How and when should invoices be issued? What limits exist for issuing invoices? What date should be indicated on the invoice? How should invoice dates be managed?

For each income received, an invoice must be issued including your details. It is mandatory to indicate the client’s details (Tax ID number, company name, and address) if the total amount of goods/services sold on the invoice exceeds 400 euros. If the total amount exceeds 1,000 euros, payment cannot be made in cash and must be made by bank transfer.

On the invoice, you must indicate the date the service was provided, regardless of the date on which you actually receive the payment. For example, you may issue an invoice with today’s date, and it will be considered income for this month of this year, even if the payment is received later.

On the other hand, if you have already received the payment, the invoice must be issued no later than the last day of the month in which the payment was received.

In other words, you may issue an invoice now and receive payment later, but you cannot receive payment now and issue the invoice later (for example, next month), as this would be incorrect.

We take this opportunity to remind you of the requirements established by the Spanish Tax Agency that invoices must meet (also so that we can record expenses and deduct VAT on purchases):

• The word “Factura” (or “Invoice” in English)
• Invoice number and date of issue
• Details of the issuer and the recipient: full name or company name, Tax ID (Spanish or from another EU Member State), address
• Applicable tax rates and indication of the tax amount for each item

If it is more convenient for you to use a software solution, we can provide you with access to our online platform, where your self-employed accounting is also managed. There you will be able to create and upload invoices, as well as review documents accepted or rejected for bookkeeping purposes.