ZATCA on an Invoice

Once ZATCA is set up, e-invoicing happens inside the invoice you already raise. There is no separate e-invoice document to create and no second place to keep sales. This page covers what appears on a document, what the QR code is, and what to do when an invoice has to be corrected or voided.

The action on a document

A sales invoice or credit note carries a ZATCA e-Invoice action. It generates the e-invoice for that document and shows where it stands with ZATCA — the route to take when an individual document needs attention, without going through the sales list.

Standard or simplified

The route follows the customer. A customer with a VAT number is B2B and the invoice is a standard invoice, cleared with ZATCA before it is given to them. A customer without one is B2C and the invoice is simplified, reported after issue and carrying a QR code.

Keep customer VAT numbers accurate. A business customer whose VAT number is missing is treated as a consumer: the invoice takes the simplified route, and the document you hand over will not have been cleared. It is a setup error that only shows up as a compliance problem later.

The QR code

Simplified invoices must carry a QR code holding the seller's name, VAT number, the invoice timestamp, the total and the VAT amount. The ERP generates it and prints it on the invoice, including on point-of-sale receipts — a shop receipt is a simplified invoice, and the same obligation applies to it.

Whether the QR code prints is controlled in Settings.

Credit notes

A credit note is an e-invoice in its own right and goes through the same clearance or reporting as the invoice it corrects. It is the correct way to fix an invoice that has already been cleared — a cleared invoice exists as far as ZATCA is concerned and cannot be edited away.

Voiding

Voiding the document in the ERP marks the e-invoice record as Voided. What that does not do is withdraw an invoice ZATCA has already cleared. If the customer has the document and it was wrong, the answer is a credit note, not a void.

Where to check