E-invoicing is set to become mandatory in all European countries by 2030. For Belgium, e-invoicing already became mandatory on 01/01/2026 and for France on 01/09/2026. This article covers the essentials e-invoicing is, what the implementation is for each country and what Peppol means.

• E-invoicing & country-specific implementation
• What is Peppol?

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 became mandatory too since 01/01/2026. Belgium opted for the Peppol network to comply with EU regulations. 
 

In practice, this means that all B2B invoices have to be sent digitally in Belgium since 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 are no longer 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. You are already able to send e-invoices from Dutch company entities. Read all about that here. Receiving e-invoices for NL company entities in Teamleader Focus is not yet possible.
 

France

French e-invoicing legislation introduces obligations in two phases:
 

1 September 2026:

• All businesses are required to be able to receive electronic invoices.
• Medium-sized (ETI) and large (GE) enterprises are required to issue invoices in electronic format.
   

1 September 2027:

• SMEs (PME) and micro-enterprises are required to issue electronic invoices.
   

Teamleader Focus supports e-invoicing for French company entities, covering both sending and receiving e-invoices via the Peppol network.

In France, the feature is called E-invoicing rather than Peppol, as the Peppol brand is less commonly used in France. The underlying network and technology is the same.

Follow the steps in this article to enable e-invoicing for your French company entity.
 

Germany

Starting January 1, 2025, German regulations require all businesses to be able to receive e-invoices, which can simply be done via email. For sending e-invoices, Teamleader Focus keeps you compliant by automatically attaching the official XRechnung (UBL format) to your invoice emails sent to German B2B customers, as well as allowing you to download the XRechnung file directly when needed. Read all about it here.
 

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.

Other countries

Other countries are currently not supported.
 

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. For France, the main identifier is 0225 + SIREN.
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.