E-invoicing is set to become mandatory in all European countries by 2030. For Belgium, the deadline for e-invoicing is 01/01/2026. This article covers the essentials of e-invoicing and Peppol, and provides a step-by-step process to enable Peppol in Teamleader Focus, making invoicing smoother, compliant, and future-ready. 
 

In this article: 

• E-invoicing & country-specific implementation 
• What is Peppol?
• Enable Peppol in Teamleader Focus
• Sending and receiving invoices through Peppol
• Disable Peppol
• UBL files
   

E-invoicing & country-specific implementation 

The European Union decided that by 2030 all member states should enforce digital invoicing in a B2B (Business to business) context to combat fraud. Each member state has some freedom to decide how and when this comes into effect. 
 

Belgium

In Belgium, e-invoicing was only required in a B2G (Business to government) context for some time. The Belgian government uses the software Mercurius to receive, process, and send e-invoices and other documents in UBL format.
 

For B2B though, digital invoicing will become mandatory too. The deadline for e-invoicing is 01/01/2026. Belgium has opted for the Peppol network to comply with EU regulations. 
 

In practice, this means that all B2B invoices must be sent digitally in Belgium from January 2026.

• A Belgian company sending an invoice to another Belgian company must do so via the Peppol network. 
• Invoices created via Word or Excel and sent in PDF format will no longer be accepted in Belgium from January 2026. 
   

As a Belgian customer, you must therefore have a software tool that can send and receive invoices to be compliant with the legislation around e-invoicing. Teamleader Focus has got you covered!
 

Netherlands

The Dutch government has not communicated a deadline for implementing e-invoicing for B2B, so for now, nothing changes for our Dutch customers. 
 

! Sending invoices to the Dutch government (they are using the software Digipoort), is already mandatory via Peppol.
 

France

The e-invoicing deadline for France is 01/09/2026. 
 

Currently we don’t have more information on when e-invoicing via Teamleader Focus will be available for France.
 

Germany

The e-invoicing deadline for Germany is 01/01/2027. 
 

Currently we don’t have more information on when e-invoicing via Teamleader Focus will be available for Germany.
 

Italy

In some countries like Italy, the government has already imposed e-invoicing to exchange invoices both in a B2G and a B2B context.

For specific information about e-invoicing in Italy, please consult the following article.
 

What is Peppol?

Peppol (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) is an international network that allows companies and government agencies to securely send and receive electronic documents. The main goal of Peppol is to make electronic connections with partners (f.e. E-invoicing) faster & simpler by providing universal formats for a wide range of documents.

Peppol provides both the formal requirements that different documents (such as invoices) should meet, as well as the network over which they should be exchanged. An e-invoice is an invoice created in the UBL standard and sent or received via the Peppol network. The formal requirements are described in each UBL* version, the network consists of access points that are officially certified by the Peppol organisation. 

*UBL: Universal Business Language. UBL is a standard format used for electronic invoicing and it allows computers to read so-called XML files. 

Peppol ID

Quickly summarised, this is how it works:

1. You need software to send and receive e-invoices via Peppol and this is where Teamleader Focus comes in. 
2. Your customer needs to be registered on Peppol too, no matter which tool (could be Teamleader Focus or not).
3. The software gives you something to identify yourself with: a Peppol ID. For Belgium, this is a unique code and consists of the prefix 0208 combined with your KBO number, or 9925 combined with your VAT number.
4. You can send the UBL together with the PDF from Teamleader Focus to your customer's software, and it's readable. You send based on your Peppol ID to the other participant's Peppol ID.

Peppol registration vs Peppol connection

Important to note is that there’s a difference between Peppol registration and being connected to Peppol. 

• You can send invoices using different software tools by connecting to Peppol. Read more about sending invoices through Peppol here.
• However, you can only register with one software tool. When you register, you indicate that you want to receive your invoices in that tool. Read more about receiving invoices through Peppol here.

