Belgium accounting firms: client portal software compared
Belgium accounting firms comparing client portal software often put Clearfacts, Billit, Lucy and Silverfin on one list, but these tools do different jobs. Clearfacts handles document collection and pre-accounting, Billit is invoicing software that invites the accountant in, Lucy focuses on sending and receiving Peppol invoices, and Silverfin supports the firm's closing and compliance work through its Pulse portal. The useful question is not which one wins, but which stage of your client workflow is broken.
A word on my position: I build custom client portals, including for accounting firms, so I have an interest in this topic. I also explain below when you should simply buy a product. I checked the vendors' pages in early November 2026; none of the prices quoted here are mine.
Why client portal software in Belgium is now a Peppol question too
Since 1 January 2026, invoices between VAT-liable businesses in Belgium must be structured e-invoices, whatever the date of the underlying transaction. A PDF can still be sent as a courtesy copy, but the structured invoice is the one that counts. That matters to a fiduciary because the supplier invoice no longer needs to be chased in the way it once was, at least for covered transactions.
It does not end the chase. Peppol is a network, not a piece of software, and it carries invoices. It does not carry a question about a missing bank statement, a signed engagement letter or a payroll document. So a firm now needs two things that are easy to confuse: a route for structured invoices, and a place where the client relationship happens.
Clearfacts, Billit, Lucy, Silverfin: four layers of the workflow
Think of the client's paperwork moving through a chain. It starts when a document is created, moves through collection and approval, then bookkeeping, then closing and reporting. Each of these products starts at a different link.
| Tool | Main layer | What the client sees | Published pricing found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billit | Creating and exchanging invoices | An invoicing tool; the accountant is invited for free | €7.50 a month for 25 documents, €25 for 500 |
| Lucy | Peppol sending and receiving | An inbox and a transfer to the accountant | €4 to €15 a month, according to Accountable |
| Clearfacts | Collection and pre-accounting | Approval portal and mobile app | No amounts; based on active client files |
| Silverfin | Closing, compliance, reporting | Pulse portal on working papers and reports | None found on the pages I could read |
Billit's pricing page shows the entrepreneur's perspective: plans follow the number of documents per month, an extra user costs €5 a month, and inviting an accountant is free, with access through a dedicated portal for accountants. It is a good fit where your clients need invoicing software anyway.
Accountable's comparison, updated in October 2026, describes Lucy as a Belgian platform centred on Peppol, with an inbox for incoming documents and transfer to an accountant or to software such as Yuki, Octopus or Exact Online. Yuki announced that it was acquiring Lucy in June 2024, saying the aim was Peppol access regardless of the user's bookkeeping software. That independence is worth confirming directly if your firm does not use Yuki.
Clearfacts is the closest to what most firms mean by a portal. Documents arriving through Peppol, email, scanning and paper converge in one place, AI proposes entries, and the client or firm approves purchase invoices in the portal before they are booked. Its pricing page explains the model without giving figures: a monthly subscription tied to active client files, no per-employee, per-client-user or per-document charges, and a separate one-off Starter Pack.
Silverfin sits later in the chain. It presents Pulse as the client-facing portal, with clients working digitally alongside the firm on working papers, reports and financial statements, and with staff and client communication held in one environment. If your problem is getting receipts in, this is probably not where to begin. If it is getting year-end sign-off without endless email threads, it deserves a look.
What to ask each client portal vendor
Start with adoption, because a portal that clients ignore is worth nothing. Ask what a client must install, how many of a comparable firm's clients log in, and what happens to a client who refuses and keeps emailing. Vendors may not share figures, but the answer tells you how they think about the problem.
Then ask about the connection with your accounting package: which data moves, in which direction, and how errors appear. Ask who owns the documents, how you export everything when you leave, and what the setup really costs beyond the subscription. Finally, ask for pricing on your exact number of active files, in writing. A monthly per-file figure and a per-document plan cannot be compared until you apply them to your own volumes.
When a custom portal is the wrong choice
If one of these products covers your bottleneck and your clients accept it, buy it. Recognising invoice data and proposing entries is specialist work. I would not rebuild it for you, and you should be wary of anyone who offers to do so casually. A smaller firm offering standard bookkeeping will nearly always be better served by a product, and a firm that needs deep compliance tooling should look at dedicated software.
Custom development earns its place around these tools rather than instead of them: a single branded entry point when a firm runs several packages, a follow-up view showing who owes what on which file, or services such as legal or advisory work that no product tracks. To see whether that applies to you, write down your three slowest exchanges with clients and where each one stalls. You can then read about my client portal for accounting firms or my work in Belgium. You will speak directly with the person who writes the code, based in Metz and working with Brussels, Liège, Namur, Charleroi and Mons, and a quote is the way to find out what your case would cost.