From April 2026, every Belgian VAT-registered business must be able to send and receive PEPPOL e-invoices in B2B transactions. That single deadline has turned "which invoicing software should I use?" into a decision with real consequences: the wrong choice means monthly costs you don't need, or a scramble in March 2026 to switch tools.
This article isn't a marketing pitch. It's what to look at, honestly, before you commit.
What actually matters (and what doesn't)
Ignore feature lists longer than your arm. For a Belgian invoicing product in 2026, the decision comes down to five things:
1. Real PEPPOL connectivity — not "PEPPOL-ready"
Many tools claim PEPPOL support. Ask one direct question: are you a registered PEPPOL access point, or do you resell someone else's? Both can work, but the difference matters when something goes wrong. Also verify the tool can send AND receive — receiving is where a lot of "PEPPOL support" quietly stops.
2. Pricing model that matches your volume
Belgian invoicing volumes are bimodal: freelancers who issue 2–8 invoices a month, and SMEs issuing 30+. Fixed monthly subscriptions of €20–€50 are designed for the second group. If you're in the first group, you're subsidising features you don't use. Look for a pay-per-invoice option (typically €2 or less per PEPPOL invoice, no monthly fee) — it maps costs to activity.
3. Belgian VAT handling out of the box
21% standard, 12% for restaurants and social housing, 6% for basic goods, 0% for exports. B2B EU reverse-charge. Construction reverse-charge (art. 20). If you need to configure these manually every time, the tool wasn't designed for Belgium.
4. Language coverage
Belgium has three official languages plus a large Romanian, Polish, and Turkish entrepreneur community. If your accountant works in NL and your clients in FR, you need both — plus your interface in the language you actually think in.
5. 7-year fiscal retention, handled automatically
Article 60 of the Belgian VAT Code requires you to keep invoices for 7 years. This is not optional. Any tool worth using stores PDFs and PEPPOL XML for you and doesn't delete anything you might need for a tax audit — even if you leave the platform.
What you can ignore
- "AI-powered" as a bullet point. Fine if it saves you time on repetitive tasks. Not fine as the main selling point of an invoicing tool.
- Industry templates you'll never use. If you're a plumber, you don't need medical invoice templates.
- Integrations with 200+ apps. You need integrations with your bank, your accountant, and PEPPOL. That's it.
How DEMFACT fits into this picture
DEMFACT is built specifically for Belgian VAT-registered businesses that need PEPPOL from day one. Concretely:
- Pay As You Go available — €2 per invoice sent via PEPPOL, no subscription, no monthly commitment. Fixed monthly plans exist for higher volumes.
- Real PEPPOL access point — active production network, not a "coming soon" placeholder.
- Full Belgian VAT logic — reverse-charge B2B EU, construction reverse-charge, 21/12/6/0% rates auto-applied.
- Four languages — EN, FR, NL, RO — including localised legal terms.
- 7-year archive — invoices retained as required by Belgian law, downloadable at any time.
Try it free — no card required to explore, no automatic charges: create your DEMFACT account. First invoice takes about five minutes.
The honest questions to ask any tool
- Can I send AND receive PEPPOL invoices today?
- What is the total cost if I send 3 invoices in a month?
- What happens to my invoices if I stop paying / leave your platform?
- Is Belgian construction reverse-charge (art. 20) supported out of the box?
- How long does support take to answer in Dutch or French?
The right invoicing software for you is the one that answers those five questions cleanly. DEMFACT does — and it's built exclusively for the Belgian market, not adapted from a generic international product.