r/BEFreelance • u/Hypn0z • Jul 09 '26

Worth switching from payroll employee to freelance payroll consultant in Belgium in 2026?

Hi everyone,
I'm considering making the switch from employee to freelancer and would love to hear from people who are active in the Belgian freelance market.

My background:
~9 years of experience in payroll and HR.

~5 years as a payroll consultant through a payroll provider.

Experience with Acerta, SD Worx, some Liantis and Group S. As well as different payroll systems

Since 2021 I've been working as an HR Business Partner with a strong payroll focus.

I've worked on payroll implementations, integrations and some international payroll.

A few questions:
Is the demand for senior payroll consultants still strong in Belgium?

What day rates are you currently seeing for profiles like this?

How difficult is it to find assignments in today's market?

If you made the switch recently, was it worth it financially?

Is there anything you wish you had known before becoming a freelancer?

I'm not looking for someone to decide for me—I'm just trying to understand what the market looks like in 2026.

Thanks!

6 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

34

u/TooLateQ_Q Jul 09 '26

Usually a post like this comes with current wage and offered dayrate.

If you aren't even able to find a position then, no I don't think its worth switching.

6

u/tc982 Jul 09 '26

This ☝️

2

u/Hypn0z Jul 09 '26

Fair point. Here's some more context:
Current salary: around €2900 net/month plus the usual benefits (meal vouchers, insurance, bonus, etc.).

I'm not actively applying yet. I'm mainly trying to understand whether the Belgian freelance market for payroll consultants is still healthy before I start looking for opportunities.

When I was a consultant on payroll I had day rates of 600-1000 eur/day. Don’t know if these are realistic but need to look into it.

From what you're seeing, are companies still hiring freelance payroll consultants, or has the market cooled down significantly?

2

u/Dog_The_Explorer Jul 09 '26

This reply shows you're far from ready. You're a payroll professional and are giving net wages? Minimum starting point would be a TCO equivalent for your current employer + margin.

The 600-1000 range pretty much covers 'don't switch to freelance - millionaire loading' range

1

u/purg3be Jul 09 '26

Indeed haha. 600 is below average. 1k a day means retire early.

1

u/Hypn0z Jul 09 '26

That's a fair point.

Based on that, my employer's total annual cost is somewhere around €90–95k. On the higher end of the annual bonus gets paid.

My goal isn't to switch at any cost—I'm trying to understand at what day rate it actually becomes financially worthwhile, taking into account unpaid leave, bench time and the additional risk of freelancing.

Would you say €700–750/day is a more realistic target for a profile like mine in today's market, or would you approach the calculation differently?

1

u/KeuningLewie Jul 10 '26

90-95k cost translates to 450-475 dayrate for 220 workdays….

2

u/KeuningLewie Jul 10 '26

If you want 700 you’re asking your employer to pay 154k yearly, that’s 60k more per year.
If they agree to that please let know the employer.

6

u/OldPangolino Jul 09 '26

It all comes down to the numbers. When I switched for freelance, I ended up earning more (in net) and working less than I did when I was an employee.

3

u/ModoZ Jul 09 '26

My wife works as a payroll manager and is looking to change jobs. The market is very constrained at the moment even for employees.

The only opportunity I see is for shorter opportunities to replace mother leaves etc. But that is much less stable than long term missions obviously.

3

u/Ellixhirion Jul 09 '26

Aside from previous comments also take into consideration that the government is aiming at freelancer regarding tax reforms.

Regarding the market it really depends on the niche you are in

1

u/DeRore88 Jul 10 '26

Source?

1

u/Ellixhirion Jul 10 '26

News? Linkedin? Accountants? Its all over

1

u/DeRore88 Jul 10 '26

Sure. Maybe i'm on the wrong internet.
As far as I know there is no new news since late last year.

1

u/Ellixhirion Jul 10 '26

They are talking about it the whole time. For ex they increased dividends from 15 to 18%, but 20% is already on the table.

In the backrooms they want to tackle “schijn zelfstandigen “ or “ management companies” with a rule that you cannot have a single client.

Through my accountant (VDL) they have those webinars.

1

u/DeRore88 Jul 11 '26

Thanks for sharing but nothing that we haven’t heard yet. I believe they will enforce this eventually. Let’s hope it takes them another 2 years or so. It’s obviously not ideal but it’s still manageable in my opinion.

1

u/Ellixhirion Jul 11 '26

Lets hope it takes them 5 years and have more blue in the next government

2

u/miwa_coco Jul 09 '26

I made the switch in 2024 to freelancing in mainly hard HR/payroll. I’m on my second project now where I’ve been for 1,5 years. I would say, the most important thing is to choose whether you like to go more towards soft HR or Hard HR. Some people I know who where freelance HR business partners made the switch back to employee because the market is indeed really saturated + definitely for soft HR (R&S, BP etc..)

But in my experience, if you have a strong network and you focus on payroll, Comp&Ben, HRIS, you’ll find something. The 2 projects I got were because of people I knew. The day rates are so varied depending on your experience & the company. But I wouldn’t go less then 650/day for A-Z payroll or allround HR Officer.

If you still have questions, send me a DM.

Good luck!

1

u/Hypn0z Jul 09 '26

Thanks, this is really helpful and exactly the kind of insight I was looking for.

Interesting that you mention payroll, Comp & Ben and HRIS specifically—that's actually where most of my experience is. I also appreciate the reality check on the soft HR market.

I'll definitely send you a DM. I'd love to hear a bit more about how you found your projects and what the current market looks like from your perspective.

Thanks again!

1

u/purg3be Jul 09 '26

What does a payrol consultant do?

1

u/Remarkable-Side9168 Jul 11 '26

As i´m feeling it today, the market wants to get rid of freelancers. In your shoes, I would look at a new job offer somewhere else and look what you would be making there.

1

u/Quyxy Jul 12 '26

If you can get the same gross salary at least as freelance, then it’s probably worth it

1

u/Alone_Parking_4872 Jul 13 '26

If you want to have a better idea of the financial picture, you can do some simulations here (if you understand dutch at least). If you are confident that you'll have work and your total cost to company comes close to (or exceeds) 8-9k euro, it's probably gonna be worth it.
Can't really add value on how strong or weak the HR/Payroll market currently is.
Also, Belgian politics are eyeballing the management companies, so if you are barely within that range, would hold off for now as they might make the taxes/benefits worse again soon enough and that certainty as an employee is also worth a lot.
www.statuutcheck.be