ZATCA e-invoicing: what your CRM or ERP needs
Saudi e-invoicing is reaching smaller businesses wave by wave. Here is where the rollout stands, and what a system that issues invoices must do to pass ZATCA’s integration phase.
The short answer
Every VAT-registered business in Saudi Arabia must issue electronic invoices from a compliant system (phase 1), and is being brought into phase 2, integration with ZATCA’s Fatoora platform, in waves by revenue.
Wave 25 covers businesses whose VAT-able revenue passed SAR 187,500 in any year from 2022 to 2025, with integration due by 1 February 2027. ZATCA notifies each business at least six months before its date, so check your Fatoora account and email.
Phase 1 and phase 2
- Phase 1 (generation): invoices are created and stored electronically by a compliant system, with a QR code on simplified invoices; handwritten and spreadsheet invoices are not allowed
- Phase 2 (integration): invoices are produced as structured XML, cryptographically stamped and sent to Fatoora
- Standard tax invoices (business to business) are cleared by ZATCA before they are shared with the buyer
- Simplified tax invoices (business to consumer) are reported to ZATCA within 24 hours
Recent waves
| Wave | VAT-able revenue above | Integrate by |
|---|---|---|
| Wave 23 | SAR 750,000 (2022, 2023 or 2024) | 31 March 2026 |
| Wave 24 | SAR 375,000 (2022, 2023 or 2024) | 30 June 2026 |
| Wave 25 | SAR 187,500 (any year 2022–2025) | 1 February 2027 |
What your CRM or ERP must do
- Produce invoices and credit notes in ZATCA’s XML format with all required fields, in Arabic
- Register each invoicing unit with ZATCA (onboarding) and keep its cryptographic certificate
- Stamp every invoice, add the QR code and link it to the previous invoice’s hash
- Send standard invoices for clearance and report simplified ones, and handle rejections and warnings
- Store invoices and ZATCA’s responses for the legal retention period
How to get ready
- Confirm your wave and date in Fatoora
- List every place that issues invoices today: CRM quotes, ERP, POS, spreadsheets
- Choose one system to issue invoices and connect the others to it
- Test in ZATCA’s sandbox well before the deadline, then go live
Sources
ZATCA e-invoicing pages (zatca.gov.sa); VATupdate, “ZATCA announces wave 25 of e-invoicing”, July 2026; Comarch and Fiscal Requirements on waves 23 and 24; ClearTax, ZATCA e-invoicing phases. Checked on 14 October 2026; confirm your own date in Fatoora.
E-invoicing built into your CRM or ERP
keyt builds CRMs and ERPs with Saudi ZATCA, UAE and Egyptian e-invoicing in mind. Tell us where your invoices come from today.