Order form: when is it mandatory, what must be on it and what does an example look like?
A customer accepts the quote for a heat pump and pays a deposit. The unit can only be delivered in six weeks. At the office, someone asks whether the signed quote is enough, or whether an order form is still needed.
Published by Abdelhay Rahou (opens in a new window)5 November 20269 min read
What is an order form?
An order form (bestelbon / bon de commande) records an order: what the customer orders, at what price, and when you deliver or carry out the work. In a service company, it follows an accepted quote and comes before the invoice. If a consumer pays a deposit, an order form is mandatory in Belgium, with, among other things, the deposit, the balance and your signature.
The term is used in two directions. You give the customer an order form to confirm what they are ordering from you. And a business customer, such as a property manager (syndic) or a company with a purchasing department, often sends you its own order form, with an order number it later wants to see again on your invoice.
What goes wrong without an order form
- The deposit is not recorded anywhere. The customer paid, but nobody noted how much is still outstanding.
- Nobody knows which version applies. The quote had two options and was then changed again. Which one did the customer finally choose?
- The delivery date was promised verbally. If delivery of the unit is delayed, everyone remembers something different.
- The invoice gets stuck at the customer’s. Their accounts department cannot match it without the order number they gave you.
- The planner hears about it too late. The order is settled, but nobody creates the intervention.
Quote, order form and invoice: the difference
| Quote | Order form | Invoice | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When | Before the agreement | At the order | After the work, or in instalments as agreed |
| What it contains | What you propose, at what price, until when | What has been ordered, the price, the deposit, the balance and the delivery date | What the customer must pay, with the VAT |
| What it is for | Letting the customer decide | Recording what was agreed | Asking for payment |
According to ConsumerConnect, an initiative of the FPS Economy (FOD Economie / SPF Economie), a signed quote or order form has the value of a contract. How to build a quote, and what the FPS Economy says about quotes to consumers, is explained in writing a quote.
Is an order form mandatory?
For a consumer who pays a deposit: yes. In its notice on construction contracts of 8 October 2024 (in Dutch), the FPS Economy writes: if the consumer pays a deposit, an order form must be drawn up. ConsumerConnect (in Dutch) tells the consumer the same. The order form has its own chapter in Book VI of the Code of Economic Law (Article VI.88), and the Royal Decree of 30 June 1996 lists the particulars it must contain.
Without a deposit, that rule does not cover your case. A written confirmation of the order is still good practice: it records what the customer chose and when you will come.
Between businesses, the sources above do not apply: they are about consumers. What you put in writing with a business customer depends on your agreements and your terms. In practice, many business customers work with their own order form and an order number. Copy that number onto your confirmation and your invoice, so that their accounts department can match the invoice.
Have your template and your terms checked by your legal adviser, and ask your accountant how to invoice and post a deposit.
What must be on an order form?
According to the Royal Decree of 30 June 1996 (in Dutch), Article 19, the order form states, among other things:
- the name or company name and the address of the seller, and where applicable their registration number (the 1996 text still refers to the trade or craft register);
- the date and the sequence number of the form;
- a description that identifies the product or service with certainty;
- the unit price, the quantity and the total price;
- the amount of the deposit paid;
- the balance;
- the date or the period of delivery or of the service;
- the seller’s signature.
“Among other things” means that this is a minimum (text on ejustice consulted on 31 October 2026).
Good practice on top of that, without the sources above requiring it:
- the customer’s details, with the address of the work if it is different;
- your company number and VAT number, the VAT rate per line and the totals;
- the number and date of the quote the order is based on;
- when and how the balance will be paid;
- your general terms and conditions;
- the customer’s signature, with the date;
- for a business customer: their order number.
The order form number
The decree requires a sequence number. Use one continuous series, for example OF-2026-0001, OF-2026-0002, and never give a number twice. If you cancel an order form, keep the number and mark it as cancelled. A business customer’s order number is their reference, not your sequence number: record it separately.
