E-bill or verkkolasku? Understanding the difference between Finnish invoices

Short answer: the difference is in the purpose of use, not the file format

In Finnish business language, the difference between these two terms is who receives the invoice, not the technology. E-shot usually means an invoice received by an individual through their online bank. Online invoice means a machine-readable invoice that moves between companies and the public sector and goes directly to financial software. State Treasury of Finland (Valtiokonttori) formulates the concept of online payment as follows: an invoice in a machine-readable or structured format that is sent directly to business software or an online bank. A PDF or image invoice sent as an email attachment is not an e-invoice. The Tax Board in turn describes the online bill as "e-laskun kaltainen", i.e. an invoice similar to an e-bill, which is intended for companies and associations, e-invoice remains for private individuals. Technically, both can move in the same Finvoice format. If a Finnish customer requests an e-invoice, ask them for the e-invoice address and operator ID. The rest is technical.

	e-mail	online invoice
Typical recipient	private person	company, association, public sector
Where does the bill go?	to an online bank or other payment service	purchase invoice processing and archiving software, including internet banking
Machine-readable	yes (e.g. Finvoice)	yes (e.g. Finvoice 3.0, TEAPPSXML 3.0)
What must exist first?	agreement on the recipient's acceptance of invoices at the bank	contract with the operator and e-mail address
What Finnish law concerns	is not the focus of the netball	public procurement obligation and right to require structured invoicing
Practical idea	convenience of payment	automation of the entire purchase invoice process

The same technical invoice can have both

This is where most of the explanations go wrong. An e-invoice is not an „unstructured consumer PDF“ and a verktroslaku is not some other file type. Finvoice 3.0 is an XML-based Finnish e-invoice format and its the implementation guide directly states that the format is suitable for business-to-business billing of all sizes, as well as consumer billing. The same guide defines a consumer e-invoice as a Finvoice invoice that a consumer receives in an internet bank or other online payment service. The guide is a living document. The last dated amendment to it is 16.09.2025, when it was added that the amount of the credit invoice can also be zero.

One mistake is worth eradicating right away: an invoice in Finvoice 3.0 format does not automatically comply with the requirements of the European norm, the European e-invoice standard EN 16931. The State Office emphasizes that Both Finvoice 3.0 and TEAPPSXML 3.0 can be used to create invoices that comply with the standard, but this does not happen by itself.. The responsibility lies with the user and some operators check compliance before forwarding.

What does the recipient actually do with the invoice?

Consider two scenarios for the same 1,200 euro invoice for a Finnish customer.

If the customer is a company, the invoice reaches its purchase invoice system via the operator. From there, it goes to the coordination circle, accounting and archive. The State Office highlights one specific benefit: the recipient can automatically add the reference number and account number to the payment, which means it takes less time to explain payments. Your 1,200 euros won't be waiting in someone's mailbox because someone had to manually retype the numbers.

If the client is a private individual, the logic is different – the bill is sent to the online bank for payment and that's where his work ends. The State Office describes the consumer single billing project as follows: With the solutions available on the market, e-invoices could not be sent directly to the consumer, because the consumer must first make an invoice acceptance agreement with the bank issuing the invoice.. In the case of a one-time sale to a private individual, e-billing is therefore not a channel that can be used spontaneously.

In the Finvoice transfer service, both the sender and the recipient need a contract with their service provider: the seller sends the invoice through their operator, the buyer either imports it into their system or views it in a browser.

A PDF sent by email is not an electronic invoice.

This is the most common misunderstanding between an Estonian seller and a Finnish buyer. A PDF invoice can be a completely correct invoice document, with all the details in place and the VAT calculated correctly. But it is not an online invoice. The State Office website has a statement without conditions: PDF or image invoices sent as an e-mail attachment are not online invoices. A picture of the invoice does not provide the buyer with any automation. Someone still has to enter the data.

So if a Finnish client says "send an online invoice" and you send a PDF via email, their request is not fulfilled. For a larger organization, the invoice may simply bounce.

When does Finnish law give the right to request a structured invoice?

The Finnish online banking law is 241/2019 on the electronic registration of lacquer procurement units and business operators. There are three things in this that are worth keeping separate.

