Is It Legal to Invoice Without Software?
Your options under VeriFactu
Many freelancers wonder whether they are required to pay for an invoicing program or whether they can keep issuing invoices entirely by hand. Here are the limits the law actually sets.
Handwritten Paper Invoicing
The only 100% legal way to invoice without software is to write your invoices by hand, using official paper invoice books from an authorised printer.
- ✓You use no computers, no phones and no printers.
- ✓Only advisable for freelancers with an extremely low invoicing volume.
What Counts as Software?
Any computer or digital device involved in creating the receipt or invoice is classed as software by the Tax Agency.
- ✗Excel or Word templates edited on a computer.
- ✗Traditional cash registers not adapted to VeriFactu.
The risk of hybrid invoicing
Many freelancers wrongly assume that drafting invoices in Word, saving them as PDFs and printing them on paper counts as "invoicing without software". That is not the case.
Once a word processor or a digital editor has been used to format and print the document, you are running an invoicing system. If that system does not meet the SHA-256 chaining and tamper-proofing requirements of the Anti-Fraud Law, you are committing serious infringements punishable by up to €50,000 per financial year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an official free alternative?
Yes. The AEAT (the Spanish Tax Agency) plans to launch a free, basic web invoicing platform. It does, however, lack automated integrations, digitised expense archiving and smart assistants to help you prepare your tax returns.
Fakturia.es: the easiest way to go digital
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