E-invoicing for a new business in Italy: what you need from day one

Anyone opening a new business has to issue electronic invoices from day one: since 1 January 2024, there's no revenue threshold left that exempts you. Until 2023, businesses on the flat-rate regime (regime forfettario) below a certain revenue were excluded, and anyone starting from zero, with no previous year to look back on, fell right into that exempt bracket. That margin is gone, and with it the idea that e-invoicing is something to sort out later.

Why it matters that it's day one, not once you grow

Decree-Law 36/2022, converted into Law 79/2022, removed the flat-rate exemption threshold in two steps: from 1 July 2022 for those who had exceeded 25,000 euros in revenue or fees the year before, from 1 January 2024 for everyone else on the flat-rate regime. From that date, anyone opening a VAT number has no revenue-based grace window left: the very first invoice, whatever income is expected, has to go through the Sistema di Interscambio, commonly abbreviated SdI.

What the Sistema di Interscambio actually is

An electronic invoice isn't a PDF attached to an email: it's a file in a specific format (XML) that passes through the Sistema di Interscambio, the Revenue Agency's platform that routes every invoice between whoever issues it and whoever receives it. Without that step, for transactions subject to the obligation, a document has no value as an invoice, even if it contains all the right information.

What you actually need to issue your first invoices

You don't necessarily need to buy software. The Revenue Agency provides the "Fatture e Corrispettivi" portal for free, which lets you prepare, send, receive and store invoices with no other tools. To log in, SPID, CIE, CNS, or Fisconline/Entratel credentials are enough: you don't need a digital signature, which is a different thing used for other purposes, I've written about that in how much does a digital signature cost.

The free portal's limit shows up with volume: it's built for filling in and sending invoices one at a time, not for connecting to inventory, customer records, or automating dozens of documents a month. Anyone expecting few clients and few invoices can comfortably stay on it for years; anyone starting with a busier workflow already, or who wants to integrate invoicing with other tools, ends up choosing paid invoicing software from the start in practice.

A detail that often surfaces too late: an invoice simply passing through the Sistema di Interscambio doesn't mean it's stored the way the law requires. The legally required storage service is also free on the same portal, but it has to be switched on separately, by signing up to a dedicated service agreement: anyone who opens a VAT number and only sends invoices, without taking that extra step, isn't automatically compliant with the storage obligation.

The exception that applies to one sector only

Anyone opening a healthcare business is an exception, but not in the sense of an advantage: for services provided to individuals whose data is reported to the Sistema Tessera Sanitaria, electronic invoicing is banned, not optional, to keep sensitive health data from passing through the Sistema di Interscambio. Born as a temporary measure in 2018 and renewed almost every year since, this ban became permanent with Legislative Decree 81/2025. For those specific services, businesses stay on paper invoices or an electronic format outside the exchange system, while invoices to other VAT numbers follow the ordinary rules.

The right time to set it up

E-invoicing is one of the first things to set up alongside opening a VAT number, not a detail to put off until the first clients show up: I've also written about choosing the ATECO code, a decision made at the same moment and carrying the same weight. Anyone using an online business-opening service or an accountant usually finds this step already included; anyone opening a VAT number on their own, instead, often discovers it at the first invoicing deadline, when it's too late to look into it calmly.

If you've just opened your VAT number and the next box to tick is having a website that represents your business, I cover that in website services. If you already have an active business and want to know where to start with your online presence, get in touch: a couple of lines about your situation are enough.