There’s no way around it. Many software products are being advertised on the radio and in other media. Electronic invoicing will soon become mandatory in Belgium, and we’re certainly aware of this. These adverts suggest that the transition will be super easy. But the reality is sometimes a bit more complex. If you have a Belgian company with only B2B clients in Belgium, then it’s indeed a small effort.
Most of our clients are in a different situation, however. They have both domestic and international clients, need to send invoices to B2C clients, issue invoices from various countries, or use more than one invoicing software package. For all these situations, we have a suitable solution – fully compliant with the legislation.
Standard add-ons
As a base, we almost always recommend an add-on from the SuiteApps collection of NetSuite. This is used to process incoming electronic Peppol BIS invoices. The tool also processes invoices that do not arrive in the Peppol BIS format, such as invoices from foreign suppliers.
It allows you to send out electronic Peppol BIS invoices, too. This tool can also send digital and possibly even paper invoices for clients where the Peppol BIS invoice is not mandatory.
The settings of the add-ons allow everything to be tailored to each company. For example, all outgoing invoices to Belgian B2B clients will be prepared according to Peppol BIS, French clients will receive an electronic invoice via a Partner Dematerialisation Platform, and Dutch clients will still receive their invoice as a PDF or via EDI for the time being.
External tool
For some clients who do not only use NetSuite to create invoices, we install an additional software tool to still make a connection to NetSuite.
This applies, for example, to companies that send out part of their invoices from operational tools. For such software, invoicing is not the main goal, and often these tools are not adapted to the new rules for electronic invoicing, also because these differ in almost every country in terms of mandatory formats and timing.
We then integrate an additional tool that addresses such limitations. The tool serves as a bridge between the non-compliant software and NetSuite, with outgoing invoices automatically prepared in the correct format and sent at the right time. This ensures everything remains centrally managed and compliant with the legislation, without having to part with familiar operational applications.
Retaining existing processes
The setting up of electronic invoicing doesn’t have to be a burden, even in complex environments. Thanks to our hybrid approach with standard add-ons, customised settings, and where necessary an extra tool, we ensure that every company is ready for the new regulations. So you get a smooth transition without drastically changing processes. We guide you step by step towards future-proof and legally compliant invoicing.