First: the law defines an electronic invoice as an invoice that is prepared, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format that allows for automatic processing and complies with the European e-invoice standard and the listed syntaxes. A scanned image does not fall within this definition.

Second: In public procurements that fall within the scope of the procurement laws, Finnish procurers must accept and process e-invoices that comply with the EN standard. This is an obligation on the buyer's side.

Third: the contracting authority and the eligible entrepreneur have the right to demand the submission of an invoice in a structured electronic format. The law entered into force on 01.04.2019 and this provision granting this right has been applicable since 01.04.2020. The figure of 10,000 euros in this law is not the amount of the invoice or the VAT threshold. It is part of the definition of an entrepreneur and is based on the turnover of the financial year exceeding 10,000 euros.

What the law does not do: It does not make every domestic B2B invoice mandatory to be an e-invoice. None of the sources cited here stipulate a nationwide B2B obligation or a separate invoice-based fine as of 15.09.2026. In practice, a large proportion of buyers require structured invoices by contract, not by law.

This is how you act when a Finnish customer requests an electronic invoice

The State Office's instructions are simple: before sending, make sure that the buyer accepts e-invoices at all, and obtain their exact billing information. Your operator will then ensure that the invoice arrives in a technically correct form. In practice, this is how it works:

• Specify the recipient type: private individual or company. The rest of the choice depends on this.
• Ask for exact details: Business ID, e-mail address (OVT ID) and operator ID. Finnish recipient data is collected by verkkolaskuosoite.fi, which is referenced by the State Treasury, but a large organization may have multiple addresses, so ask the client for confirmation directly.
• Check your software: whether it generates invoices in accordance with EN 16931 requirements and whether the operator connection is on. If not, you need a separate contract with the operator.
• Create a structured invoice and receive it through the operator or through the buyer's own billing portal, if they offer one.
• Enter your details: If you want to receive e-invoices from Finland, keep your address in your address book and add it to your website.

An example from the Tax Board of how much address maintenance matters: if the company's e-invoice address is in the Tieke address system, The Tax Board sends the tax invoice automatically and it does not need to be ordered separately.. The invoice will be sent approximately three weeks before the due date, and this is how you can pay real estate tax and advance and balance tax. However, if you enter the address yourself in OmaVero, later changes will also have to be made manually. And if a sole proprietor does not have the option of using an e-invoice, he or she can order an e-invoice from the Tax Board – the boundary between the concepts is indeed crossable in practice.

What will change before 2030

The European Union's ViDA package (VAT in the Digital Age), or VAT reform for the digital age, aligns the concept of e-invoice with what is already understood in Finland. Council Directive (EU) 2025/516, adopted on 11.03.2025 and published on 25.03.2025, defines an electronic invoice for VAT purposes as a structured electronic format that allows for automatic and electronic processing.

The cross-border part will come later: Member States must adopt the necessary measures by 30.06.2030 at the latest and apply them from 01.07.2030. From the same moment, the deadline for invoicing will also be shortened: for intra-Community supplies of goods and for transactions where VAT is paid by the buyer, The invoice must be submitted no later than 10 days after the taxable event occurs..

A practical conclusion for an Estonian seller invoicing in Finland: structured invoice data is becoming less of an option and more of a requirement, and the ten-day deadline means that the invoice must arise from a process, not from a rush at the end of the month. This is also why it is worth writing down the Finnish customer's e-invoice address and operator ID on the customer card today.

Read also: English

Last checked: September 15, 2026

FAQ

What is the main difference between an e-invoice and an online invoice?

The main difference lies in the recipient and purpose of the invoice, not the file format. An e-invoice is mainly sent to a private individual's online bank for payment, while an online invoice is sent between companies and institutions directly to business software for automatic processing.

Is a PDF file sent by email a verkkolasku in Finland?

No, a PDF file or an image invoice is not an e-invoice. An e-invoice must be structured in a machine-readable format, such as Finvoice 3.0 or TEAPPSXML 3.0, which allows systems to read the data automatically.

What information should I ask a Finnish customer for to send an electronic invoice?

Before invoicing, Finnish business customers must be asked for their business ID, e-invoice address (usually an OVT ID), and operator ID. Based on these codes, the e-invoice operator correctly routes the document to the buyer's business software.