With the rollout of the VeriFactu system in Spain, one of the most common concerns for expat freelancers and small business owners is making a mistake on an invoice. In the past, people often edited Word documents or changed drafts on the fly. Under the Spanish Anti-Fraud Law, however, all billing records are unalterable and cryptographically chained through digital hashes.
Keep the official implementation dates in mind: compliance becomes mandatory on January 1, 2027 for corporations (SL, SA) and on July 1, 2027 for freelancers and micro-businesses. For a comprehensive overview, read our VeriFactu guide for freelancers.
What happens technically if you issue an incorrect invoice?
Whenever you produce an invoice containing faulty details (such as an incorrect Tax ID, wrong VAT rate, or wrong total), your software immediately generates an entry record stamped with an irreversible cryptographic hash.
Depending on the nature of the mistake and your real-time communication settings with the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT), two outcomes can occur:
1. Validation rejection via API VeriFactu: If your payload violates official AEAT schema specifications (e.g., bad VAT rounding or an unverified NIF format), the AEAT web service returns a rejection code. The invoice is not accepted, and the system must address the error while preserving complete audit logs.
2. Successful receipt with commercial errors: If the file passes technical validation but carries wrong amounts or the wrong client details, the record remains permanently locked in the chain.
Fixing mistakes: Technical cancellation record vs. corrective invoice
Spanish billing regulations establish two very distinct procedures:
- Technical cancellation record (registro de anulación): Used exclusively when an invoice was generated due to software failure, system duplication, or before delivery to the customer. The API VeriFactu allows cancellation entries that reference the prior hash without breaking chain continuity.
- Corrective invoice (factura rectificativa): If the faulty invoice was already delivered to your client or has fiscal effects, the only legal solution is issuing a rectifying invoice under a designated series, adding its own chained record to the system.
Attempting to delete database records directly constitutes non-compliance and carries hefty fines. Learn more about the legal risks in our guide on fines and penalties for not complying with VeriFactu.
Migrating data safely and avoiding validation errors
Data errors often happen during migrations. When you import Excel to VeriFactu or transition from legacy tools such as attempting to import Factusol to VeriFactu, import Sage 50, or import Holded, data field mapping must be flawless to prevent AEAT validation rejections.
A dependable ERP integration for VeriFactu or an authorized VeriFactu gateway for software verifies schema compliance before chaining entries.
To manage your invoicing with total confidence, Fakturia.es delivers modern cloud invoicing software adapted to VeriFactu and the Spanish Anti-Fraud Law, performing real-time checks to safeguard your business against invoicing errors.