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Your First Invoice

In this guide you will prepare your first complete invoice in draft mode, verify tax and total calculations with a synthetic test case, understand the exact boundary between saving a draft, issuing a fiscal invoice, and sending an email, and know how to recover if any detail needs correction before or after issuing.

1. Prerequisites​

Before issuing a live invoice to a client, confirm that these two settings blocks are configured (if you have not reviewed them yet, see Configure Your Business):

  1. Issuer tax details in Settings → Tax Profile: validated Tax ID (NIF/CIF/VAT), legal business name, full registered address, and billing email.
  2. Tax zone, default taxes, and numbering in Settings → Billing:
    • Your Tax Zone: Mainland Spain & Balearic Islands (VAT / IVA), Canary Islands (IGIC), or Ceuta & Melilla (IPSI).
    • Default tax % and Default IRPF % (for example, 21% standard Spanish VAT and 15% or 7% IRPF withholding if you are a self-employed professional billing Spanish companies or professionals).
    • Numbering pattern and Invoice Series (for example, {YEAR}-{SEQ4} to generate 2026-0001).

[!TIP] Safe testing in draft mode You can complete this entire walkthrough by saving the invoice as a Draft. While an invoice remains in draft status, you can edit or delete it freely: it does not consume final sequential numbering, does not generate or chain a VeriFactu fiscal record, and does not send any email to the client.

2. Synthetic test example (draft mode)​

To verify the end-to-end flow without affecting your live accounting, enter this synthetic dataset in the editor and save the document as a draft:

FieldSynthetic test valueWhat it verifies
ClientEstudio Norte S.L. · Tax ID B12345674 · Email facturacion@example.comQuick client creation with a documentation-only example: Tax ID B12345674 passes algorithmic Spanish CIF check digit validation (4), but does not prove existence, ownership, or registration in the AEAT census; facturacion@example.com uses an IANA/RFC 6761 documentation domain (not a controlled QA mailbox or a delivery/blocking guarantee). Keep this case in draft/QA mode and do not use it to issue or send live invoices.
Line item (line 1)Servicio de consultoría técnica (octubre)Service or product description in the line items table
Quantity and unit priceQuantity 10 · Unit price €150.00Taxable base (subtotal) of €1,500.00
Line tax (21% VAT example)21% (standard VAT in Mainland Spain & Balearic Islands)VAT amount of +€315.00 and total without withholding of €1,815.00
IRPF withholding (optional, self-employed)15% on the taxable base (-€225.00)When applying a 15% professional IRPF withholding, the net payable total becomes €1,590.00 (€1,500.00 + €315.00 - €225.00)

3. Step by step in the editor​

Open the invoice editor​

You have three ways from anywhere in the app:

  • Go to Sales → Invoices and click Create New Invoice.
  • Press C then F from any screen (outside a text field).
  • Press Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows and Linux) to open the command palette and search for the create-invoice action.

You can also ask the AI assistant for an invoice proposal (Create invoices from text). The assistant creates nothing on its own: the proposal stays unsaved, and you review and save it in the editor.

Step 1. Select or create a client​

In the Client field (Select or search for a client):

  • If the client already exists, type their name, Tax ID, or email and select it.
  • If they are new (or you are using the Estudio Norte S.L. synthetic test case), click Create new client and fill in their legal name, Tax ID, and email address. You can complete the rest of their profile later from Contacts.

Step 2. Add line items​

Click Add Item for each line on the invoice:

  • Enter the description, quantity, and unit price (in the synthetic example: 10 units at €150.00). The default tax for your tax zone is applied automatically.
  • Or choose a product from your catalog: Frihet fills in description, price, and tax.
  • To reuse a line item you just typed on future invoices, click Save as product.

Step 3. Review taxes and document details​

  1. Taxes and totals: Frihet calculates in real time the subtotal (€1,500.00 in the example), each line's tax (VAT, IGIC, or IPSI depending on your tax zone), IRPF if withholding applies, and the final total (€1,815.00 without IRPF or €1,590.00 with 15% IRPF). You can change the tax rate and discount line by line in the table columns.
  2. Document metadata:
    • Invoice No. (Optional): generated automatically from your numbering pattern. You can change it before issuing.
    • Issue Date and Due Date.
    • Payment terms.
    • Notes / Legal Info: IBAN or bank details, VAT exemption or reverse-charge notices, or other contractual references.

4. Review checkpoint: draft vs issue vs send​

Before clicking the final action button, review the difference between saving a working draft, issuing a final fiscal invoice, and sending it by email:

Editor actionResulting statusCan it be edited or deleted?Fiscal effect (VeriFactu) & email delivery
Save Invoice (as draft)DraftYes. You can modify any field or delete the draft with no fiscal trace.Does not chain a VeriFactu record and does not send an email to the client. Ideal for the synthetic test example.
Issue / finalize invoiceIssued / SentNo. Under anti-fraud regulations (fiscal immutability), an issued invoice cannot be edited or deleted; corrections require a corrective invoice (credit note).Assigns final sequential numbering and, when VeriFactu is active, signs and chains the fiscal record hash. Does not send an email unless you choose to send it.
Save & Send / Send by emailSentNo (once issued, any subsequent correction requires a corrective invoice).Records the invoice and prepares/sends the email to the client with the document link and PDF.

5. Expected result​

Once saved, verify the result in Sales → Invoices (shortcut G then F):

  1. Visible row in the invoice list: you will see the invoice with its status badge (Draft if you ran the safe test, or Sent if you issued it), the client name (Estudio Norte S.L.), and the exact total (€1,815.00 or €1,590.00 with IRPF).
  2. Invoice row actions: From the invoice list, each invoice's menu offers Download PDF, Send by email and Payment link. The Payment link button only appears on sent invoices that have not yet become overdue, on the Pro plan or higher with Stripe connected.
  3. Cleaning up the test draft: if you created the synthetic invoice purely to verify the calculation, open the row actions menu while it is in Draft status and delete it before issuing your first live invoice, or edit it and replace the test values with your real client's details.

6. Recovery if something does not match​

Symptom or situationCommon causeHow to resolve it
The editor applies VAT instead of IGIC/IPSI (or IRPF withholding is missing)Your tax zone or default tax percentages have not been updated in your account settings.Go to Settings → Billing, update Your Tax Zone, Default tax %, or Default IRPF % (Configure Your Business), or change the tax rate directly in the line item column.
I entered a wrong detail while the invoice is still in DraftTypo in client details, amounts, dates, or notes before issuing.Go to Sales → Invoices, open the draft, fix the field, and click Save Invoice again (or delete the draft if it was a synthetic test).
I spotted an error on an invoice that has already been issued or sentAn issued and hash-chained invoice is immutable under fiscal immutability.Do not attempt to delete it: open the invoice's actions menu and create a corrective invoice (credit note) by substitution (S) or by differences (I).
The Payment link button does not appear or the client did not receive the emailThe invoice is still a draft or already overdue, the payment gateway is not connected, or the client email has a typo.Confirm the invoice is in Sent status and not overdue, on the Pro plan or higher with Stripe Connect enabled (Payment Links). If the email did not arrive, check the address on the client record and see Support & Quick Troubleshooting.

7. Next action​

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