VeriFactu or e-invoicing: they are not the same thing
It is the most widespread confusion in the Spanish market, and it costs money both ways: some people believe they are bound by something that does not exist yet, and others believe they have complied when they are half done.
One looks at the invoice you issue. The other, at how you send it.
That one sentence clears up 90 % of the confusion. The rest is in the table below.
| VeriFactu | Mandatory electronic invoicing | |
|---|---|---|
| Which law it comes from | Anti-fraud Law 11/2021 and Royal Decree 1007/2023 | Law 18/2022 «Crea y Crece» and Royal Decree 238/2026 |
| Which ministry | The Tax Agency | The Ministry of Economy, with the Tax Agency behind the public platform |
| What it aims to do | Anti-fraud: making sure an issued invoice cannot be altered | Late payment: knowing when each invoice is accepted and when it is paid |
| What it acts on | About your program | About the document and how it is sent |
| Who it applies to | Almost anyone who issues invoices, including those going to consumers | Only between businesses and professionals |
| Is paper still allowed? | Yes, with the QR code printed | No, within its own scope |
| What you have to do | Use software that complies | Issuing and receiving in a structured format, and reporting payment |
| When | 1 January and 1 July 2027 | No firm date yet |
And one thing that ties them together: VeriFactu reaches any system used to issue invoices, electronic or not. Complying with one does not release you from the other.
Why they get confused so often
For three reasons that reinforce one another.
The first is that both arrived at the same time and both talk about invoices and new obligations. For anyone who does not do this for a living, «that invoice thing with the Tax Agency» is one single thing.
The second is the word electronic. VeriFactu requires the record to be electronic, not the invoice; the other rule requires the invoice to be. It is a real distinction and completely invisible from outside.
The third, and the most expensive, is commercial: a lot of «get ready for e-invoicing» has been sold while actually meaning VeriFactu, because it sounds better and because it made no difference to the sale.
What applies to you, specifically
If you issue invoices with software: VeriFactu applies to you, and it has a date. Companies, 1 January 2027. The self-employed and entities under income attribution, 1 July 2027.
If you also invoice other businesses: e-invoicing will apply to you, but not yet. The regulation is published and in force since April 2026, and its deadlines — twelve months for those turning over more than eight million, twenty-four for everyone else — run from a ministerial order that has not been published yet.
If you only invoice consumers: VeriFactu applies to you and mandatory e-invoicing does not, since that one is only between businesses.
Be careful with the dates you read
Dates from 2025 and 2026 are still circulating for VeriFactu and they no longer hold: it was postponed twice and today it is 2027. And for e-invoicing, dates of 2027 and 2028 circulate that come from no published rule at all, only from a draft ministerial order. If someone gives you a firm date for e-invoicing, ask them which rule they got it from.
What to do about it
Deal with what has a date and lay the ground for what does not. In practice that is three things, and all three serve both rules:
- Issuing with software instead of a template. That is the real leap; the format afterwards is the easy part.
- Having your customers' tax details complete. A structured invoice does not forgive a mistyped tax ID or a half-finished address.
- Recording when each invoice is paid. Reporting it will become compulsory, and today plenty of people do not track it anywhere.
What has a date, taken care of
Cairos issues under VeriFactu from your very first invoice, on every plan, the free one included.
Questions about the two obligations
Two obligations, two timetables
And one single thing to do today: stop invoicing with a template.