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Is e-invoicing mandatory in Finland? What a small business must do, 2026–2030

Karma Accounts · Published 29 September 2026 · Updated 3 November 2026

As of November 2026, e-invoicing is not generally mandatory for trade between businesses in Finland. Three things still make it close to unavoidable. Since 2020, a business has been able to require another business to send its invoices as e-invoices. The state accepts only e-invoices. And from 1 July 2030, e-invoicing is mandatory for trade between businesses in different EU countries.

What counts as an e-invoice

An e-invoice (verkkolasku) is a structured, machine-readable invoice that follows the European standard for electronic invoicing (EN 16931). Structured means each item, such as the total, the due date and the VAT, sits in an agreed field, so the recipient's software reads the invoice without typing or scanning. The invoice travels from the sender's e-invoice intermediary to the recipient's intermediary and from there straight into the recipient's purchase ledger.

The most common Finnish formats are Finvoice and TEAPPSXML, and their latest versions follow the European standard. A PDF or image attached to an email is not an e-invoice, even though it travels electronically. The e-lasku that consumers receive in their online bank is a separate service for consumers.

An e-invoice needs the same entries required by the VAT Act as any other invoice; they are listed in our article on invoice requirements.

When you must send an e-invoice

A customer's right to e-invoices. The Act on Electronic Invoicing by Contracting Entities and Traders (241/2019) has, since 1 April 2020, given businesses and public contracting entities the right to receive invoices from another business as e-invoices on request. The act covers businesses whose turnover for the financial year is over 10 000 euros. A smaller business does not have to send e-invoices even when asked.

The state as a customer. Government agencies accept only e-invoices, and since 1 April 2021 only ones that follow the European standard. A PDF invoice sent by email is not processed.

Trade between EU countries from 2030. Under the EU's ViDA package, from 1 July 2030 businesses must send and receive e-invoices that follow the European standard in cross-border trade with businesses in other EU countries. The seller must issue the e-invoice within 10 days of the sale or of receiving an advance payment and report its details to the tax authority, and the current EC Sales Lists (recapitulative statements) will end. As a rule the buyer must also report the invoice it received within 5 days, but a member state can leave purchase invoices out of the reporting. Today's report is explained in our article on the EC Sales List.

Domestic trade. The EU allows member states to introduce reporting based on e-invoices for domestic trade too. The Ministry of Finance is studying real-time VAT reporting; the study runs until 19 March 2027, and no decision has been made. The government bill given in 2026 on the first part of ViDA (HE 78/2026) does not cover e-invoicing; e-invoicing and reporting will come later in a bill of their own.

What changes, and when

The e-invoice address and the operator ID

An e-invoice needs two identifiers to arrive, much as a letter needs a street address and a postcode.

• The e-invoice address (verkkolaskuosoite) identifies the recipient. It is often an OVT code, made of Finland's country code 0037, the business ID without the hyphen, and an optional suffix: for business ID 0123456-7 the address could be 003701234567. It can also be an IBAN or an identifier given by the intermediary.
• The operator ID (välittäjätunnus) tells which e-invoice intermediary carries the invoice. For a business that receives through its bank, it is the bank's BIC. Without the right operator ID, the invoice does not arrive.

One business ID can have several e-invoice addresses. Use the one your customer gave you.

How to find a company's e-invoice address

The easiest way is to ask the customer: many companies publish their invoicing instructions on their website. Another is the e-invoice address register (verkkolaskuosoitteisto) kept by TIEKE, where you can search the e-invoice addresses of Finnish organisations. Searching is free, and the register shows each e-invoice address, its type and its operator ID.

Not every address is in it. Finnish e-invoice intermediaries, the operators and banks, add their customers' addresses, but an address can be hidden or inactive and then does not show. If you cannot find a customer's address, ask them for it. If your own company's details are missing or wrong, your own intermediary corrects them.

How to send e-invoices

• With invoicing software. Most accounting and invoicing software can send and receive e-invoices. Ask your provider whether yours can and what it costs.
• With a web service that has no monthly fee. Several intermediaries offer a web service where you pay only for the invoices you send or receive. It suits a business that invoices rarely. TIEKE keeps a list of such services.
• Through the customer's supplier portal. Large organisations offer portals to their suppliers. For government agencies, you can create e-invoices free of charge, mainly in the Handi supplier portal, or in the Basware portal for the Defence Forces. You agree on it with your contact at the agency first.

