Simplified vs standard tax invoice under ZATCA Phase 2

A simplified tax invoice is normally issued to consumers (B2C) and reported to ZATCA within 24 hours. A standard tax invoice is normally used for business transactions (B2B), including sales to VAT-registered companies, and must be cleared by ZATCA before the buyer receives it. A WooCommerce store selling to both groups needs to handle these two processes separately.

The difference affects the buyer information you collect, when the invoice can be delivered and what happens after a refund.

Simplified and standard invoices follow different processes

ZATCA distinguishes between simplified tax invoices and standard tax invoices. Both are electronic tax documents under Phase 2, but their submission and clearance requirements differ.

The main differences are:

These requirements are described in ZATCA's Detailed Guidelines for E-Invoicing, sections 4 and 6.

Simplified invoices use reporting

A simplified invoice is commonly issued when a consumer buys from your store. Under Phase 2, the invoice is generated electronically as XML, signed and given a QR code containing the prescribed information.

Your invoicing system reports the XML to ZATCA within 24 hours. ZATCA validates the submitted document and returns a response through its API.

The reporting process allows the invoice to be provided to the consumer before ZATCA receives it.

Standard invoices use clearance

A standard tax invoice is commonly issued when your buyer is another business.

It includes additional buyer and transaction information. Under Phase 2, the electronic invoice is submitted to ZATCA for clearance before being shared with the buyer.

ZATCA checks the XML and, when the document passes clearance, returns the cleared invoice with its cryptographic stamp and QR code. Your store then provides that cleared document to the buyer.

This distinction matters during checkout. A standard invoice cannot follow the simplified invoice's reporting process and still satisfy the normal B2B clearance requirement.

Your WooCommerce checkout needs to identify business buyers

WooCommerce can collect customer details for orders, but the e-invoicing process needs to determine which document type to issue. A practical distinction is whether the buyer is purchasing as a consumer or as a VAT-registered business requiring a standard tax invoice. Raseedo Pro generates a standard invoice when the buyer enters a valid company VAT number and all required buyer details are complete. If an order reaches invoicing with a VAT number but missing buyer details, Pro issues a simplified invoice and adds an order note listing the missing information.

A business buyer provides additional information

Raseedo Pro adds the following buyer fields to both WooCommerce block checkout and classic checkout:

• Company VAT number
• Company legal name
• Building number
• District

These fields provide the business information used for standard invoices.

The buyer's VAT number is particularly important. In Raseedo Pro, an order follows the standard invoice process only when the buyer VAT number is valid and all required buyer details are complete. If an order has a VAT number but reaches invoicing with missing buyer details, Pro issues a simplified invoice and adds an order note listing the missing fields.

If the buyer does not enter a VAT number, the plugin cannot use that signal to identify the order as requiring standard clearance.

A missing VAT number needs review

An empty VAT field does not always establish that the purchaser is a consumer.

For example, a business buyer might leave its company details incomplete. Your finance staff should confirm the intended invoice type rather than treating every incomplete business checkout as a consumer transaction.

ZATCA's Detailed Technical Guidelines also discuss business invoices where the buyer is not VAT-registered. Such invoices require an additional buyer identifier, such as the buyer's Tax Identification Number (TIN) or Commercial Registration (CR) number.

The VAT number is the selection rule used by Raseedo Pro. The underlying tax treatment still depends on the transaction and the buyer's circumstances.

Stores selling to consumers and businesses need both invoice paths

A WooCommerce store may sell ordinary products to individual customers while also accepting orders from registered companies.

The same products can be purchased by either type of buyer. The invoice process then depends on the transaction.

Consider these two checkout situations.

A consumer purchases from your store

The customer completes checkout without entering company VAT details.

With the free Raseedo plugin, a paid order receives a simplified tax invoice. The plugin generates the signed XML, creates the QR code and schedules reporting to ZATCA.

The customer can open the bilingual Arabic and English invoice page from their order details or order email. The reporting deadline is 24 hours from invoice generation.

A VAT-registered company places an order

The business buyer enters a valid VAT number and the company details requested at checkout.

When the buyer VAT number is valid and all required buyer details are complete, Raseedo Pro issues a standard tax invoice. The plugin submits it to ZATCA for clearance as soon as the order is paid, before the cleared invoice is provided to the buyer.

This uses the clearance process rather than the simplified invoice reporting process. Your store can therefore serve consumer and VAT-registered business purchases while retaining the separate document handling each requires.

The important point is to collect the buyer information before the invoice is issued. Changing an already issued document is different from collecting the correct information during checkout.