Compare it with sending a letter. You can drop a letter in the mailbox in every city, and it will reach the customer. You can even be homeless; your letter will still arrive. But if you want to receive a package (invoice), you need an address to receive it (Peppol ID); that’s what you get when you register on Peppol.
 

Enable Peppol in Teamleader Focus

Ready to start sending and receiving invoices through Peppol in Teamleader Focus? Follow these steps to enable Peppol:
 

! First of all, only admin users in Teamleader Focus will be able to enable Peppol in the account. You also need to have a paying account, enabling Peppol in a trial account is not possible.
 

1. Go to Settings > Company information
2. Click on Enable Peppol
   Note that this button will only appear next to company entities with the country ‘Belgium’.
   
   
   Do you see the button Not Peppol verified yet instead?
   
   
   In this case you might still need to complete your VAT information for this company entity, or we simply can’t confirm that this entity is allowed to have access to Peppol. Please contact us via peppol@teamleader.eu for further assistance. 
    
3. In the next screen, you’ll see that your KBO number and your VAT number were filled out automatically based on the information in your company information.
   Confirm your IBAN number or fill it out.
   
   
   Notes
   • The KBO number gets filled out automatically based on your VAT number. Peppol registration is based on your KBO number, which is mandatory for all companies in Belgium. It’s basically the same as a VAT number but without the ‘BE’ in front of it.
   • Only one unique KBO number can be used for registering and sending per company entity. You can register and send with multiple company entities as long as they have different KBO/VAT numbers.
      
4. Check the box next to ‘I confirm that the information is correct.’, and, if needed, the box ‘I understand that my company entity information will be updated.’
    
5. Click on Save and continue
   
   To repeat what was stated above: you can send e-invoices through Peppol via various software tools, but you can only receive e-invoices in one tool. 
   
   There are 2 scenarios here:
   • You are not registered on Peppol yet:
     Your identity on the Peppol network will be verified and you’ll receive the message that your registration on the Peppol Access Point was successful. 
   • You’re already registered on Peppol elsewhere:
     
     
     The moment you want to enable Peppol, we check if both your KBO number and VAT number aren’t registered elsewhere. If one of them are, you won’t be able to enable Peppol for receiving documents in Teamleader Focus and you’ll only be able to send invoices. 
     Read this article for more information on how to proceed.
      
6. After Saving, you’ll see ‘Peppol integration’ below your company entity. Here you’ll see the status of Sending and Receiving:
   
    

Sending and receiving invoices through Peppol

After enabling Peppol in your account, you can start sending invoices through Peppol via Teamleader Focus, or start receiving them in your account. Find more information in these articles: 

• How To: Sending invoices via Peppol in Teamleader Focus
• How To: Receiving invoices via Peppol in Teamleader Focus
   

Disable Peppol

Follow these steps to disable Peppol for a company entity:

1. Go to Settings > Company information
2. Click on the three dots next to your company entity
3. Choose Disable Peppol
   

Note that disabling Peppol doesn’t mean your incoming invoices will be deleted. You will be deregistered from the Peppol network, and you won’t be able to send and receive e-invoices through Peppol anymore.
 

UBL files

In Teamleader Focus accounts with at least one Belgian or German entity, invoices and credit notes can also be downloaded (separately) as a UBL/XML file. This allows you to e.g. send the UBL as an attachment via email to your bookkeeper, who in turn can upload that UBL to the bookkeeping tool. Go to your invoice > three dots > Download UBL: 

It's also possible to automatically add the UBL of an invoice/credit note in attachment when sending an invoice/credit note via email:

1. Go to Settings > Invoices > Preferences 
2. Enable the slider next to 'Add UBL in attachment when sending invoice or credit note via email'
3. Automatically, a UBL of the invoice/credit note will be added to the attachments of the invoice/credit note, together with the PDF of the document.
    

Read this article but still have questions? Be sure to check out our Peppol FAQ here!