At a time when France is preparing a broader system, combining structured exchange and tax e-reporting, Belgian feedback offers valuable insight.
Since January 2026, B2B electronic invoicing has been mandatory in Belgium via the Peppol network. At a time when France is preparing a broader system, combining structured exchange and tax e-reporting, the Belgian feedback offers valuable insight. Because beyond regulatory compliance, it is the structuring of data, the organization of tools and the performance of systems that are at stake.
In the ESN ecosystem, invoicing is directly linked to turnover, margin management and cash flow. Each mission, each consultant placed with a client generates a significant financial flow. Belgium, which has imposed the structured electronic exchange of B2B invoices via Peppol since January 2026, now constitutes a concrete field of observation. Comparing its approach to that of France allows us to anticipate the real challenges for French ESNs.
A targeted reform in Belgium, a systemic project in France
In Belgium, the system is focused on B2B exchange. Companies must issue and receive their invoices via the Peppol network, respecting a structured format compliant with the European standard. The objective is clear: to make exchanges between economic players more reliable.
France uses this logic of structured exchange, but adds an additional dimension: e-reporting. Invoicing and, in certain cases, collection data must be transmitted to the tax administration. In other words, where Belgium organizes communication between companies, France also structures the feedback of information to the State.
For ESNs, this difference is major. In Belgium, the main issue is the conformity of customer-supplier flows. In France, electronic invoicing is also becoming an element of the reporting relationship with the administration, which further reinforces the requirement for reliability.
The real shock: the quality of the data
The first lesson from the Belgian case is not the technical complexity, but the rigor of the data. An incorrect ID or incorrect VAT number may result in automatic rejection.
In an ESN, where invoices are often generated from data from timesheets, contracts and customer repositories, this requirement acts as a revealer. The reform requires commercial and administrative databases to be made more reliable upstream. Inaccurate data will not only impact the relationship with the customer, but could also create a gap in reporting flows. For structures whose profitability is based on the precision of daily rates and control of payment deadlines, the issue is strategic.
Organization of tools: a maturity test for ESNs
In Belgium, the difficulties encountered by businesses have (for the moment) revealed themselves to be mainly organizational. Who should issue the invoice, the business ERP or the accounting tool? Should we centralize transmission and reception in a single system? Who manages registration in the Peppol directory?
These questions are particularly sensitive in ESNs, where ERP is at the heart of operational activity, while accounting occurs at the end of the chain. The reform forces us to clarify roles and arbitrate between business logic and financial logic.
In France, this problem will be amplified by the presence of partner dematerialization platforms and by the obligations to monitor the life cycle of invoices. ESNs will have to orchestrate interoperability between ERP, platform and accounting tool, while guaranteeing the consistency of the data transmitted to the administration. Electronic invoicing thus becomes a cross-functional project involving financial management, IT department and general management.
A performance issue for ESNs
Belgium can already see some positive effects of the reform: better traceability of flows, increased visibility on the issuance and receipt of invoices, faster detection of anomalies. For an ESN, this means less uncertainty regarding customer validation and potentially a reduction in payment times.
France, with its expanded system, could go even further. If the systems hold up and the interoperability actually works, ESNs will have near real-time visibility into their billing cycle. At the scale of organizations operating with dozens, even hundreds of consultants, the impact on cash flow and financial management could be significant.
But this promise will depend on the robustness of the platforms and the ability of companies to exploit the data produced. The French volume, much higher than that of Belgium, will constitute a full-scale industrial test.
The Belgian case demonstrates that ESNs which approach electronic invoicing as a structuring project, and not as a regulatory constraint, make it a sustainable performance lever. For French ESNs, this project is demanding but manageable. Those that rely on a business ERP already experienced in these issues in other markets, on integrated technical partners and on a network of experts who follow the evolution of regulations in several countries, will approach this transition with a real advantage. And above all, with the certainty that behind the constraint, the gains (in traceability, financial management, reduction in payment times) are there.
