Peppol e-invoicing: what it is and who is required to use it

The way businesses in Belgium send invoices changed in 2026. A PDF by email is no longer enough for business invoices: from now on they must be sent as a structured electronic invoice through the Peppol network. In this article we explain exactly what Peppol is, who is required to use it and what it means for you as a rental host.

What is Peppol?

Peppol (Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line) is the official European network for securely exchanging invoices and other documents between businesses in a structured way. Instead of a PDF you email yourself, the invoice is delivered machine-readable straight into the recipient's accounting system. Both parties use an accredited Peppol access point, so the invoice can be processed automatically and error-free.

What is a structured e-invoice?

To a computer, an ordinary PDF is essentially just an image of an invoice. A structured e-invoice (in the UBL format) contains the data in a fixed, readable format: amounts, VAT, customer details and invoice lines are stored in separate fields. That lets the recipient's software book the invoice automatically, without retyping and without errors.

Who is required to use Peppol?

Since 1 January 2026, structured electronic invoicing via Peppol is mandatory in Belgium for B2B transactions: invoices between VAT-registered businesses. In practice this means:

• ✓Do you send invoices to other VAT-registered businesses (B2B)? Then you must send them via Peppol as a structured e-invoice.
• ✓Are you a VAT-registered business yourself? Then you must also be able to receive e-invoices via Peppol.
• ✓Do you work with a business customer, for example a company renting a vacation home or vehicle for staff or an event? Then that invoice falls under the obligation.

What about invoices to private guests (B2C)?

The Peppol obligation initially applies to B2B: transactions between businesses. For invoices or receipts to private guests (B2C) the Peppol obligation does not apply for now. Even so, it is smart to have your administration fully digital and structured already, so you are ready for future extensions of the rules and your bookkeeping runs more smoothly anyway.

What does this mean for you as a rental host?

If you rent out rooms, vacation homes or vehicles, sooner or later you will deal with business customers and with your own suppliers. So you need to be able to both send and receive structured e-invoices. Handling that manually is cumbersome; with the right software it happens automatically.

How Mikaflow handles this for you

After every booking Mikaflow automatically creates a correct invoice and can send it directly as a structured e-invoice through the official Peppol network. Credit notes for cancellations are also generated and sent automatically. Your invoices are multilingual, you keep ordinary readable PDFs you can download, and you export everything to CSV or Excel for your accountant. That way you stay compliant with the law effortlessly, without extra administrative work.

Want to see how automated Peppol invoicing works for your rental business? Create a free account and test Mikaflow for 14 days with no obligation and no payment card.