Spain is taking a decisive step in fiscal digitalisation: electronic invoicing between businesses is no longer optional. Law 18/2022 (Crea y Crece) mandates e-invoicing for all B2B transactions, and the deadlines are approaching fast. Is your SME ready?
Invoice digitalisation is not just a trend — it is a legal obligation with concrete deadlines. According to Spain's National Statistics Institute, SMEs issue over 1.8 billion invoices per year, most of them still on paper or as PDFs. That is about to change definitively.
What does the Ley Crea y Crece actually say?
Law 18/2022, known as the Ley Crea y Crece, makes electronic invoicing mandatory for all commercial relationships between businesses and professionals (B2B) in Spain. The aim is to reduce late payments, increase fiscal transparency and modernise Spanish business. The regulation affects all companies regardless of size or sector.
Proper implementation of electronic invoicing can save a medium-sized SME over 13,500 euros per year in document management and archiving costs alone.
Key deadlines you need to know
Rollout happens in phases based on annual turnover. Companies with revenues above 8 million euros must comply first. All other businesses and self-employed professionals have an additional twelve months. Non-compliance carries fines ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 euros depending on recurrence and business volume.
What does this mean technically for your business?
Structured format
Invoices must be issued in XML or Facturae format — PDFs and Word documents are not valid. Receiving systems must be able to process them automatically.
Electronic signature
Each invoice must carry a certified digital signature guaranteeing the authenticity and integrity of the document.
Digital retention
The issuing company must retain invoices in electronic format for at least 4 years, accessible upon request by the AEAT.
ERP integration
The invoicing system must integrate with your management software to automate sending and receiving invoices.
Where to start
The first step is to audit your current invoicing process: do you use management software? Do you have an ERP? Are you invoicing from Excel or Word? Depending on where you stand, adaptation can be as simple as adding a module to your existing software, or it may require a deeper migration. The key is not to wait until the last moment: implementation projects take between 4 and 12 weeks depending on complexity.
Want to know exactly what your business needs to comply with the regulations? Contact our team .