Article Invoicing requirements in the EU as of 2026

E-invoicing is nearly upon those of us in the EU. Which means it’s time for freelance translators and translation agencies to get our heads around the new guidelines and get prepped to make sure we comply with them.

So whether you’re:

• The kind of business owner who’ll happily handle their own finances, and always has every last cent accounted for.
• Or you’re reeeeeally more of a words person, thank you very much, and would rather not think about the admin side of your business if you can help it.

There’s a change just around the corner that those of us running our businesses in the EU can’t ignore.

Not to worry, though. Here at LSP.expert, we’ve been doing plenty of hard work behind the scenes for a good long while now.

We’ve been getting prepped for the changes coming in several countries in 2026, and those that will follow in other countries between now and 2030 (the deadline for rolling out e-invoicing EU-wide, for intra-community transactions).

Which means that, true to form, LSP.expert will continue to make running your translation business as easy as pie, even when these new regulations come into force.

We’ve partnered with an industry leader to make sure transitioning to e-invoicing is a breeze and, most importantly, doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg.

So, what’s e-invoicing anyway?

You’re not running your translation business in the 90s, so your invoices will most probably all be digital already. So, understandably, you might be wondering what the difference is between what you’re already doing and e-invoicing.

Well, thankfully, it’s pretty straightforward. An e-invoice is just the same as a regular invoice, but it’s created, transmitted, and received in an electronic, standardised format. Said format is normally .UBL or .Cll, and these files are exchanged by secure frameworks like PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement Online).

They can be created with invoicing software that meets certain legal and technical requirements, and can be read automatically by accounting systems.

(We know that might sound confusing, but no worries, we promise our solution isn’t.)

Why is this e-invoicing system being introduced?

E-invoicing is going to come into effect throughout all the member states of the EU for lots of reasons:

• It automates the processing and payment of invoices, which should mean you get your money more quickly (excellent news for freelancers, right?).
• It reduces the risk of human error when it comes to managing invoices.
• It helps bring down levels of VAT fraud and tax evasion.
• It cuts down on paper consumption and printing costs (not that the majority of us freelancers print our invoices these days).
• It enables real-time tracking and tracing of business activity.
• And it contributes to modernising the economy.

When does e-invoicing kick in, and where?

The European Commission’s VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) was formally adopted on 11th March 2025, laying out a unified framework for e-invoicing.

Every country is moving at its own pace when it comes to rolling it out. Some countries, like Italy and Romania, have introduced it already, and some Member States have plans to bring it into play in 2027 or 2028.

Here’s an overview of what we know so far about which countries will start requiring translators and interpreters to be able to issue and receive e-invoices in 2026:

• Belgium: From the 1st of January 2026, for all VAT-registered businesses, for all domestic B2B transactions.
• Switzerland: From the 1st of January 2026.
• France: From the 1st of September 2026, all businesses must be capable of receiving invoices. Small and micro businesses will need to start issuing them in 2027.
• Poland: Large taxpayers will be obliged to use e-invoices from the 1st of February, 2026, and all others from the 1st of April.
• Croatia: Required for all domestic B2B transactions from the 1st of January 2026.
• Germany: Whilst you won’t need to issue e-invoices until 2027 or 2028, you will need to be able to receive them from the 1st of January 2026.

Please make sure you look into the status of e-invoicing in your country, even if it doesn’t appear on the list above, and ask a professional if you’re unsure about anything related to this new system and what it means for you.

A lot of us translators are fiercely independent creatures, aren’t we? But sometimes we all need a bit of professional guidance to make sure we’re doing everything right.

A quick note: The situations you’ll need to issue an invoice in will vary by country. But in many, for now, you’ll only have to issue an e-invoice for domestic B2B transactions (if you’re working for a translation agency based in your country, or have direct clients who are businesses).

If you have B2C clients (you’re working with private individuals, for example, providing certified translations of personal documents) or work with foreign businesses, then you won’t need to issue an e-invoice.

How e-invoicing works with LSP.expert

LSP.expert is a platform designed by translators for translators to make running a freelance business less of a headache. So naturally, when we saw this new development on the horizon, we wanted to make sure we found a solution that would be both dead easy and affordable.

Now, we’re a comprehensive project management solution for translators and interpreters, which hundreds of freelancers use to send invoices every day, but we’re not an accounting software.

So rather than creating in-house e-invoicing and passing on the costs to you, exploiting the situation and raising our prices, we wanted to prioritise your interests and keep things as transparent as ever.

With our incredible community of freelancers in mind, we decided to partner with Billit, a trusted, government-approved e-invoicing platform (also known as a PDP).

Billit starts at €7.50/month (ex VAT), for a freelancer sending up to 25 e-invoices. The price increases from there, depending on how many you’re sending. If you add that to your LSP.expert Freelance subscription (€12.50/month if you pay annually), it works out at €20/month (ex VAT).

You know we believe in keeping things simple, and getting set up with Billit is no exception. Just create a Billit account and then connect it to your LSP.expert account in no time at all.

Once you’re all set up, you can easily create your e-invoices from LSP.expert by opening any invoice and clicking on Action > Create in Billit. As if by magic, your invoice will appear on the PDP. You can then log in to validate and transmit your e-invoices through PEPPOL.

Pssst! Is your LSP.expert account already integrated with QuickBooks? That’s compatible with e-invoicing, so there’s no need for Billit.

The time to get ready for e-invoicing is now

We know that right now, this new development might feel daunting, or like a bit of a faff. But never fear, it’ll become second nature in no time at all, as long as you’ve got the right tools at your disposal.

Let’s be honest, there’s quite enough to worry about when it comes to running your own freelance business, so make sure your accounting isn’t any more complex than it has to be.

Even if your country isn’t bringing in e-invoicing just yet, it won’t be long. So if you haven’t already, do future-you a favour and get yourself set up with a project management tool you’ll love, that will make adapting to this new system a walk in the park when the time comes. Whether that’s in January 2026 or 2028.

Dive into your free 30-day trial of LSP.expert today, and discover our e-invoicing integration and all the other features that hundreds of language professionals just like you rave about.