Since January 1st 2026, structured electronic invoicing in PEPPOL format has become mandatory for B2B transactions between VAT-registered businesses in Belgium. A deadline that caught more than one SME off guard.
PEPPOL, in plain terms
PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) is a network and standardised format for exchanging structured electronic invoices, already used for years in public procurement. The difference with a simple PDF sent by email: a PEPPOL invoice is a structured file, directly readable and importable by the recipient's accounting software, without manual re-entry.
What the obligation means in practice
- Issuing invoices via a platform connected to the PEPPOL network (an "access point"), no longer only in PDF or paper form.
- Receiving invoices from suppliers in that same format, which requires your accounting software to be compatible.
- Adapting internal processes if invoicing was previously handled manually (Excel, Word, sending by email).
The main trap: thinking it only concerns sales
Many business owners associate PEPPOL solely with issuing invoices. But the obligation also covers receiving them: if your suppliers send you PEPPOL invoices and you're not set up to receive and process them properly, you lose the automation benefit — and the risk of errors or lost invoices increases.
Odoo and PEPPOL compliance
Odoo's invoicing module natively integrates the PEPPOL format, which considerably simplifies compliance for companies already running the ERP: no need to add a third-party tool, the connection to the network is configured directly in the invoicing settings.
What we recommend
Don't treat PEPPOL as a purely IT topic to hand off to your provider. It's first and foremost an accounting and tax compliance matter — your accountant should be involved from the configuration stage, not just at VAT return time. That's exactly the coordination Agitech (Odoo integrator) and AgiFid put in place together for their shared clients.