Belgium is moving to mandatory B2B e-invoicing from 1 January 2026. For property inspectors, energy certifiers (PEB/EPC), and appraisers, this is more than an IT change; it’s a shift to structured, machine-readable invoices that must be transmitted through the Peppol network to have legal effect. The upside: less admin chasing, fewer errors, faster payments, and a cleaner audit trail. 

This article explains Peppol in plain terms, the Belgian mandate, and how ExpertOps handles conversion, validation, transmission, and receipt, so you can keep your focus on field work and clients, not on XML formats or network plumbing. 

1. Peppol 

Think of Peppol as the postal service plus grammar for e-invoices across Europe: 

• The grammar is the European Standard EN 16931, defining the mandatory fields, structure, and semantics of an electronic invoice so any recipient can process it. Belgium follows Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, a profile (CIUS) that binds EN 16931 to the UBL XML syntax and sets validation rules and code lists. 

• The postal service is the Peppol network: invoices flow from your Access Point (AP) to the customer’s AP, using secure addressing (Peppol IDs) and standard transport protocols, no one-off SFTP, no ad-hoc email PDFs. 

In practice: you generate an EN 16931-compliant invoice, your AP handles routing and delivery, and your customer’s AP confirms receipt, machine to machine.  

The European Commission’s 2025 country factsheets for Belgium explicitly list Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 as the operative profile, with EN 16931 as the core standard for structured e-invoices. 

2. What the Belgian 2026 mandate requires 

A Royal Decree of 8 July 2025 clarified the Belgian framework: for domestic B2B invoices from 1 January 2026, businesses must issue invoices in EN 16931 format, using the Peppol BIS model, and send them through the Peppol network. Non-compliance triggers administrative fines. 

Three consequences for property experts: 

• PDF is no longer the invoice of record for B2B: the structured e-invoice is. (You can still attach a PDF copy for human readability, but the legal/processing artifact is the EN 16931 XML.) 

• You must be reachable on Peppol (via an Access Point). 

• Inbound e-invoices from your subcontractors and partners will also arrive as EN 16931 through Peppol, so your tool should receive and book them, not just send. 

Looking ahead, the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package adopted on 11 March 2025 gives a harmonised EU direction: cross-border B2B e-invoicing becomes mandatory from 1 July 2030, with digital reporting. Aligning now with EN 16931/Peppol puts you on the right side of that curve. 

3. How ExpertOps implements Peppol end-to-end 

ExpertOps was built to make Peppol invisible to your day-to-day work. You keep your normal job flow; ExpertOps creates and routes the correct e-invoice, and receives incoming ones into your ledger. 

1. Onboarding and Peppol identity (Peppol ID) 

• Register or link your company to a Peppol ID (ISO 6523 ICD and VAT, or local identifier schemes). 

• ExpertOps’ onboarding wizard checks your legal entity details and VAT registration, then associates your account with a certified Peppol Access Point for network reachability. 

• Your customers and suppliers can now discover you on the network and exchange e-invoices. 

2. Mapping your invoice data to EN 16931 

• Your existing customer records, price tables, VAT rates, and line items are mapped to EN 16931 fields (supplier/customer identifiers, taxable amounts, VAT breakdown, payment means, due date, etc.). 

• ExpertOps keeps a validation layer: missing mandatory tags, invalid VAT categories, or malformed references are flagged before sending, avoiding rejections. 

3. Creating & sending the e-invoice 

• From any completed job, ExpertOps generates the EN 16931 XML and (optionally) a PDF rendering for human review. 

• You press “Send”; ExpertOps delivers via Peppol to your customer’s AP, records message IDs, and shows a delivery/acknowledgement status on the invoice timeline. 

4. Receiving e-invoices from suppliers 

• Your AP routing is two-way: invoices addressed to your Peppol ID arrive in ExpertOps, where they’re matched to suppliers and pre-booked with VAT breakdowns. 

• You approve and post; the structured data flows straight into your accounts, with less retyping and fewer mistakes. 

5. Credit notes, self-billing, and advanced flows 

• Credit notes follow the BIS 3.0 rules and are generated the same way. 

• If you work with self-billing arrangements (e.g., some agencies), ExpertOps supports the 2025 BIS 3.0 self-billing specification, so documents remain compliant on both sides. 

4. What this means for a property expert’s month 

Scenario 1: After an EPC/PEB visit for a professional client 

You finish the inspection, confirm deliverables, and close the job. ExpertOps builds the invoice from the job data (lines, VAT, references). You click Send: 

• The EN 16931 e-invoice is delivered through Peppol. 

• A PDF copy is attached to the client email for readability. 

• In your invoice timeline, you see “Delivered” and any AP acknowledgements. 

• If your client uses automatic posting, payment can be scheduled faster because their system can read your invoice instantly. 

Scenario 2: Receiving a supplier invoice 

Your HVAC subcontractor posts an invoice to your Peppol ID. ExpertOps receives it, validates VAT and totals, and pre-codes it for your accounts. One click to approve, and it’s booked. 

Scenario 3: Credit note for a partial re-work 

You issue a credit note against an earlier invoice. ExpertOps applies BIS 3.0 credit note rules (link to original invoice IDs, reason codes), sends it through Peppol, and your customer’s system can automatically reconcile it. 

