoice number, your Chamber of Commerce number, your client's VAT number, each line with its amount and VAT rate. Your client's bookkeeping software reads that file directly, with no retyping and no reading errors. The technical format is called UBL, and the European agreement on what it must contain is called Peppol BIS. You do not need to remember those names; your software creates the file.
What Peppol is
Peppol is the network that delivers e-invoices. Think of it as email: you have an address, you pick a provider, and you can reach everyone on the network, whichever provider the other side uses. Such a provider is called an access point. Bookkeeping software connects to one, so you never notice it.
Your Peppol address is derived from a number you already have. In the Netherlands that is usually your Chamber of Commerce (KvK) number, sometimes your VAT number. Government bodies use their own number, the OIN. To find out whether a client is reachable, you look them up in the public Peppol directory. Your software does that for you.
The network originated in Europe, is run by the OpenPeppol association, and has a supervising authority in each country. In the Netherlands that is the Dutch Peppol Authority, part of the government.
When does it become mandatory?
That differs per country, which is exactly why the subject already matters if you have clients abroad.
| Who | What | Since or from |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch central government | Suppliers must send e-invoices under new procurement contracts | 2017 |
| All Dutch public bodies | Must be able to receive e-invoices | 2019 |
| Belgium | All invoices between VAT-registered businesses via Peppol | 1 January 2026 |
| France | All businesses must be able to receive e-invoices; small businesses send from September 2027 | 1 September 2026 |
| Germany | Receiving mandatory since 2025; sending from 2027 for large and 2028 for all businesses | 2025 to 2028 |
| EU (ViDA) | E-invoicing and digital reporting for invoices between EU countries | 1 July 2030 |
| Netherlands, business to business | E-invoicing via Peppol for all business invoices, phased | 2030 to 2032 (planned) |
For the Netherlands this is still a plan, not a law. In early 2026 the Ministry of Finance commissioned research into the best way to implement the European rules. The advice: mandatory e-invoicing for all invoices between businesses, via Peppol, phased between 2030 and 2032. The bill is expected at the end of 2026. The dates may still shift, but the direction is settled.
Invoices to consumers fall outside all of these plans. If you only invoice private individuals, nothing changes for you for now.
What it already means for you
- Do you have clients in Belgium? Since January 2026 they may no longer accept a PDF invoice from a Belgian supplier. As a Dutch supplier you are formally not obliged, but many Belgian companies ask for it anyway, because their entire purchasing runs through Peppol.
- Do you work for the government? Ministries, provinces, municipalities and water boards have been receiving via Peppol for years and increasingly ask suppliers to use it. They often also require a specific reference on the invoice, such as an order number or the name of a contact person.
- Only Dutch business clients? Then there is nothing to do right now. It is useful to have your client details complete already, see below.
What has to be on an e-invoice
Everything that already belongs on an invoice, but in fixed fields. A few things that tend to be loose on a PDF are mandatory on an e-invoice:
- A reference from your client. An order number, project code or contact person. Without that reference, many organisations reject an e-invoice automatically.
- Your client's Chamber of Commerce or VAT number. That is their address on the network.
- A full address, in separate fields. Street, house number, postcode, city and country, for both you and your client.
- The VAT rate and VAT category per line. With reverse-charged or exempt VAT, the reason has to be included as well.
- Your IBAN, so the payment can be prepared automatically.
How to prepare
You do not need to buy or install anything. What you can do:
- Complete your client details. Ask every business client for their Chamber of Commerce number, VAT number and the reference they want to see on the invoice. Do that when you take on the job, not when you invoice.
- Check your own details. Your Chamber of Commerce number, VAT number, full address and IBAN have to be correct in your invoicing software.
- Choose software that handles it. A bookkeeping package connected to Peppol sends your invoice as an e-invoice with one click. Becoming an access point yourself is not an option for a freelancer or small business: it requires ISO 27001 certification, OpenPeppol membership and a technical audit.
And the Dutch Tax Administration?
In the European plans, e-invoicing comes with a second part: digital reporting. For every invoice, the VAT data, meaning amounts, VAT numbers and rate, goes to the Dutch Tax Administration. Those are the same figures that are in your VAT return today, but per invoice and immediately instead of per quarter.
The idea is that the return itself largely disappears: the tax office already has the figures. Nothing has been decided about this for the Netherlands yet. Peppol itself changes nothing here: the network delivers the invoice to your client, and nobody else looks in.
How Finq handles this
For Dutch freelancers, e-invoicing only becomes relevant from 2030, and even then in phases. Finq will be adapted well before that, so you send an invoice as an e-invoice just as easily as you email one today. The groundwork is already there: the client card has fields for Chamber of Commerce number, VAT number and a full address, and the invoice meets every requirement an e-invoice will impose. What you can do now is fill in those fields. The rest follows.
Checked on 14 September 2026. Sources: the Dutch Peppol Authority (peppolautoriteit.nl), the Dutch government on e-invoicing to central government, the Belgian FPS Finance on the obligation since 2026, the European Commission on ViDA (Directive (EU) 2025/516), and the EY research report commissioned by the Ministry of Finance (March 2026) on implementation in the Netherlands. The Dutch bill has not yet been published; check the current status on rijksoverheid.nl.