Do you need to buy software to send e-invoices?
Yes, you can send an e-invoice to a Finnish company, municipality or government agency without purchasing accounting software. All you need is a browser-based supplier portal or online invoicing service. But one thing remains the same: just a PDF invoice attached to your email is not an e-invoice or verkkolasku in the Finnish sense. The State Treasury explains directly, that PDF and image invoices sent as email attachments are not e-invoices: an invoice in PDF or image format attached to an email is not an e-invoice because it is not transferred directly to the buyer's financial system or online bank in a structured, machine-readable format. If the customer requests an e-invoice, the buyer's portal, a free state solution or the operator's web service must be used. None of these require installed software, but the structured format is mandatory.
Who are you really counting on?
The path is divided into three depending on the client. If you are invoicing a regular Finnish private company that has given you a specific e-invoice address, use it through the operator. If the client is a municipality or a large organization that has set up a separate supplier portal, log in to that one. A similar solution is mostly offered by large organizations.. If the client is a Finnish government agency, the path is clearest: the state only accepts e-invoices formatted according to European standards and offers its own portal for this purpose free of charge.
When does Finnish law require an e-invoice?
Two different things are going wrong here. Law 241/2019 obliged state authorities to accept and process e-invoices from 1 April 2019 and extended the obligation to other procurement authorities from 1 April 2020. From the same date, 1 April 2020, a procurement authority and an undertaking with sufficient turnover also had the right to request an e-invoice directly from another procurement authority or undertaking. “Sufficient turnover” for the purposes of this Act means more than 10,000 euros per financial year. This is not a general VAT liability limit, but only a definition specific to this law. It is also worth understanding what the law alone does NOT do: if your customer does not request an e-invoice themselves, the law does not oblige you to send one, although the terms of the contract or the internal rules of the public sector buyer may require this. still to write.
Three low-friction ways to send an invoice
The first path is the buyer's own supplier portal. Use this only if a specific client offers one; the registration requirements vary from organization to organization. The second path, for government agencies: Handi supplier portal allows you to create and send e-invoices to government agencies for free, but the implementation requires that you first contact the purchasing agency, which will pass on your data to Palkeet, the state's human resources and financial services center, to send a registration invitation. Basware Portal is also free, and is mandatory for suppliers to the Defense Forces. Both portals accept both domestic and foreign suppliers, and the Basware portal also has a technical procedure for companies that do not have a Finnish business number. The third way, which is suitable for all other customers, is a web-based operator or billing service. Always check the price list before using it, as many services are free only within a certain quantity or format of invoices.
What to ask a Finnish client before sending an invoice?
Before the first invoice, ask the customer five things: their exact e-invoice address or OVT ID, because large organizations may have several different addresses; operator identifier or intermediary identifier, which indicates whose service the invoice should be sent through; the format required by the client, whether it is Finvoice 3.0, TEAPPSXML 3.0 or simply an invoice structured according to EN 16931, the European standard; order, procurement or contract reference, if any; and a contact person on the client side to ask about a specific invoice.
Invoice that is not rejected
Finnish VAT Act Guide According to the law, a full invoice must include the date of issue, a unique serial number, the seller's VAT number, the name and address of the seller and the buyer, a description of the goods or services sold, the delivery date if applicable, the taxable amount by VAT rate, the VAT rate and amount, and special notes, such as reverse charge, if applicable. For invoices up to 400 euros, the law allows the use of simplified data, but this does not exempt you from the separate requirement of the public sector client to include an order or contract reference. A government agency may require specific codes, such as the V1 order number, the VSK1 contract code or the TK1 accounting reference, and these must be entered on the invoice if the agency has given them to you.
Preserve the evidence and prepare for 2030
Keep both the sent structured e-invoice file and the confirmation of its delivery. Just viewing the PDF on the screen will not replace it later. Vero.fi guide According to the law, copies of sales invoices must usually be kept for at least six years, starting from the end of the calendar year to which the invoice belongs. It is also worth noting two deadlines in the calendar, which arise from from the same amendment to the European Union VAT Directive: Member States had the opportunity to adapt their e-invoicing rules earlier on 14 April 2025, and the new European Union rules on cross-border e-invoicing will enter into force on 1 July 2030. Until that date, Finland will still apply definition of law 241/2019: an entrepreneur is one whose annual turnover exceeds 10,000 euros, and the contracting authority and the entrepreneur have the right to receive an e-invoice from another contracting authority or entrepreneur upon request, although new structured data requirements are expected to be added to invoices sent across borders.
FAQ
Do I need to purchase software to send e-invoices?
No, you can send an e-invoice to a Finnish company, municipality or government agency without purchasing accounting software. A browser-based supplier portal or online billing service is sufficient.
When does Finnish law require an e-invoice?
Law 241/2019 obliges state institutions to accept e-invoices from 1 April 2019. An entrepreneur whose annual turnover exceeds 10,000 euros has the right to request an e-invoice from another entrepreneur from 1 April 2020.
What to ask a Finnish client before sending an invoice?
Ask for the OVT ID (e-invoice address), operator ID, required format (e.g. Finvoice 3.0 or EN 16931), order or contract reference, and contact person.
How to send an e-invoice to a Finnish government agency?
Use the Handi supplier portal, which is free. Contact the purchasing agency, which will forward the data to Palkeet to send a registration invitation.