E-invoice tool · UBL 2.1

Create a valid e-invoice (UBL) — free

NLCIUS & Peppol BIS 3.0 · runs entirely in your browser, nothing is uploaded

E-invoicing is not expected to become mandatory for Dutch freelancers until around 2030 — the government plans (March 2026) are still proposals, not law. But government clients and Belgian companies are already asking for it today.

Your details

Who is sending this invoice?

Name / company nameStreet and numberPostal codeCityCountry (2 letters)KVK numberVAT IDIBANEmail (optional)

Remember my details on this deviceOnly in your browser — never on a server.

Customer

Who are you invoicing?

Customer type

Name / company nameStreet and numberPostal codeCityCountry (2 letters)KVK numberVAT ID (optional)

Invoice

Number, dates and references

Invoice numberInvoice dateDue dateBuyer reference (BT-10)Order number (optional)

Lines

What did you deliver?

DescriptionQuantityUnitPrice excl. VATVAT treatment

Line amount: €0.00

Subtotal excl. VAT€0.00

VAT 21%€0.00

Total incl. VAT€0.00

Profile

Which e-invoicing standard?

NLCIUSthe default in the Netherlands (incl. government)Peppol BIS 3.0international (e.g. Belgian clients)

Delivery date (optional)

Live checks

10 errors · 2 points of attention

Fill in your own name and full address — legally required on every invoice. Belastingdienst invoice requirements
Fill in your customer's name and full address — legally required. Belastingdienst invoice requirements
Your KVK number (8 digits) is required on the invoice and as the electronic address in the e-invoice. Belastingdienst invoice requirements
Your VAT ID (format NL123456789B01) is required when you charge VAT. Belastingdienst invoice requirements
Enter an invoice number. Numbers must be sequential (e.g. 2026-001, 2026-002). Belastingdienst invoice requirements
Enter the invoice date.
Line 1: description missing — the nature of the goods or services is legally required. Belastingdienst invoice requirements
Enter a valid IBAN — without an account number your customer cannot pay.
Buyer reference or order number missing — Dutch suppliers must provide one of the two (rule BR-NL-3 / NL-R-002). Ask your (government) client for a reference or purchase order number. BR-NL rules (Dutch Peppol Authority)
Your Dutch customer's KVK number (8 digits) is mandatory in an e-invoice (rule BR-NL-10 / NL-R-005). Find it on their invoices, website, or in the KVK business register. BR-NL rules (Dutch Peppol Authority)

Delivery date missing. If it differs from the invoice date it's legally required. Belastingdienst invoice requirements
Due date missing. Without payment terms your customer doesn't know when to pay.

Download

Fix the errors in the checks first — warnings do not block.

What now? You can simply email a UBL file, or send it via a Peppol access point. This tool sends nothing — everything stays on your own device.

Want full Schematron validation? Check your file for free with the external validator by Helger or peppolvalidator.com.

Already have a PDF invoice? Use the PDF to UBL converter — it pre-fills the form from your existing invoice.

What is an e-invoice (and what is not)?

An e-invoice is a structured XML file that follows the European standard EN 16931, so accounting software can read every field — amounts, VAT, IBAN, references — without a human retyping anything. UBL 2.1 is the file format used for this in the Netherlands.

This is an e-invoice

A UBL 2.1 XML file per EN 16931: machine-readable, automatically validated, imported by accounting packages in seconds. That is exactly what this tool produces.

This is not an e-invoice

A PDF — even a beautifully designed one — is a picture of an invoice, not a structured one. Software cannot reliably read it, so legally and technically a PDF does not count as an e-invoice.

What this tool does — and deliberately does not

This tool generates and validates the UBL file. It cannot send it over the Peppol network — sending requires a certified access point (a service provider). You download the XML here and send it yourself: as an email attachment, via your client's supplier portal, or through an access point.

NLCIUS or Peppol BIS 3.0?

NLCIUS

The Dutch application of EN 16931. Choose this for Dutch clients — and it is what the Dutch central government requires: e-invoicing has been mandatory for its suppliers (B2G) since 2017.

Peppol BIS 3.0

The international profile, used across Europe and beyond. Choose this for foreign clients — Belgian companies in particular, since they all exchange invoices via Peppol.

Working for Belgian clients?

Belgium made B2B e-invoicing mandatory on 1 January 2026 — for companies established in Belgium. As a Dutch freelancer you are not legally bound by that mandate, but your Belgian clients must be able to receive invoices via Peppol. Send them a valid Peppol BIS 3.0 UBL and their bookkeeping ingests it automatically — you instantly become their favourite supplier.

KOR and e-invoices

Using the kleineondernemersregeling (KOR)? Then you invoice without VAT. In UBL that means tax category E (exempt), and the invoice must carry an exemption reason. There is no official VATEX code for the Dutch KOR, so a free-text reason such as "Vrijgesteld van OB o.g.v. artikel 25 Wet OB (KOR)" is the correct approach.

The tool handles this automatically: enable the KOR option and both the category and the reason are filled in for you.

Sources & further reading

Frequently asked questions

Is this a valid e-invoice?

Yes. The tool generates UBL 2.1 XML that follows the European standard EN 16931, in your choice of the Dutch NLCIUS profile or Peppol BIS 3.0. You can verify the file independently with free external validators such as the Helger Peppol validator or peppolvalidator.com — the XML you download here is exactly what those validators check.

Do I already have to send e-invoices as a freelancer?

Not yet for business-to-business invoices in the Netherlands. The Dutch government has proposed making e-invoicing mandatory around 2030 (domestic B2B per 1 January 2030 and cross-border under the EU ViDA rules per 1 July 2030) — these are proposals, with the intended direction expected in summer 2026, not law. Dutch central government clients (B2G) are a different story: they have required e-invoices since 2017.

What is Peppol?

Peppol is a secure network for exchanging e-invoices and other business documents. You connect to it through a certified access point (a service provider), which delivers your invoice directly into your client's accounting software. This tool generates and validates the UBL file; sending it over the Peppol network requires an access point.

Does this work with the KOR (small businesses scheme)?

Yes. Under the kleineondernemersregeling you invoice without VAT, which in UBL terms means tax category E (exempt) plus a stated exemption reason. There is no official VATEX code for the Dutch KOR, so a free-text exemption reason is the correct approach — the tool fills this in automatically when you enable the KOR option.

Does my data stay private?

Yes. Everything runs inside your browser: the form, the UBL generation and the validation. Your invoice data is never uploaded to a server.

Nothing is uploadedNo account neededUBL 2.1 · EN 16931

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Rather create a regular PDF invoice? Use the free invoice generator, read our complete invoicing guide for freelancers, or explore another privacy-first tool: the MT940 converter.