Search for “Verifactu invoicing” and you’ll find a flood of ads for paid software. That makes sense: it’s their business. But the legal obligation doesn’t say anywhere that you need to pay a subscription to comply with it.
What Verifactu actually requires
Verifactu (Real Decreto 1007/2023) requires that the program you use to invoice records every invoice in a way that can’t be altered or deleted without leaving a trace, with a digital fingerprint and, in many cases, a verifiable QR code. It’s an obligation on the software you use, not on how much you pay for it. We cover the exact dates in Verifactu: what it is and when it affects you. The Tax Ministry has announced a possible postponement to October 2028, not yet published in the BOE: what we know.
The free alternative: the Tax Agency’s own application
So that this obligation doesn’t end up forcing everyone to buy software, the Spanish Tax Agency itself makes a tool available to self-employed people and small companies through its Electronic Office. It’s a good fit if you’re happy with a simple invoicing setup: it generates the invoice, seals it with the Verifactu requirements (digital fingerprint, QR), and stores it. You access it with a digital certificate, Cl@ve or electronic ID, no installation needed.
This isn’t a secret or a loophole: it’s a provision built into the regulation itself, precisely so that complying with Verifactu doesn’t depend on your ability to pay.
(Don’t confuse this with the mandatory e-invoicing rule under the Crea y Crece law, which is a separate obligation with its own planned free tool: we explain the difference in Mandatory e-invoicing: what it is and how it differs from Verifactu.)
Where it falls short
The fine print matters. As currently designed, the Tax Agency’s tool only supports full invoices, with complete recipient details, not simplified ones (receipt-style), and it isn’t built for managing product catalogues, automated recurring invoicing, multiple users, or integration with your bank or your accounting. If you invoice little and to few clients, you won’t notice. If you invoice a lot, you will.
The comparison, at a glance
| Tax Agency’s free app | Paid platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | €0 | Monthly fee (depending on the plan) |
| Complies with Verifactu | Yes | Yes |
| Simplified invoices (receipt-style) | No | Yes |
| Automated recurring invoicing | No | Yes |
| Quotes that turn into invoices | No | Yes, on most plans |
| Bank reconciliation and accounting integration | No | Yes, on most plans |
| Multiple users | No | Yes, on most plans |
| Best for | A handful of invoices a month, nothing complicated | High volume or a need to automate |
When paying for a platform is worth it
Paying makes sense when what you’re buying isn’t “the ability to invoice”, but time: automated recurring invoicing, quotes that turn into invoices with one click, bank reconciliation, expense and inventory management, or having your gestoría connect directly to your data instead of you sending it every quarter. Past a certain volume, that saved time is worth more than the monthly fee.
Our recommendation
We don’t sell or take commission on any invoicing software, so we’ll say it plainly: if you’re just starting out and invoice a handful of times a month, the Tax Agency’s free app is more than enough. If your volume grows or you need to automate, then it’s worth looking at a paid platform, but as a time-saving decision, not as a legal requirement that doesn’t exist.
Not sure which one fits you?
Email us, no strings attached, at contacto@asesoriamadal.es and we’ll give you our honest opinion, without trying to sell you anything.