In Spain, B2G e-invoicing has been mandatory since 2015 via FACe. B2B e-invoicing will become mandatory in stages under the Crea y Crece Law (Law 18/2022) once its implementing regulation is approved and published. This guide explains what an electronic invoice is, when it becomes mandatory, how it relates to Verifactu at a high level, and what to do now. If you bill the public sector, you already use Facturae and FACe. If you bill other businesses, prepare your software to issue, receive, and store e-invoices, and to report payment status if the final text confirms it.
Quick Q&A
What is an electronic invoice in one line? A tax invoice issued and received in electronic format that preserves authenticity, integrity, and legibility.
Where is it already mandatory? B2G e-invoicing has been mandatory since January 2015 via the FACe portal.
When will it be mandatory for B2B?After the B2B regulation is published. Companies with turnover above 8 million euros will have 1 year. The rest will have 2 years.
Is Verifactu the same thing? No. Electronic invoice governs the document and the rail. Verifactu is Spain’s anti-fraud rule set for billing software.
Still confused about how electronic invoicing differs from Verifactu? Here’s the difference explained.
Do I need a special format today? For B2G, yes: Facturae 3.2.1/3.2.2. For B2B, the final format and rails will be defined in the regulation.
What should I do now?Choose software that can issue, receive, acknowledge, and archive e-invoices, supports FACe/FACeB2B, and is ready for Verifactu compliance.
Electronic invoice: quick definition and where Spain stands
Simple definition.An electronic invoice is a tax invoice that lives fully in a digital format. It must be readable, prove the sender’s identity, and ensure the content has not been altered.
Where Spain stands today.
- B2G e-invoicing has been mandatory since 15 January 2015. Suppliers send Facturae through FACe.
- B2B e-invoicing is not yet in force. The government reopened a second public hearing in March 2025. The compliance clock starts on the day the regulation is published: 1 year for companies with turnover over 8 million euros, 2 years for everyone else.
What is an electronic invoice?
Core elements.It includes the same fields as a paper invoice: number and series, issuer and customer details and tax ID, dates, concept, taxable base, VAT, and totals. Nothing changes in the legal content. The change is the format and the way you send, receive, acknowledge, and store it.
Three legal qualities you must guarantee.
- Legibility. A human can read it with normal software.
- Authenticity of origin. It comes from who claims to send it.
- Integrity of content. It has not been changed after emission.
How you guarantee them.With a qualified e-signature, EDI, or reliable internal controls that create an audit trail. The B2B regulation will also define acceptable methods for exchange, acknowledgement messages, and-if confirmed-how payment status must be reported.
Still not sure how electronic invoices actually work in practice? Learn more here.
Formats and rails in Spain today
B2G.You use Facturae 3.2.1 or 3.2.2. You can create it with the desktop app or MiFacturae and send it via FACe. Public bodies use this rail to register, process, and pay supplier invoices, and you track statuses in the portal or through integrations.
B2B.The upcoming regulation will fix formats, interoperability, and status reporting. Expect a public solution plus private platforms, with clear rules to interconnect. Whichever platform your counterparty uses, your software must connect (directly or via a gateway) and exchange acknowledgements and statuses without manual rework.
Names you will keep seeing.
- FACe. The public portal to submit e-invoices to public bodies.
- FACeB2B. A routing network for B2B exchange.
- MiFacturae. A public web app to create and send e-invoices to the public sector.
Mandatory electronic invoice
Already mandatory.If you invoice a public administration, you must use Facturae and send it via FACe. There is no paper or simple PDF option.
B2B will become mandatory under Crea y Crece.All B2B trades must be issued, sent, and received as electronic invoices after publication of the regulation. The timeline runs from that publication date:
- Turnover above 8 million euros. 1 year to comply.
- Everyone else. 2 years to comply.
2025 snapshot.The second public hearing ran in March to May 2025. Final approval is pending. Plan for roll-outs across 2026-2027 depending on your size and on the publication date. Build your internal plan on the assumption that your 1- or 2-year clock starts the day the regulation hits the official journal.
Penalties under discussion.Public summaries mention fines up to 10,000 euros if you do not offer e-invoice reception or access to invoices for former customers. Treat this as context until the final text lands.
Practical take.Even before publication, align your tooling with what is already stable in Spain (Facturae for B2G, FACe/FACeB2B connectivity). In parallel, be aware that Spain’s anti-fraud software rules (Verifactu) apply from 2026, but they are a separate mandate from B2B e-invoicing.
All the rules, timelines, and penalties in one place. Explore the full guide.
Crea y Crece Law: why it makes e-invoicing compulsory
Legal basis.Law 18/2022 extends the electronic invoice to all B2B relations in Spain to reduce late payments, improve traceability, and push digital adoption.
Implementation logic.Staged by turnover once the regulation is published: large companies first; SMEs and self-employed a year later.
Payment status reporting.Drafts in 2025 included that recipients report invoice status and, in many cases, the effective payment and date. This ties e-invoicing to late-payment control and gives authorities data to monitor payment behavior.
How rails will coexist.Facturae remains B2G standard. For B2B, the regulation will set how the public solution and private platforms interoperate. Your software must issue, receive, acknowledge, report statuses (if confirmed), and archive-without splitting data across ad-hoc spreadsheets or email threads.
See the legal basis, rollout structure, and what it means for your business. See the full breakdown.
What SMEs and self-employed should do now
- Pick software that issues and receives e-invoices, validates them, and keeps them for the legal term.
- If you bill public bodies, confirm Facturae, FACe, and FACeB2B support today.
- Ask for a roadmap on B2B formats, acknowledgements, interconnection with the public solution, and payment-status reporting.
- Run a pilot with one real client and a test client: issue → send → receive → acknowledge → correct → pay → archive.