5. Why this is more than compliance 

Fewer rejects, fewer disputes. Because your invoices use the same semantics your customer’s AP expects, there’s less back-and-forth on VAT breakdowns and references.  

The 2025 BIS 3.0 documentation and OpenPeppol update cadence (Q2 2025) reflect this hardening of rules to reduce fragmentation and ensure machine-level interoperability. 

Faster money. With SEPA Instant rails being normalised in 2025–2026, customers expect and can execute near-real-time payments. Coupled with Peppol’s structured data (clear amounts, due dates, payment references), your DSO improves, you spend less time chasing. 

Clean audit trail. Every document has a verifiable path (who sent it, when it was delivered, and any AP responses), simplifying controls and year-end reconciliation. That aligns with Belgium’s and the EU’s push for data-driven compliance (and ViDA’s 2030 cross-border requirements). 

6. ExpertOps vs the alternatives 

• Email-PDF invoicing: not compliant for B2B from 2026; high rejection risk on large customers’ side; manual rekeying on both ends. 

• Export-to-XML stopgaps: produce files but don’t deliver via Peppol or handle acknowledgements; you still need an AP or a second tool. 

• Generic accounting tools only: some generate EN 16931, but don’t coordinate with your operational workflow (job → report → invoice), so you lose the one-click continuity you have in ExpertOps. 

ExpertOps centralises the chain:  

with status tracking on a single timeline. 

7. What about cross-border and the next wave (vida 2030)? 

The EU’s ViDA package, adopted 11 March 2025, sets a schedule for cross-border B2B e-invoicing and digital reporting starting 1 July 2030. If you work with Luxembourg, France, or the Netherlands, a Peppol-native stack today means no re-platforming later.  

OpenPeppol also keeps the specifications current (e.g., BIS 3.0 self-billing approved March 2025), and market notes point to BIS 4.0 convergence work (PINT + BIS) on the horizon.  

ExpertOps follows those tracks so you don’t have to. 

8. Common questions from property experts 

1. Can I still send a pdf to my client? 

Yes, but for B2B, the EN 16931 e-invoice sent via Peppol is the legal/processing artifact from 2026. ExpertOps can attach a PDF for readability while routing the structured invoice over Peppol. 

2. Do I need a separate Peppol provider? 

No. ExpertOps connects you to a certified Access Point. You don’t manage connectors or transport protocols; you’ll just see statuses (Delivered, Accepted, etc.). 

3. What about inbound invoices from subcontractors? 

They arrive in ExpertOps via your Peppol ID. You approve and book them, no retyping. 

4. Will this change how I invoice B2C? 

No. The B2B mandate does not extend to consumers; you may continue to provide PDF invoices to homeowners/tenants. (EC factsheets specify consumer scope separately.)  

9. Conclusion 

By turning Peppol into a one-click step inside your operational flow, ExpertOps helps Belgian property professionals meet the 2026 B2B e-invoicing mandate without friction: 

• Create EN 16931 invoices/credit notes from real job data. 

• Send/receive through Peppol with delivery/ack statuses tracked. 

• Attach human-readable PDFs while keeping the XML as the invoice of record. 

• Pre-book inbound invoices; cut rekeying and errors. 

• Prepare today for the EU’s ViDA 2030 cross-border requirements. 

Fewer disputes, faster settlement, stronger audit trails, and more time on site, with clients, and on expertise. That’s what compliance looks like when it’s designed around your work. 

Bibliography 

1. European Commission - eInvoicing in Belgium (2025 factsheet): Belgium uses Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 aligned to EN 16931; structured e-invoices underpin B2B policy.  

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/spaces/DIGITAL/pages/467108874/eInvoicing%2BCountry%2BFactsheets%2Bfor%2Beach%2BMember%2BState%2Band%2Bother%2Bcountries  

2. European Commission - Country page (2025 update): EN 16931 standard and Peppol BIS context for Belgian B2G/B2B evolution.  

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/spaces/DIGITAL/pages/467108877/eInvoicing%2Bin%2BBelgium  

3. OpenPeppol - BIS Billing 3.0 (May 2025 release) and code lists: official specification for invoice/credit note and identifiers.  

https://docs.peppol.eu/poacc/billing/3.0/  

4. OpenPeppol - Post-award documentation (2025): BIS 3.0 self-billing approval; EU policy on country-specific rules.  

https://peppol.org/documentation/technical-documentation/post-award-documentation/  

5. European Commission - ViDA adoption (11 March 2025) and implementation strategy (2025): cross-border B2B e-invoicing mandatory from 1 July 2030.  

https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/news/adoption-vat-digital-age-package-2025-03-11_en  

6. Loyens & Loeff - Belgian Royal Decree (8 July 2025): technical formats, enforcement timeline, and penalties for non-compliance.  

https://www.loyensloeff.com/insights/news--events/news/e-invoicing-in-belgium-as-from-1-january-2026-key-provisions-of-the-long-awaited-royal-decree  

7. Avalara - Belgium e-invoicing mandate (July 2025): EN 16931 + Peppol requirement; administrative fines from 2026.  

https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/europe/2025/07/belgium-e-invoicing-mandate-2026-updates.html  

8. European Payments Council - SEPA Instant (2025 rulebook/overview): real-time settlement context for faster B2B payments tied to structured invoicing.  

https://docs.peppol.eu/poacc/billing/3.0/2025-Q2/bis/