To send an e-invoice you need the recipient's e-invoice address and operator ID, which you get from your customer or the e-invoice address register.

How a small business receives e-invoices

To receive e-invoices you need an e-invoice address of your own, and you get one by making a contract with an e-invoice intermediary. A small business has three usual options:

1. Through invoicing or accounting software. Many programs have receiving built in, and purchase invoices go straight into the books. If your accountant handles your purchase invoices, check that their software receives e-invoices.
2. Through your bank. In a bank's Finvoice service, sender and recipient each have a contract with their own bank. You can view the invoice in a browser or move it into your own software.
3. Through a web service with no monthly fee. The same pay-per-use services that send invoices usually receive them too.

Once the contract is in place, the intermediary usually adds your address to the register within a few days. Then give your address and operator ID to your suppliers so they can send their invoices straight to you.

Peppol

Peppol is an open network through which businesses and public bodies send each other electronic business documents, such as invoices and orders. You join it through a Peppol service provider of your choice, and one connection reaches everyone on the network. In Finland the State Treasury supervises it. Peppol transactions in Finland grew by about 61 % from 2024 to 2025. Most of Finland's main trading partners are promoting Peppol too, so the same connection also reaches foreign customers who use the network.

What to do now

1. Check that your invoicing software can send and receive e-invoices that follow EN 16931.
2. Ask your business customers for their e-invoice addresses, and switch on receiving for your purchase invoices too.
3. If you sell to businesses in other EU countries, make sure before 1 July 2030 that your software handles both the invoice and the reporting.

If your customer does not ask for an e-invoice, a PDF invoice is fine. You can make one with our free invoice template, reference number and bank barcode included. The steps of making an invoice are in our guide to invoicing in Finland.

E-invoicing in Finland: frequently asked questions

What is an e-invoice in Finland?

A structured electronic invoice that travels from the sender's software through e-invoice intermediaries straight into the recipient's software. It follows the European standard EN 16931, and the Finnish formats are Finvoice and TEAPPSXML. More under what counts as an e-invoice.

What is an e-invoice address?

The identifier of the recipient of an e-invoice. It is often an OVT code: 0037 followed by the business ID without the hyphen, sometimes with a suffix. You also need the operator ID. You get a company's address from the company itself or from TIEKE's free e-invoice address register.

Is a PDF invoice an e-invoice?

No. A PDF attached to an email is electronic but not structured, so the recipient's software cannot read it automatically. A PDF invoice is fine when the customer does not demand e-invoices, but the state does not accept it, and it does not meet a customer's request for e-invoices.

Is e-invoicing mandatory for a small business?

Not generally. If your turnover for the financial year is 10 000 euros or less, you need not send e-invoices even when asked. A larger business must send an e-invoice when a business customer asks for one. Government agencies are always invoiced with e-invoices, and from 1 July 2030 e-invoices are mandatory for sales to businesses in other EU countries.

Booking your purchase and sales invoices is part of our services.

Sources

• Finlex: Act on Electronic Invoicing by Contracting Entities and Traders 241/2019 (in Finnish)
• Tax Administration: ViDA is a legislative package for modernising value added taxation
• Ministry of Finance: study on real-time reporting for VAT collection, VM062:00/2024 (in Finnish)
• Ministry of Finance: modernising VAT for the digital age, VM157:00/2023 (in Finnish)
• State Treasury: invoicing the state
• State Treasury: Peppol Authority
• TIEKE: e-invoice address register (in Finnish)
• TIEKE: basics of the e-invoice address register for users (in Finnish)
• TIEKE: what is an e-invoice (in Finnish)
• TIEKE: sending e-invoices without a monthly fee (in Finnish)
• TIEKE: e-invoicing abroad and country codes (in Finnish)
• Finance Finland: Finvoice 3.0 implementation guidelines (PDF, in Finnish)

Please note: this is general information about Finnish rules, not advice for your own situation, and the rules change. Ask us before you act on it.

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