Spain’s B2B e-invoicing mandate: what Crea y Crece means for large buyers
Structured invoicing between companies becomes compulsory, large companies first. What the law says, what is still pending, which formats count, and how to ready a supplier base without a project.
In this guide
What the law saysWhat is still pendingWho is affected firstWhat “structured” meansWhat changes for a large buyerA separate regime: certified invoicing softwareHow to get ready this quarterWhat Advanta reads todayWhat the law says
Law 18/2022, known as Crea y Crece, makes electronic invoicing compulsory for transactions between companies and professionals in Spain. The stated purpose is to cut late payment: a structured invoice carries its dates and amounts in a machine-readable form, so payment periods can be measured, and the 60-day legal limit enforced, without anyone re-keying anything.
The obligation applies in two waves. Companies with annual turnover above eight million euros go first; everyone else follows later. Both waves count from the entry into force of the implementing regulation, not from the law itself.
What is still pending
The law needs an implementing regulation to fix the technical details and start the clock. That regulation has been drafted and consulted on, but at the time of writing it has not entered into force. Every date you read, including the one in this guide, is therefore expected, not final. The working assumption in the market is a start for large companies from around October 2027, and a later date for the rest.
What is already clear from the drafts: invoices must be structured, must be exchangeable through certified platforms or the public exchange solution, and must carry the status of the invoice (accepted, rejected, paid) so payment periods can be reported.
Who is affected first
Large companies, in their role as issuers and as receivers. A large buyer will have to be able to receive structured invoices from every supplier and to report their status. In practice the mandate lands on the buyer’s supplier base, not only on the buyer.
What “structured” means
Not a PDF. A structured invoice is a data document a machine can read line by line. Three syntaxes matter in Spain and in the wider European market:
Facturae, the Spanish public-sector format, widely supported by Spanish software. UBL 2.1, the European format exchanged over the Peppol network. CII, the UN/CEFACT format, used in the Factur-X and ZUGFeRD hybrids that embed data inside a PDF.
Any serious receiving system needs to read all three, because a supplier base never uses only one.
What changes for a large buyer
Three things. First, every supplier must be able to issue a structured invoice you can receive: the smallest ones will need help. Second, your approval workflow becomes visible: the status of each invoice is reported, so approving late is no longer invisible. Third, and this is the opportunity, the same approval that satisfies the mandate is exactly the signal a bank needs to pay your suppliers early against your name.
A buyer programme does the onboarding work once. Suppliers join when you invite them, send structured invoices, and can get paid early by a bank or funder on the ones you approve, at zero cost to you. How a buyer programme works →
A separate regime: certified invoicing software
Do not confuse the B2B e-invoicing mandate with the rules on certified invoicing software, often called Verifactu. That is a separate regime about the integrity of the systems that produce invoices, with its own calendar. A company can be compliant with one and not the other. This guide is about the first.
How to get ready this quarter
Inventory the supplier base. Who invoices you, in what format, from what software. Decide the approval workflow. Who approves, how fast, and where that approval is recorded. Fix the payment terms while you are at it. The mandate exists to enforce the 60-day limit; use it to clean up. Onboard suppliers through something that pays them. Compliance chores get ignored; early payment gets adopted.
What Advanta reads today
Facturae, UBL 2.1 through Peppol, and CII in its Factur-X and ZUGFeRD forms, plus FatturaPA and other European formats, Spain’s VAT record books in the AEAT format and SAF-T, with CSV or Excel as a fallback, all into one document model: 14 file formats in all, and 34 direct connections (from TOConline and Holded to SAP and Business Central). The approval a buyer gives becomes an acceptance certificate a bank can verify. The certificate → · Buyer programmes → · See every connection and format →
This guide describes legislation and drafts as of September 2026 and is not legal advice. Dates depend on the implementing regulation.