Starting with e-invoicing: how do you approach this as a new business?
Starting with e-invoicing is simply part of doing business today, right from the moment you launch a company. In Belgium, e-invoicing via the Peppol network is mandatory for B2B transactions. Companies exchange their invoices electronically. This means that as an entrepreneur, you must immediately be able to receive, process, and send invoices.
Even if your clients are mainly private individuals, e-invoicing remains relevant. While you don't have to send e-invoices to private customers, your suppliers are usually companies that do send their invoices digitally. Therefore, it is wise to start working with e-invoicing from the very beginning. The only question is: how do you ensure that everything runs smoothly?
What does starting with e-invoicing mean?
When you start with e-invoicing, you send and receive invoices digitally in a structured format. Software can automatically read this data and process it into your administration. This is a clear difference from a traditional PDF invoice, which you have to open and often process manually.
With e-invoicing, the information flows directly into the recipient's system. In Belgium, this exchange takes place via Peppol, a network that connects businesses and ensures that invoices end up with the right recipient.
This makes invoicing clearer and more consistent:
you receive invoices digitally
systems process the data automatically
invoices arrive directly at the right party
Why starting with e-invoicing is important for starters
As a starter, you build your administration from scratch. So you immediately decide how you want to handle invoices. From the very first months, you will receive invoices from various parties. Suppliers of products, tools, services... they all send their documents. These often arrive in different ways. By starting with e-invoicing, you create structure. Invoices come in through one single digital stream and are processed in the exact same way. That makes your administration more consistent.
Additionally, you immediately align with the way companies operate today. Because e-invoicing via Peppol is the standard for B2B transactions, you are adopting a system that is already well-established. This prevents you from having to change your approach later on.
How to start with e-invoicing as a new business?
The approach remains simple. You just need to make sure your administration is set up correctly right from the start.
Understand how e-invoicing works: Start with a basic understanding. How does Peppol work? What is the process for receiving and sending e-invoices? By understanding this, you can make informed choices.
Choose software that supports e-invoicing: To process electronic invoices, you need software that can communicate with Peppol. This ensures that you can receive, process, and, if necessary, send e-invoices. Preferably, choose software that allows you to draft invoices that you can send to private customers, but also send digitally via e-invoicing.
Register on the Peppol network: To receive and send e-invoices, you need a Peppol ID. This is a unique address linked to your company. In most cases, registration is handled through your software.
Use e-invoicing in your daily operations: Once you are connected, you will receive e-invoices via the Peppol network. Do you work with other companies? Then you will also send your own e-invoices in the same manner.
How starting with e-invoicing supports your administration
When you start with e-invoicing, invoicing flows run digitally. Data automatically enters systems and is processed there. As a result, manual steps disappear. This ensures smoother processing of invoices and reduces the chance of errors.
Conclusion: starting with e-invoicing is part of doing business
Starting a business brings administration with it. Receiving and processing invoices is an immediate part of that. Because e-invoicing is mandatory for B2B, it is currently the standard way of invoicing between businesses.
By starting with e-invoicing, you ensure that you receive, process, and (where necessary) send invoices correctly. This way, you align with how businesses collaborate today.
Consult your accountant for advice on this matter or start with Banqup immediately.
