Updated 22 September 2026
Who this page is for
If you issue invoices to clients in Saudi Arabia and you are in the VAT system — or a buyer’s finance team has started asking for e-invoices — you need a split in your head. One document is commercial: it tells the client what to pay. Another is regulatory: certified software, a format ZATCA accepts, stamps you cannot draw in Figma.
Qufy is the first document. The ZATCA page is a checklist so you stop mixing the two. It will not file, stamp, or clear an invoice. If someone said “just add a QR and you’re done,” they were wrong.
“Checking a box on an educational list does not make you compliant. A pretty PDF does not either.”
What “in scope” usually means — without inventing your status
ZATCA’s e-invoicing (Fatoora) applies to VAT-registered taxpayers in KSA in two phases: Phase 1 covers generating and storing invoices electronically; Phase 2, rolled out in waves, adds XML, a cryptographic stamp, and integration with ZATCA for taxpayers ZATCA notifies. Whether you personally must use a certified solution depends on your registration, turnover, and notices — not on a blog post. Confirm with an accountant and zatca.gov.sa.
What Qufy will tell you, every time
A Qufy PDF can carry your name, the buyer, line items, VAT as a commercial line if you typed it, and payment notes. It does not emit Fatoora XML, apply a cryptographic stamp, or talk to ZATCA’s API. The checklist repeats those facts so a sales call cannot blur them later. If Fatoora applies, the next honest step is a ZATCA-approved product (or your accountant’s).
Egypt and the UAE are not this checklist
Egypt’s ETA e-invoicing is a separate mandate for in-scope taxpayers. The UAE has its own e-invoicing timeline. Neither is solved by ticking Saudi boxes, and neither is solved by a Qufy PDF. If your buyer is in Cairo, ask about ETA — not Fatoora. If they are in Dubai, ask about UAE rules. Mixing the three in one invoice footer is how you look non-compliant in all of them.
Use Qufy to get paid as a professional: quote, contract, invoice the client can read. Use the ZATCA page to decide whether you also need certified software. Keep those jobs apart.
What to tell a finance team that asked for “e-invoice”
Ask which mandate they mean. If they are in KSA and they mean Fatoora, you either already have a certified issuer or you do not — a Qufy PDF will not become one by adding a footer. Offer the commercial PDF for payment now, and say you will issue through their required channel if you are in-scope. If they are in Egypt, ask whether they mean ETA, and talk to your accountant. If they used “e-invoice” to mean “PDF by email,” send the Qufy link and stop inflating the word.
Official pages, not Twitter threads
ZATCA publishes the rules on zatca.gov.sa. Egypt’s tax authority publishes ETA guidance on its own sites. Those pages move. This Blog will not shadow-copy every phase date because a stale date in a blog is worse than a link. Bookmark the official page. Use Qufy’s checklist as a translation into freelancer language — then verify.
What to take away
- Commercial PDF (pay me) ≠ regulatory e-invoice (file me).
- Whether Fatoora applies depends on your VAT status and notices — not on a blog post.
- Egypt ETA and UAE e-invoicing are not this Saudi checklist. Do not mix them in one footer.
Questions people ask
If I add a QR code to my Qufy PDF, am I Phase-1 compliant?
No. Phase 1 requires the QR code on simplified invoices to come from a compliant e-invoicing solution with the required fields. Cryptographic stamps and ZATCA onboarding come with Phase 2. A decorative code does not generate the required payload. Do not improvise a barcode to look official.
I am a Cairo freelancer invoicing a Riyadh company. Do I need Fatoora?
Maybe the buyer’s process wants a commercial PDF they can pay. Whether you must issue a Saudi e-invoice depends on your tax registration and their onboarding rules — ask your accountant, and read zatca.gov.sa. Do not copy a competitor’s CR setup because they have a tax number and you do not. Qufy still helps you send a professional client document in the meantime.
Will Qufy email me when a real ZATCA integration exists?
The waitlist on the checklist page is only a way to say you care. We will not email a fake “integration.” Until a certified module exists, the page stays educational.
