ZATCA e-invoicing Wave 24: what to do before June 30, 2026

Saudi Arabia's e-invoicing integration phase is moving into lower-revenue bands. ZATCA's Wave 24 covers taxpayers whose revenues subject to VAT exceeded SAR 375,000 during 2022, 2023, or 2024. Notified businesses must integrate their invoicing systems with the Fatoora platform by June 30, 2026. If that includes you, this is not only a finance back-office task. It touches every sale you make, which makes it a software decision worth handling well before the final week.

What happened

On September 26, 2025, ZATCA set the criteria for Wave 24 of Phase 2, the "Integration Phase" of e-invoicing. The wave includes all taxpayers whose revenues subject to VAT exceeded SAR 375,000 during 2022, 2023, or 2024. ZATCA says it will notify those taxpayers to integrate their e-invoicing solutions with Fatoora by no later than June 30, 2026.

Phase 2 is a material step up from Phase 1. Phase 1 (the "Generation Phase," in force since December 4, 2021) ended handwritten, word-processor, and spreadsheet invoices and required a compliant system that generates and stores e-invoices with fields such as a QR code. Phase 2 adds direct integration: your system connects to Fatoora through an API, issues invoices in a defined format, and carries additional fields, a unique identifier, a cryptographic stamp, and a Phase 2 QR code.

Phase 2 has been arriving in waves, each set by turnover and communicated ahead of its integration date. Wave 23, for example, covered taxpayers with revenues subject to VAT above SAR 750,000 and carried a March 31, 2026 integration deadline. Wave 24 brings the threshold down again, so more small and mid-sized operators now have to treat Fatoora integration as a core operating requirement.

Why it matters for operators

The practical split is how each invoice reaches ZATCA. Standard tax invoices, usually used for business-to-business and government sales, go through clearance: the invoice is sent to ZATCA and cleared before it is shared with the buyer. Simplified invoices, usually used for business-to-consumer sales, go through reporting: you issue the invoice to the customer at the point of sale, then report it to ZATCA within 24 hours.

For a restaurant, retail shop, or recreation venue, most sales are simplified B2C invoices. That means the requirement lands on your point-of-sale system: it has to produce compliant simplified invoices, keep serving customers if the connection drops, and reliably report within the 24-hour window. If you also invoice companies, those standard invoices need clearance inside the sale-to-handover loop, so connection speed and uptime start to matter at the counter, not just in accounting.

Where good software helps

The work is mostly integration, not a brand-new app. The compliant flow should live inside the system your staff already use, so handle it where the invoice is created:

• A POS or invoicing system that generates the required format and fields automatically, so cashiers and front-desk staff do not change their normal flow.
• Offline resilience: keep selling during a network drop and sync to Fatoora once the connection returns, within the reporting window.
• Clean integration with your existing ERP or accounting so invoice data is not re-keyed by hand.
• A simple internal view that shows which invoices cleared, which reported, and which failed, so a manager can catch problems the same day.

Done well, the compliance work also improves invoicing data, because every sale produces a structured and consistent record.

Where to be careful

Confirm your status from ZATCA's official notification rather than assuming. Treat the technical parts with respect: onboarding a cryptographic stamp identifier, getting the XML right, and correctly splitting clearance from reporting all need proper testing. Mistakes tend to surface as failed clearance, failed reporting, or rejected invoices.

Plan for the network, not just the happy path. If a POS cannot keep operating during a temporary connection issue, the compliance project can become an operations problem. Design the offline-then-sync behavior deliberately, keep invoice data controlled, and make sure managers can see what still needs attention. Non-compliance can carry penalties, so treat the deadline as firm. None of this is tax advice; verify the specifics of your case with ZATCA or a tax advisor.

Cicada Tech view

For most operators the safest route to June 30 is a ZATCA-compliant solution or middleware for the regulated parts, with custom work focused on connecting it cleanly to your POS and ERP, handling offline behavior, and giving managers a clear status view. That is an integration strategy, not a full rebuild.

If you are in Wave 24, start this week: check your notification, list which invoices are B2B versus B2C, pick a compliant solution, test both clearance and reporting in the sandbox, and rehearse the offline and 24-hour reporting paths before go-live. If you are not in this wave, any POS or invoicing system you choose now should still treat Fatoora integration as a core requirement rather than a future add-on.

Sources

• ZATCA: Criteria set for taxpayers in Wave 24 of E-invoicing - published 2025-09-26, accessed 2026-06-17.
• ZATCA: E-Invoicing Detailed Guidelines (PDF) - accessed 2026-06-17.
• EY: Saudi Arabia announces 23rd wave of Phase 2 e-invoicing integration - announcement dated 2025-06-27, accessed 2026-06-17.
• ClearTax: Standard Tax Invoice Clearance and Simplified Invoice Reporting in KSA - accessed 2026-06-17.