- Document roles: who issues, who approves, who reconciles payment; avoid “side PDFs.”
Billing news 2025
Regulatory process.
- Second public hearing: ran March-May 2025. This is the stage where stakeholders comment on the draft and the Government refines technical details-formats, message flows, acknowledgements, and, potentially, the scope and phasing of payment-status reporting.
- What triggers your clock: publication of the final regulation in the official journal. Only then do the 1-year (>€8m) and 2-year (rest) windows start.
What to monitor next.
- Final list of accepted B2B syntaxes and envelopes. This will tell IT teams exactly which formats to implement.
- Interconnection rules. Expect explicit requirements on how private platforms connect to the public solution and how they relay acknowledgements and statuses.
- Status dictionary. The final set of lifecycle states (issued, received, acknowledged, accepted, rejected, paid, etc.) and which ones are mandatory to report.
- Cutover expectations. Any “grace windows” or progressive enforcement that could apply to micro-issuers or specific sectors.
What won’t change.
- B2G stays Facturae over FACe. If you bill public bodies, this continues.
- Anti-fraud rules exist in parallel. Spain’s Verifactu regime applies to billing software from 2026 but is separate from the B2B e-invoicing rail.
What may change.
- Status reporting cadence. Drafts suggest recipients report acceptance and payment; the final text will confirm the exact payloads and timing.
- Small-issuer tooling. There may be enhancements to public tools for low-volume businesses; your main decision remains the same: pick software that handles B2G now and B2B later.
Action for 2025.Treat 2025 as your preparation window: enable structured exchange now (Facturae where relevant, interoperability connectors). Run pilots with top customers and suppliers so that, when publication happens, you are counting down on a tested setup, not starting from scratch.
Stay ahead of what’s coming in regulation and deadlines. Read the 2025 update.
From how much is it mandatory to issue an invoice?
General rule.If you are a business or a professional, you must issue an invoice for all your operations. This comes from the Billing Regulation and applies regardless of whether the sale is domestic or cross-border.
Simplified invoices and thresholds.
- You may issue a simplified invoice when the total is up to 400 euros VAT included, or when it is a rectifying invoice.
- You may issue a simplified invoice up to 3,000 euros VAT included only for specific activities, such as retail sales to consumers, passenger transport, hospitality, and similar cases listed in the rule.
When to avoid simplified invoices.Between businesses, the recipient usually needs a full invoice to deduct VAT. If your activity is not on the list that allows simplified invoices up to 3,000 euros, issue a full invoice even for small amounts.
Edge cases you should know.
- Advance payments and deposits: issue an invoice when you receive the advance; then reconcile on the final invoice.
- Continuous services: define a clear period (e.g., monthly) and invoice at the end of each period or per milestones.
- Reverse charge situations: still issue an invoice; make sure you show the correct VAT notes and article references.
- Intra-EU supplies: keep the same core data, but ensure your customer VAT ID and supply rules are correct.
Not sure when to issue or request invoices? Read the practical guide.
How to create, sign, and send an electronic invoice
B2G today
- Create in Facturae 3.2.1/3.2.2 (desktop app or MiFacturae).
- Sign with a qualified certificate; the app typically handles the signature.
- Send via FACe; you get a registration number and status updates.
- Track statuses (received, registered, accepted, paid) and archive the file plus metadata.
B2B once the regulation is published
- Issue and receive structured e-invoices; validate both outbound and inbound documents.
- Acknowledgements: send and receive them automatically (receipt, acceptance/rejection).
- Report statuses: be ready to report acceptance/rejection and payment/date if the final text requires it.
- Interoperate: connect to the public solution and private platforms via your vendor’s certified connectors.
- Archive: store the invoice, its signature, acknowledgements, and the status trail for the legal term.
Acceptance and rejection in practice.
- Receipt confirms the file reached the counterparty.
- Acceptance/Rejection flows back after business validation (e.g., PO match, tax ID check). Rejections should include machine-readable reasons so you can correct and resend.
- Payment status (if required): when and how much was paid, tied to the invoice identifier.
Archiving that actually passes an audit.
- Keep the original structured file, the signature, the timestamps, all acknowledgements, and the status history.
- Ensure searchability by customer, date, amount, and series.
- Export everything in bulk if you change systems (including logs).
Practical checklist for SMEs and self-employed
- Map your scenarios. Who you bill: public bodies, companies, or both.
- Demand core capabilities from your software:
- B2G: Facturae creation and FACe submission.
- B2B: issue, receive, validate, acknowledge, and (if confirmed) status reporting.
- Legal archive with search and export.
- Ready for Spain’s anti-fraud software rules from 2026.
- Run an end-to-end test. Issue → send → receive → acknowledge → correct → simulate payment; note blockers.
- Define roles. Who issues, who checks, who marks paid; keep flows inside your system.
- Keep certificates valid. Track expiry dates and backups.
- Align contracts with any payment-status reporting and realistic payment terms.
- Communicate with customers and suppliers. Share your accepted channels and formats.
- Book time and budget. Reserve testing hours for the quarter after publication; start with top customers.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Staying on PDFs. A PDF by email will not meet B2B rules.
- Ignoring reception. Issuing is half the story; you must receive and process inbound e-invoices too.
- Not archiving metadata. Auditors will ask for signatures, statuses, and logs, not just the pretty layout.
- Skipping live pilots. Run small live pilots with friendly customers now.
Bottom line
You will use the electronic invoice for B2B because Crea y Crece requires it. Start now: pick a tool that already works with Facturae and FACe today, is ready to interoperate for B2B tomorrow, and prepares you for Spain’s anti-fraud software rules from 2026. The regulation’s publication will start your 1- or 2-year clock. Plan early so the electronic invoice becomes a smooth upgrade, not a last-minute scramble.
