What is an e-invoice, and how do you make one?
An e-invoice is an invoice as data, not as a picture: your client's accounting software reads it in directly. Mandatory between businesses, planned from 1 July 2030.
Invoice 2026-031
Bakkerij de Zon
Fatima el Amrani
| Design of order page | 24 × € 85,00 | € 2.040,00 |
| Hosting October | 1 × € 25,00 | € 25,00 |
- Subtotal
- € 2.065,00
- VAT 21%
- € 433,65
- Total
- € 2.498,65
Complete for an e-invoice
A PDF is not an e-invoice
A PDF looks like an invoice, but to a computer it is a picture with text. Someone still has to retype the amount, the VAT and the IBAN. An e-invoice is a file with the same details in fixed fields, so software reads them directly. In the Netherlands and the rest of Europe that is almost always a UBL file.
UBL, Peppol and EN 16931 in one minute
- UBL
- The file format: an XML file with fixed fields for everything on an invoice.
- EN 16931
- The European standard that says which details an e-invoice must have.
- Peppol BIS 3.0
- The agreement on how to write that standard in UBL. A file that follows it is read by almost every accounting package.
- The Peppol network
- A network that sends e-invoices straight from package to package, through a so-called access point. You don't need it to make an e-invoice.
When does the e-invoice become mandatory?
In September 2026 the Dutch cabinet chose a mandatory e-invoice between businesses, planned from 1 July 2030, with digital VAT reporting from 2031. It is not law yet: the bill still has to come, and the date and the rules can change.
Invoices to consumers are not included, and under the plan neither are businesses in the small business scheme (KOR). For invoices to other EU countries a European obligation is coming, also from July 2030.
How to make an e-invoice
-
Enter your own details. Your company name, KvK number, VAT number, IBAN and country code. An e-invoice needs all of them.
-
Fill in your client completely. Name, address, country code and your client's VAT or KvK number. That is how their software finds the right customer.
-
Send the UBL file along. Mail it next to the PDF, or upload it to your client's portal. Their software reads it in.
Bills & Friends makes the PDF and the UBL in one go
Every invoice shows what it still needs to be a valid e-invoice, like your IBAN or your client's VAT number. The app does not send through the Peppol network yet: you download the file and send it yourself.
Questions
Can I just e-mail an e-invoice?
Yes, for now, if your client agrees. Many companies ask for a UBL file by e-mail or in their portal. Whether that is still allowed after 2030 depends on the law that has yet to come.
Do I stop sending a PDF, then?
You can send both. The PDF is for people, the UBL file for software. Bills & Friends makes both from the same details, so they always say the same thing.
Does it apply to invoices to consumers?
No, the plan is about invoices between businesses. To consumers you just send a PDF or paper.
What if I have clients in Belgium?
Since 1 January 2026, Belgian businesses must send and receive e-invoices to each other through Peppol. If you have Belgian clients, they are already asking for one.
Does Bills & Friends send through Peppol?
Not yet. You download the UBL file and email it, or upload it to your client's portal. Sending through the Peppol network itself may come later; tell me in the form if you need it.
Would you send your invoices with this?
Bills & Friends is new. Whether I turn it into a complete product depends on your answer. It's three questions.