Invoicing & E-Invoicing

Invoicing turns a sale into a compliant, paid document — and it’s free in XO Lite. Issue ZATCA-compliant tax invoices in Arabic and English, automate recurring billing, take advance payments, and let every invoice post to the ledger and VAT return automatically.

Saudi compliance: XO supports ZATCA Phase 1 (generation) and Phase 2 (integration with Fatoora) out of the box — QR codes, cryptographic stamps, and XML clearance included. See Tax & ZATCA Compliance for the one-time onboarding.

Invoice types in XO

Type	Use it for
Standard tax invoice	B2B sales to VAT-registered buyers (buyer VAT number required)
Simplified tax invoice	B2C / point-of-sale sales
Recurring invoice	Subscriptions, retainers, rent
Proforma / quote	Pre-sale estimate, convertible to an invoice
Credit / debit note	Returns, corrections

Create a sales invoice

1. Go to XO Books → Invoicing → New invoice.
2. Select the customer (or add one inline). XO pulls their VAT number and address.
3. XO sets the invoice type automatically from the customer type — Tax invoice for businesses, Simplified for individuals — or you can override it.
4. Add line items: product/service, quantity, unit price. VAT is applied from each item’s tax code.
5. (Optional) add discounts (line or total), shipping, and a note.
6. Choose the currency — for foreign currency, XO applies the day’s rate.
7. Review the totals and VAT breakdown, then click Issue.

📷 Screenshot: a tax invoice with the ZATCA QR code in the corner.

Once issued, XO automatically:

• posts the receivable and revenue to the ledger,
• records the output VAT, and
• generates the QR code and (Phase 2) clears the XML with Fatoora.

Recurring invoices

1. Create an invoice, then toggle Make recurring.
2. Set the frequency (weekly/monthly/…), start date, and end (or open-ended).
3. Choose auto-issue or draft for review each cycle.
4. XO generates each invoice on schedule and can email it to the customer.

Advance payments & installments

• Advance payment: record a deposit before invoicing; apply or distribute it across one or more invoices later under Invoicing → Advance payments.
• Installments: split an invoice into a payment schedule; XO tracks each due date and what’s outstanding.

Record a payment

1. Open the invoice and click Add payment.
2. Choose the account (bank/cash), amount (full or partial), and date.
3. XO updates the invoice status (Paid / Partially paid) and posts the receipt.

Tip: payments can be allocated across several open invoices for a customer in one action — use Customers → Statement → Receive payment.

Credit & debit notes

1. Open the original invoice → More → Create credit note (for a return/refund) or debit note.
2. Adjust the lines being returned.
3. Issue — XO reverses the matching revenue/VAT and links the note to the original for audit.

Customize the invoice template

Use XO Core → Templates to set your logo, bilingual labels, and layout for printed/PDF invoices.

Note: this is back-office document templating (a first-class XO feature) — not storefront theme design, which is out of scope.

Best practices

• Keep tax codes on products accurate — VAT flows from there to every invoice and the return.
• Use recurring invoices for any predictable revenue to cut month-start admin.
• Reconcile advance payments monthly so deferred revenue is stated correctly.

Troubleshooting

• QR code missing. The customer or your org is missing a required field (VAT number, address). Complete it and re-issue.
• Fatoora clearance failed (Phase 2). Check the ZATCA onboarding — usually a certificate or buyer-data issue. XO shows the rejection reason on the invoice.
• Can’t edit an issued invoice. Issue a credit note and re-invoice; compliant invoices are immutable once cleared.

Related guides

• Tax & ZATCA Compliance
• General Ledger
• Banking & Reconciliation