An order form: example
An example to adapt, not an official template. What is in square brackets, you fill in yourself.
| Block | Example |
|---|---|
| Seller | [Company name], [address], company number [number], VAT number [number] |
| Customer | [Name], [billing address]; address of the work: [address]; contact: [name, mobile phone] |
| Order form | No. OF-2026-0142, date [date], based on quote [number] of [date] |
| Description | Supply and installation of an air-to-water heat pump [make, type, output], with connection, commissioning and explanation to the occupant |
| Lines | For each line: quantity, unit, unit price, VAT rate and total |
| Totals | Total excluding VAT, VAT, total including VAT |
| Deposit | [Amount], paid on [date] |
| Balance | [Amount], payable [after commissioning, within the term on the invoice] |
| Execution | Installation [in week X], at the latest on [date] |
| Terms | General terms and conditions attached, read and accepted |
| Signatures | For the seller: [name, signature]. For the customer: [name, date, signature] |
An example: a heat pump with a deposit
A fictitious heating company prepares a quote for a heat pump for a family. The customer chooses the option with the larger hot water tank and signs. The quote asks for a deposit on ordering, and the unit has a delivery time of a few weeks.
At the office, the quote is confirmed. The order form repeats the chosen option, the deposit the customer paid, the balance and the week of installation, and the business owner signs it. The customer receives a copy by email. The office then orders the unit and creates the intervention for the installation. After the installation, the invoice matches the order form: the same lines and prices, with the deposit deducted as the accountant prescribes.
In the same week, a property manager orders a repair to the shared boiler of an apartment building. They send their own order form with an order number. The office copies that number as the reference, and it later appears on the invoice too. An invoice without that number can stay stuck at the property manager’s: see sending a payment reminder.
Short video · 0:30
Offerte verstuurd, en daarna stilte?
U ziet welke offertes wachten, wat binnenkort vervalt en wat de volgende stap is. Zegt de klant ja, dan bevestigt u en maakt u de interventie aan.
Video in Dutch, with Dutch captions
All short videos (in Dutch)How it works in Digitalnatie Service Suite
In Service Suite, the order form is the confirmed quote, which becomes a sales order. You work in the quotes screen, part of invoicing.
- Customer reference: when you create a quote, you enter a reference, which serves as its title in the list. A business customer’s order number fits there, for example.
- Confirming: if the customer says yes, you confirm the quote and it becomes a sales order. Depending on the products, Service Suite creates the interventions straight away; the service lines need a service site for that. The customer does not receive an email at this point.
- From the sales order: create the intervention (on the order’s site and linked to it), the project or the maintenance contract (in draft until you activate it), and invoice. A block lists the order’s invoices.
- Invoicing creates a draft invoice with the agreed lines, prices and discounts; nothing is posted or sent. If accounting creates the invoice from an intervention linked to the sales order, that invoice takes over the lines and prices of the sales order, plus the parts used that are not on it.
- The reference on the invoice: on a draft invoice, you can change the invoice date, the payment term and the reference.
- Cancelling the sales order also cancels its draft invoices, not the posted invoices.
Good to know:
- A sales order is read-only: you can no longer change it in the application. For a correction, ask Digitalnatie.
- The guide does not describe a deposit or a balance on the sales order. If you ask a consumer for a deposit, check that your document contains all the particulars of the royal decree, and add what is missing.
- You send the quote to the customer yourself as a PDF: sending it by email or requesting a signature is not possible from the application.
- Not every role may do every step: by default, the administrator and accounting invoice, and the administrator and the manager create a project or a maintenance contract.
How the work then leads to an invoice is explained in from work order to invoice. What a deposit means for your cash is covered in cash flow tracking.
Frequently asked questions
Is an order form mandatory?
If a consumer pays a deposit, you must draw up an order form, according to the FPS Economy. The Royal Decree of 30 June 1996 lists what must be on it, including the deposit, the balance, the delivery date and the seller’s signature. Ask your legal adviser what applies in other cases, including between businesses.
What is the difference between a quote and an order form?
A quote is your proposal before the agreement, with a price and a period of validity. The order form confirms what the customer ordered, with the price, the deposit, the balance and the date or period of delivery. According to ConsumerConnect, from the FPS Economy, a signed quote or order form has the value of a contract.
What must be on an order form?
According to the Royal Decree of 30 June 1996, at least: the seller’s name and address, the date and sequence number, a clear description, the unit price, quantity and total, the deposit paid, the balance, the date or period of delivery and the seller’s signature. Good practice adds your company number, the VAT per line, the quote number and the customer’s signature.
What is an order form number?
The sequence number of your order form, which the Royal Decree of 30 June 1996 requires. Use one continuous series and never give a number twice. A business customer often has its own order number: record it separately and copy it onto your invoice.
Can I still change an order form in Service Suite?
No. In Service Suite, a confirmed quote becomes a read-only sales order, and for a correction you ask Digitalnatie. From the sales order, you can create the intervention, the project, the maintenance contract or the draft invoice.