Do You Need to Buy Software to Send an E-Invoice?
Yes. You can send a Finnish company, municipality, or government agency an e-invoice without ever buying accounting software; a browser-based supplier portal or an online invoicing service is enough. But one thing doesn't change: a PDF invoice attached to an email is not an e-invoice (the Finnish word for e-invoice) in the eyes of Finnish law. Valtiokonttori spells this out directly: invoices sent as PDF or image attachments by email are not online, because they don't travel in a structured, machine-readable format straight into the buyer's financial system or online bank. If your client insists on an online purchase, you'll need the buyer's own portal, a free government solution, or an operator's online service. None of them require installed software, but all of them require the structured format.
Who Exactly Are You Invoicing?
The path splits three ways depending on who's on the other end. If you're invoicing an ordinary Finnish private company that has given you a specific e-invoice address, send it through an operator. If your client is a municipality or a large organization with its own supplier portal, log into that portal directly, since larger organizations typically offer this kind of setup. And if your client is a Finnish government agency, the path is the clearest one of all: the state only accepts e-invoices formatted to the European standard, and it offers its own portal for free.
When Does Finnish Law Actually Require an E-Invoice?
Two separate things get mixed up here. Act 241/2019 required government agencies to receive and process e-invoices starting 1 April 2019, then extended that obligation to other contracting authorities starting 1 April 2020. From that same date, 1 April 2020, contracting authorities and companies with sufficient turnover also gained the right to demand an e-invoice directly from another contracting authority or company. "Sufficient turnover," under this law, means more than €10,000 in a financial year. That isn't the general VAT-registration threshold; it's a definition specific to this particular act. It's also worth understanding what the law alone does NOT do: if your client doesn't actually demand an e-invoice, the law itself doesn't force you to send one, though contract terms or a public-sector buyer's internal rules can still require it.
Three Low-Friction Ways to Send an Invoice
The first route is the buyer's own supplier portal. Use it only if that particular client actually offers one, since registration terms differ from organization to organization. The second route, for government agencies: the Handi supplier portal lets you create and send e-invoices to government agencies for free, but getting set up means contacting the purchasing agency first. That agency then passes your details on to Palkeet, the state's shared HR and financial services center, so it can send you a registration invite. Basware Portal is equally free, and it's the portal suppliers to the Finnish Defense Forces are required to use. Both portals accept domestic and foreign suppliers alike, and Basware's has a technical procedure built in for companies that don't have a Finnish business ID. The third route, which fits every other client, is an online operator or invoicing service. Always check the pricing first, since plenty of these services are only free up to a certain number of invoices or within a certain format.
What to Ask Your Finnish Client Before You Send Anything
Before your first invoice, ask the client for five things: their exact e-invoice address, known as an OVT identifier (a routing code that tells the network exactly where the invoice belongs), since large organizations can have several different addresses; the operator ID, which shows whose service the invoice needs to travel through; the format the client requires, whether that's Finvoice 3.0, TEAPPSXML 3.0, or simply an invoice structured to EN 16931, the European e-invoicing standard; an order, procurement, or contract reference, if one exists; and a contact person on the client's side you can ask about that specific invoice.
An Invoice That Can't Be Rejected
According to Finland's VAT invoicing guidance, a full invoice needs an issue date, a unique sequential number, the seller's VAT number, the seller's and buyer's name and address, a description of the goods or services sold, a delivery date where relevant, the taxable amount broken down by VAT rate, the VAT rate and amount, and any special notations, such as reverse charge, where they apply. For invoices up to €400, the law allows simplified details, but that doesn't excuse you from a public-sector client's separate requirement to include an order or contract reference. A government agency can also require specific codes, such as a V1 order number, a VSK1 contract identifier, or a TK1 accounting reference, and these need to go on the invoice whenever the agency has given them to you.
Keep Your Proof, and Get Ready for 2030
Hold onto both the structured e-invoice file you sent and its delivery confirmation. A PDF preview on your screen won't stand in for it later. Under Vero.fi's guidance, sales invoice copies generally need to be kept for at least six years, counted from the end of the calendar year the invoice belongs to. Two more dates are worth putting in your calendar, both flowing from the same EU VAT Directive amendment: member states gained the option to adjust their e-invoicing rules early starting 14 April 2025, and the EU's new cross-border e-invoicing rules take effect on 1 July 2030. Until that deadline, Finland still runs on the definition in Act 241/2019: a company is one whose financial-year turnover exceeds €10,000, and contracting authorities and companies have the right to demand an e-invoice from another contracting authority or company on request, although cross-border invoices will likely pick up new structured-data requirements once 2030 arrives.
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.