In the B2B and B2C sectors in Spain, it is common for companies to sell products or provide services on a recurring basis to the same customer. In these cases, regulations allow several transactions to be grouped into a single document called a “summary invoice.”

This type of invoice simplifies administrative tasks for businesses and customers. For it to be legally valid, it is important to strictly comply with issuance deadlines and include mandatory information.

In this article, we explain summary invoices, including how to create them and their advantages and obligations.

What’s in this article?

• What is a summary invoice?
  
• Advantages of summary invoices for businesses
  
• Advantages of summary invoices for customers
  
• When to issue summary invoices
  
• How to create summary invoices
  

What is a summary invoice?

A summary invoice is a commercial document that compiles transactions made by a single customer over a period of up to one calendar month. Instead of issuing an invoice for each transaction, the summary invoice combines sales of products and services into a single invoice.

This type of invoice is common with Spanish companies that use recurring billing models. For example, professionals who provide services—such as maintenance, repairs, office cleaning, or digital marketing—record each job done for a customer on a delivery note. At the end of the month, they consolidate information from those documents into a summary invoice.

Advantages of summary invoices for businesses

Grouping several transactions into a single document offers several advantages for businesses. Here are some of the main ones.

Save time when issuing invoices

By reducing the number of invoices issued, companies avoid the repetitive task of preparing, reviewing, and issuing an individual document for each transaction. This reduces the number of hours spent on administrative management, allowing the business to focus on high-value tasks. This can contribute to increased business productivity.

To further improve this process, businesses can also choose recurring billing software that syncs with a platform for recurring payments, such as Stripe Billing.

Simplify the collection process

Grouping a month of transactions also facilitates the tracking of collections and settlements of outstanding payments.

This process can also be automated with the integration of revenue recovery tools. For example, you can use Stripe Payments to process your online payments. When a payment fails, Smart Retries will retry the collection at the ideal time.

Furthermore, Stripe’s solutions easily integrate with the invoicing tools in the Stripe App Marketplace:

• Billit: Billit is a leading platform in Europe that simplifies compliance with various electronic invoicing regulations. It also sends automatic reminders when the invoice due date approaches.
  
• Invopop: Invopop is a billing platform developed in Spain that is compatible with the country’s Verifiable Invoice Issuance System (VERI*FACTU). It also offers email automation for the collection of unpaid invoices.
  

Reduce costs

Regardless of the invoice format—which can be paper or digital under the VERI*FACTU system—the expenditure significantly decreases when grouping several transactions into a single summary invoice. Tax returns are also much simpler, which can save time on tax compliance tasks.

Advantages of summary invoices for customers

Reduce administrative burden

Customers who make recurring purchases receive a single summary invoice per month. This simplifies their administrative management and reduces time spent processing individual invoices.

Increase payment convenience

While many summary invoices provide proof of transactions paid in cash, they also typically document sales of products and services that have not yet been settled. In these cases, making a single payment at the end of the month is usually more practical for customers. This is especially true if they can choose their preferred payment methods.

By choosing Stripe Payments as your payment platform, you can easily accept several payment methods. This includes debit and credit cards, digital wallets, and one-click payments, as well as dozens of local payment methods.

Simplify expense deduction

Having all expenses grouped into a single invoice that clearly details each transaction makes it easier to deduct expenses in tax returns. This includes the quarterly value-added tax (VAT) return with Form 303.

When to issue summary invoices

To gain the benefits of summary invoices, it is important to issue them within the permitted period. The following issuance deadlines are provided for in Article 13 of Royal Decree 1619/2012, which approved the regulation governing invoicing obligations:

• B2C transactions: Last day of the calendar month when the sales occurred
  
• B2B transactions: The 15th day of the month after the month when the sales occurred
  

How to create summary invoices

Creating a summary invoice is similar to creating a regular invoice. The main difference is that each line details a transaction instead of a single item. The steps to create a summary invoice are as follows:

• Identify the invoice
  Assign a sequential number—and, if applicable, a series—and indicate the issue date. It is recommended to include “summary invoice” in the header so the document is easily identifiable.
  
• Include the issuer and customer details
  Add the full name or company name, tax identification number (NIF), and tax address of both parties.
  
• Provide each transaction on a separate line
  For each sale or service included on the invoice, indicate the transaction date, description, unit price, discounts, and corresponding VAT rate. If the transactions are subject to different VAT rates, include the taxable amount for each one separately.
  
• Calculate the totals
  Add up the amounts of all transactions to obtain the total tax base. Then, apply the VAT corresponding to each tax rate, and indicate the total amount that the customer must pay.
  
• Review and issue the invoice
  Before issuing it, check that it includes mandatory information and that the information is correct. Remember that the maximum issuance deadline is the last day of the calendar month for B2C transactions and the 15th day of the following month for B2B transactions.
  

Mandatory information for summary invoices

For a summary invoice to be valid for tax purposes, it must meet the requirements established in Royal Decree 1619/2012. It is important to verify that summary invoices include all mandatory information. Below, we have prepared a summary of the mandatory information for invoices in Spain, including the specific information for summary invoices:

• Date of the summary invoice
  
• Number or series of the summary invoice
  
• Issuer details (i.e., name or company name, NIF, and address)
  
• Customer details (i.e., name or company name, NIF, and address)
  
• Date on which each transaction occurred
  
• Description of each transaction, including unit price and applicable discounts
  
• Total tax base
  
• Tax rate and tax amount
  
• Total amount
  

Each transaction included on the summary invoice must appear on a separate line. The invoice should also include the information necessary to identify each transaction and calculate the VAT amount, which corresponds to the sum of all transactions included. Below, we provide an example.

In March 2026, a self-employed worker visited the headquarters of a Spanish multinational company four times to perform technical service tasks. Instead of issuing an invoice for each transaction, the worker documented them individually in delivery notes. On April 14, 2026—one day before the legal deadline for issuance—the worker issued the summary invoice, which included the following information:

Example of the content of a summary invoice

If the worker had provided the services to an individual, the deadline for issuing the summary invoice would have been a few days earlier on March 31. For B2C transactions, April 14 is beyond the deadline. According to the General Tax Law, this could constitute an infringement subject to penalties. The amount of the penalties depend on the circumstances and amount of the documented transactions.

FAQs on summary invoices