One of the first things that confuses people about Saudi e-invoicing is that there is not one invoice type — there are two. Standard tax invoices and simplified tax invoices follow different rules under ZATCA. Getting them mixed up is a common source of trouble.
This is a general explainer, not tax advice. Confirm specifics against ZATCA's guidance or your advisor.
The short distinction
- Standard tax invoice — typically used for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government transactions. Under Phase 2 it follows a clearance model: the invoice is sent to ZATCA and returned with a cryptographic stamp before it is considered valid.
- Simplified tax invoice — typically used for business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions, like a retail sale. It follows a reporting model: it is issued with a QR code and reported to ZATCA within a set window.
Who uses which
| Standard | Simplified | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical use | B2B, B2G | B2C / retail |
| Phase 2 model | Clearance | Reporting |
| Buyer VAT details | Required | Generally not required |
| QR code | Applies per ZATCA rules | Yes |
Your point of sale and your B2B invoicing may therefore behave differently — a retail counter sale and a wholesale invoice to a company are not the same document.
What has to be on them
Both invoice types share a structured core: seller details and VAT number, the date, line items with correct tax treatment, the VAT amount, and totals. The key differences come down to buyer identification (standard invoices identify the business buyer, including VAT number) and the clearance vs reporting flow.
For the full field-level picture across your documents, see the ZATCA Phase 2 checklist.
Why this matters for your software
If you sell both to businesses and consumers — for example a trading company that also runs a counter or a POS — your system has to produce both invoice types correctly and route each through the right flow. A tool that only does one will leave a gap.
This is also where VAT flow matters: no matter which invoice type, the tax needs to end up in your VAT return cleanly.
How BIZA handles it
BIZA App is built for ZATCA e-invoicing workflows, including the document structures these processes require and a POS for B2C sales — with Arabic and English on documents. Read more on our ZATCA e-invoicing page, or talk to our team about your specific mix of B2B and B2C sales.