The PEPPOL mandate coming into force in April 2026 has pushed thousands of Belgian freelancers and small businesses to look for invoicing software. Most tools on the market assume you'll pay a monthly subscription. But if you send 5 invoices a month, why would you pay for 100?
This article explains how pay-per-invoice works, when it's the right choice, and how DEMFACT structures it.
The problem with subscriptions for low-volume users
A typical Belgian invoicing subscription costs €20–€50 per month. Do the math for a freelance graphic designer, an occasional consultant, or a family-run bakery: 3–5 invoices per month, at €25/month subscription, means each invoice effectively costs €5–€8 in software fees alone.
Subscriptions are designed for businesses issuing 20+ invoices per month. For everyone else, they're overpaying.
How pay-per-invoice works at DEMFACT
DEMFACT's Pay As You Go plan costs €2 per invoice sent via PEPPOL. No subscription, no minimum, no annual commitment. If you send nothing this month, you pay nothing.
Concretely:
- Create your account (free).
- Add your company, validate your VAT via VIES.
- Buy credits when you need them (packs from €10) or top up automatically.
- Each PEPPOL invoice sent consumes one credit.
- Receiving inbound PEPPOL invoices is free — no credit consumed.
Because receiving is free, PEPPOL becomes a no-cost way to accept e-invoices from your clients — the credits only apply when you're sending.
When Pay As You Go is the right choice
- You send fewer than 8 invoices per month
- Your invoice volume varies from month to month
- You want to try PEPPOL without committing to a subscription
- You mostly receive invoices and rarely issue them (typical for a company being paid by clients but paying providers)
When a subscription becomes cheaper
Once you send more than 10–15 invoices monthly, DEMFACT's Essentials or Professional plans work out cheaper per invoice — plus they include extras like the accountant portal, advanced analytics, and bank reconciliation.
DEMFACT tells you when this crossover happens — the dashboard suggests upgrading only when it actually saves you money.
What you don't lose with pay-per-invoice
Pay As You Go isn't a "lite" version. You still get:
- Real PEPPOL access point — same infrastructure as paid plans
- Belgian VAT handling (all rates + reverse-charge)
- PDF generation with legal fiscal disclaimer
- VIES VAT validation
- Client management, invoice history, PDF archive
- Multi-language interface (EN/FR/NL/RO)
- Legal 7-year retention of your invoices
What's not included in Pay As You Go
To keep the pricing honest, some advanced features are subscription-only:
- Accountant portal (real-time access for your bookkeeper)
- Financial dashboard with cash-flow projections
- Bank reconciliation (automated matching of invoices to bank transactions)
- Bulk PEPPOL sending / API access
If you don't need those, Pay As You Go covers everything else.
Start now
You can send your first PEPPOL invoice on DEMFACT in under five minutes: create your account, add your company, and buy credits when you're ready. No subscription trap, no cancellation dance.
See all plans How to send your first PEPPOL invoice in 5 minutes →