So far in 2022, nearly 390 million Electronic Tax Documents (DTE) have been issued in Chile and, of that amount, almost 219 million correspond to electronic invoices, which is evidence of the boost that commerce is having through Information Technology (IT), but, what is an electronic invoice and how does it work?
What is an electronic invoice?
The electronic invoice is a digital document that has the same validity as the printed invoice, used in a mandatory way to support commercial transactions between taxpayers. It bears the digital signature of the issuer, and its numbering is authorized through the Internet by the Internal Revenue Service, where its validity can also be checked. When we start issuing electronic invoices, we will also be able to send and receive other Electronic Tax Documents (DTEs) such as, for example, export invoices, debit and credit notes, as well as dispatch guides, among other DTEs, which make our company's activity more dynamic by providing accuracy, efficiency, speed and security in the compliance with this regulation.
What elements must an electronic invoice contain?
In order that our digital vouchers do not generate future inconveniences at the time of accounting and validating the guarantees, we must provide the data associated with the operation we perform, these are:
Date of issue, considering day, month and year.
Identification data of the buyer.
Nature of the service and its price.
Cost of taxes to be paid.
Number and date of the bill of lading.
Conditions of sale, i.e. cash or credit.
Other optional reference identifiers, such as purchase order number or receiving slip number.
It is advisable to have a sales and invoicing software that facilitates the entire process of issuing, accounting and management of electronic documents.
What are the requirements to issue electronic invoices?
In addition to having the RUT of the company, to register in the electronic invoicing system of the SII and issue the digital voucher, we must comply with the following requirements:
Proof of the start of activities.
If it is required to issue DTEs with VAT, it is necessary to be a VAT taxpayer and have verification of activities.
To qualify as a first category taxpayer.
Not to be a defendant, accused or prosecuted for tax offenses.
Apply and be certified before the SII.
How to make an electronic invoice through the SII?
If you want to know how to make an electronic invoice through the SII system, you only need to follow these three basic steps, which only take a few minutes:
1. Access the electronic invoicing system.
To do this we must enter the section Electronic Invoicing MSMEs available in the virtual office of the SII, and then authenticate ourselves as a taxpayer, entering our password and RUT. Subsequently, it is necessary to choose the option "Emission of electronic tax documents" and select "Electronic Invoice".
2. Enter the invoice data
These are: RUT of the buyer, address of the buyer, type of sale, form of payment, details of the product or service, and references to other DTEs. Then we select the option "Validate and Visualize" and that's it.
3. Confirm the issue
Click on the "Sign and Send" option. In this step, the document must be electronically signed (for which an electronic signature is required) after which our invoice will be sent to the SII. To review it, we can click on "View Document", download a PDF copy and print it if necessary. Currently, there are different tools that can help us optimize our business, and one of them is Tivendo POS, the sales software offered by Defontana with which, in addition to automating operations and controlling all cash registers and/or branches online, you can manage inventory, stock and prices in an integrated way, as well as issue electronic invoices and other DTEs.
What is an electronic invoice?
The electronic invoice is a digital document that has the same validity as the printed invoice, used in a mandatory way to support commercial transactions between taxpayers. It bears the digital signature of the issuer, and its numbering is authorized through the Internet by the Internal Revenue Service, where its validity can also be checked. When we start issuing electronic invoices, we will also be able to send and receive other Electronic Tax Documents (DTEs) such as, for example, export invoices, debit and credit notes, as well as dispatch guides, among other DTEs, which make our company's activity more dynamic by providing accuracy, efficiency, speed and security in the compliance with this regulation.
What elements must an electronic invoice contain?
In order that our digital vouchers do not generate future inconveniences at the time of accounting and validating the guarantees, we must provide the data associated with the operation we perform, these are:
Date of issue, considering day, month and year.
Identification data of the buyer.
Nature of the service and its price.
Cost of taxes to be paid.
Number and date of the bill of lading.
Conditions of sale, i.e. cash or credit.
Other optional reference identifiers, such as purchase order number or receiving slip number.
It is advisable to have a sales and invoicing software that facilitates the entire process of issuing, accounting and management of electronic documents.
What are the requirements to issue electronic invoices?
In addition to having the RUT of the company, to register in the electronic invoicing system of the SII and issue the digital voucher, we must comply with the following requirements:
Proof of the start of activities.
If it is required to issue DTEs with VAT, it is necessary to be a VAT taxpayer and have verification of activities.
To qualify as a first category taxpayer.
Not to be a defendant, accused or prosecuted for tax offenses.
Apply and be certified before the SII.
How to make an electronic invoice through the SII?
If you want to know how to make an electronic invoice through the SII system, you only need to follow these three basic steps, which only take a few minutes:
1. Access the electronic invoicing system.
To do this we must enter the section Electronic Invoicing MSMEs available in the virtual office of the SII, and then authenticate ourselves as a taxpayer, entering our password and RUT. Subsequently, it is necessary to choose the option "Emission of electronic tax documents" and select "Electronic Invoice".
2. Enter the invoice data
These are: RUT of the buyer, address of the buyer, type of sale, form of payment, details of the product or service, and references to other DTEs. Then we select the option "Validate and Visualize" and that's it.
3. Confirm the issue
Click on the "Sign and Send" option. In this step, the document must be electronically signed (for which an electronic signature is required) after which our invoice will be sent to the SII. To review it, we can click on "View Document", download a PDF copy and print it if necessary. Currently, there are different tools that can help us optimize our business, and one of them is Tivendo POS, the sales software offered by Defontana with which, in addition to automating operations and controlling all cash registers and/or branches online, you can manage inventory, stock and prices in an integrated way, as well as issue electronic invoices and other DTEs.