Billing
Why freelancers are leaving Odoo and Excel for a simple tool
Odoo is powerful but complex. Excel is flexible but time-consuming. More and more Belgian freelancers are looking for a solution between the two. Here's why and when it's worth making the switch.
The problem with Excel
Excel has been used to create invoices for decades. And it "works", in a sense. But:
- No automatic numbering — risk of sequence error (tax error)
- No payment tracking — you don't easily know who paid and who didn't
- No automatic reminders — you have to follow up manually
- Not Peppol compliant — impossible to send via the Peppol network, mandatory since 2026
- No automatic VAT — risk of incorrect calculation on Belgian rates
- Chaotic archiving — 200 Excel files in a Google Drive folder
For someone creating 5 invoices a month, Excel may be enough. For 20 invoices and more, it's wasted time and tax risks.
The problem with Odoo
Odoo is a complete ERP (sales, purchases, inventory, accounting, HR, CRM...). It's a powerful solution for SMEs with 10+ employees. For a freelancer:
- Initial setup: several days or weeks
- Learning curve: significant, even for simple invoicing
- Cost: Odoo Online subscription starting from 25-30 euros/month for basic modules, quickly more with additional modules
- Feature overload: you use 5% of the features and pay for 100%
Odoo makes sense if you manage inventory, a sales team and complex processes. Not for creating 15 invoices a month.
What freelancers really want
After talking to hundreds of Belgian freelancers, the real needs are simple:
- Create an invoice in less than 2 minutes
- Know who paid and who didn't
- Send automatic reminders
- Export for your accountant at the end of the quarter
- Be compliant: Belgian VAT, legal notices, Peppol 2026
No need for inventory management, CRM, HR module or advanced analytics dashboard.
The checklist for choosing your invoicing software
- Handles Belgian VAT (6%, 12%, 21%, exemption) automatically?
- Sequential numbering guaranteed?
- Peppol compatible for 2026?
- Automatic payment reminders?
- Accounting export (CSV, PDF, XML)?
- Mobile access?
- Reasonable price for a freelancer (< 20 euros/month)?
- Data stored in Europe (GDPR)?
Migration: is it complicated?
Migrating from Excel to dedicated software generally takes 1 to 2 hours:
- Import your customer list
- Set up your profile (VAT number, IBAN, logo)
- Create your first invoice
Your old Excel invoices stay in Excel — no need to migrate everything. You start with a clean slate.
Migrating from Odoo to a simpler tool: export your customers and products in CSV, import them into the new software. 2-3 hours maximum.
Ledgerly: designed specifically for Belgian freelancers
Ledgerly is neither a degraded ERP nor an improved Excel. It's a tool designed exclusively for the needs of Belgian freelancers: Belgian VAT, exemption, Peppol 2026, automatic reminders, InterVAT export. Up and running in 10 minutes.
Try it free — no credit card required.