The digitalization of billing in Spain has a definitive date. From 2026, all self -employed and companies will be obliged to use verifactu, the verifiable billing system designed by the Tax Agency. This is explained by the cybersecurity expert María Aberador in her Instagram account (@mariaperador): “All invoices will have to be sent in real time to the Treasury and be equipped with a QR code. This measure seeks that invoices cannot be modified and reduced by tax fraud.”
The implementation will be progressive, so that since January 1, 2026 they must comply with verifact all commercial companies subject to the Corporation Tax. Subsequently, as of July 1, 2026, the obligation will reach other companies and self -employed workers. The objective, according to Royal Decree 1007/2023 (which can be consulted in this BOE), is to guarantee the integrity, traceability and inalterability of billing records, in addition to combating tax evasion.
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What is verifactu and why does the billing change?
The term verifactu is the denomination received by the new verifiable invoices issuance systems (Article 16 of the Regulation). These are certified computer programs that must automatically generate each invoice, assign a fingerprint or hash, incorporate an official QR code and send the data immediately to the Tax Agency.
Maria explains that this change will affect everyone, regardless of business size: “It doesn’t matter if you are autonomous, SME or great company … we expose ourselves to serious sanctions if we do not do it correctly.” This is important, since not complying with the standard can involve sanctions of up to 150,000 euros for software manufacturers that do not meet the requirements and fines of 50,000 euros for companies that use altered or without certifying programs.
The interesting thing is that the receivers of the invoices, whether customers or consumers, can verify their authenticity through the QR code and even send the information to the Treasury. In this way, traceability and tax control increases.
Although for many self -employed this obligation may seem like a challenge, the expert points out that there are tools that facilitate adaptation: “I am preparing with the Odoo billing application because it allows me to issue the invoices digitally and send them in real time to the Treasury. Thus I can comply with the verifactu without going crazy with the bureaucracy and the best thing is that it is free.”
ODOO has integrated verifactu’s functionality within its billing application. This means that any autonomous can create invoices adapted to the regulations without cost, with the possibility of expanding the service and integrating it with accounting, sales or inventory from 11.90 euros per month. In this way, the transition to electronic billing not only guarantees regulatory compliance, but can also become an improvement in business management.
What does the regulations require
Royal Decree 1007/2023 collects what are the requirements that all billing computer systems must meet, the following being:
- Integrity and inalterability records cannot be modified without a trace
- Traceability Each invoice will be chained with the previous one by digital footprints
- Conservation and accessibility The records must be maintained legible and exportable during the time required by the General Tax Law
- QR code and “verifiable invoice” legend Each document must include this official brand
- REMISSION TO THE AEAT The verifactu systems will automatically send the information to the Treasury instantaneously and safely
This change is part of the modernization and digitalization strategy promoted by the European Union and collected in the recovery, transformation and resilience plan, with the double objective of reducing fiscal fraud and saving administrative costs for companies and professionals.