Incomplete buyer details need attention before invoicing

A standard invoice requires more buyer information than a simplified invoice. When a buyer enters a VAT number at checkout, Raseedo Pro validates its format and requires the company legal name, four-digit building number and district. Checkout cannot complete without those details.

If an order reaches invoicing with a VAT number but missing buyer details, Pro does not submit a standard invoice for clearance. It issues a simplified invoice instead and adds an order note listing the missing details.

Orders created outside checkout, such as orders entered by staff in the WooCommerce admin, can reach invoicing without passing through these checkout checks. Pro applies the same fallback when the buyer has a VAT number but the required details are missing.

Check the company information

Raseedo Pro checks the VAT number and required company details during checkout, before the order can be completed. Staff should test both block and classic checkout, then review the order notes and E-invoices tab after payment to see how the invoice was handled. When a buyer enters a VAT number, Pro validates its format and requires the company legal name, four-digit building number and district. A standard tax invoice also needs the buyer's street, city and country, plus the postal code for Saudi buyers.

An incomplete address or incorrect VAT number should be corrected from information supplied by the buyer. Do not substitute the seller's information or invent missing details.

Check the ZATCA response

If ZATCA rejects an invoice, Raseedo records the rejection reasons in the E-invoices tab and adds a note to the WooCommerce order. These messages help your staff identify problems that need attention.

A failed clearance should not be treated as successful clearance. Review the reason and the buyer information before deciding how to proceed.

In both block and classic checkout, Pro validates the buyer VAT number's format and requires the company legal name, four-digit building number and district. Checkout cannot complete without those details. If an order created outside checkout reaches invoicing with a VAT number but missing buyer details, Pro issues a simplified invoice instead of sending a standard invoice for clearance, and adds an order note listing the missing fields.

Raseedo handles simplified invoices in the free plugin

Raseedo Saudi E-Invoicing for WooCommerce is available at no charge.

After onboarding and enabling electronic invoicing, the free plugin generates simplified tax invoices for paid orders. It uses UBL 2.1 XML and signs the documents using the store's production certificate.

Invoices are reported to ZATCA in the background through Action Scheduler. If a network problem or ZATCA outage interrupts reporting, Raseedo retries for hours within the 24-hour window.

The plugin also stores the signed XML and ZATCA response on your WordPress site. You can inspect invoices and their statuses under WooCommerce > ZATCA E-Invoicing.

The free plugin handles simplified invoices. A store that needs standard B2B clearance requires the Pro add-on.

Raseedo Pro adds standard invoice clearance

Raseedo Saudi E-Invoicing Pro extends the free plugin. It adds company details at WooCommerce checkout and selects the standard tax invoice process only when the buyer VAT number is valid and all required buyer details are complete. For these orders, Raseedo Pro submits the invoice to ZATCA for clearance as soon as the order is paid, before the buyer receives it.

You can read about this process on the B2B clearance feature page.

Pro also includes a missing e-invoice report. It identifies paid orders without an electronic invoice and refunds without a credit note, including documents that may be missing from before onboarding.

You can issue missing documents in batches, retry invoices that could not be sent and export records. The export options include a CSV summary showing net amount, VAT, total, buyer and status, or a ZIP containing signed XML files for a selected date range.

Pro costs $29 per month or $249 per year for one store. It requires the free plugin.

If the Pro licence becomes inactive, its features pause. The free plugin continues issuing simplified invoices.

Refunds must follow the original invoice type

A refund can require an electronic credit note. The note refers to the original invoice and records the reason for the refund.

The type of credit note follows the invoice being adjusted.

If the original order received a simplified tax invoice, the refund receives a simplified credit note. Raseedo's free plugin handles this process.

If the original order received a standard tax invoice, its refund requires a standard credit note. Raseedo Pro handles standard credit notes for those orders.

ZATCA's e-invoicing guidelines explain the requirement to reference the original invoice and maintain the corresponding document type. Your finance staff should check both invoices and refunds when reviewing electronic invoice records.

Check your buyer types before the Phase 2 deadline

If your store sells only to consumers, start by reviewing your simplified invoice generation and reporting. If it also sells to VAT-registered businesses, review how buyers provide company information and how standard invoices receive clearance.

For taxpayers in Wave 25, ZATCA has set 1 February 2027 as the integration deadline. The wave covers businesses whose VAT-subject revenue exceeded SAR 187,500 in any of 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025.

Source: ZATCA Wave 25 announcement. You can start with the Raseedo setup guide for onboarding and use the B2B clearance page to review the additional Pro requirements.