What are the recent ZATCA Phase 2 waves?
| Wave | VAT-liable revenue above | Base years | Integration deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave 25 | SAR 187,500 | 2022–2025 | 1 February 2027 |
| Wave 24 | SAR 375,000 | 2022–2024 | 30 June 2026 |
| Wave 23 | SAR 750,000 | 2022–2024 | 31 March 2026 |
Each wave has roughly halved the threshold of the one before. If you have not been notified yet and your revenue is below the Wave 25 line, a later wave is the likely next step; plan for it now.
What is the difference between Phase 1 and Phase 2?
Phase 1 (generation) required businesses to issue and store invoices electronically with a QR code. Phase 2 (integration) requires your system to connect to FATOORA: tax invoices are cleared by ZATCA before they reach the buyer, and simplified invoices are reported within 24 hours.
| Phase 1: generation | Phase 2: integration | |
|---|---|---|
| What changes | Invoices are created and stored electronically | Your invoicing system is connected to ZATCA's FATOORA platform |
| Tax invoices (B2B) | Issued with the required fields | Sent to ZATCA and cleared before they go to the buyer |
| Simplified invoices (B2C) | Issued with a QR code | Issued to the customer, then reported to ZATCA within 24 hours |
| Format | Any compliant electronic format | Structured XML, or PDF/A-3 with embedded XML |
| Who it applies to | All VAT-registered resident taxpayers | Taxpayers in the announced waves, by revenue |
This table is a plain-language summary. ZATCA's own guidelines are the authority on fields and formats.
What usually goes wrong before go-live?
In accounting-system projects the software is rarely the problem. The data is. Before integration, check these in your current books:
- Customer records: missing or mistyped VAT registration numbers, addresses without the building number or district, and the same customer entered twice.
- Item records: items with no tax treatment, or zero-rated and exempt items mixed up.
- Credit and debit notes: notes that do not reference the original invoice. Under Phase 2 they must.
- Invoice numbering: gaps, duplicates and manual numbers from more than one branch.
- People: nobody assigned to fix an invoice that comes back rejected or with a warning.
We run this check first and give you the list as a spreadsheet, so your team can start cleaning while the system is being configured.
How do you get Phase 2 ready on Zoho Books?
- Confirm your wave and date from ZATCA's notification.
- Move to Zoho Books Saudi Arabia edition in SAR, with VAT settings on. Migrate from your current system if needed.
- Clean master data. Legal names, national addresses and VAT numbers for every customer; correct tax treatment on every item.
- Connect Zoho Books to FATOORA and complete onboarding.
- Test every document type: tax invoices, simplified invoices, credit and debit notes, exports and advance payments.
- Train the team on what a rejected or warned invoice looks like and who fixes it.
Zoho runs data centres in Riyadh and Jeddah for Saudi customers.
How long does it take, and what does it cost?
For a business already on Zoho Books with reasonably clean data, plan for two to four weeks. A migration from another accounting system adds two to four weeks plus a parallel run. We quote a fixed price in USD after a 30-minute call, once we have seen your invoice volume, branches and integrations. Your Zoho Books subscription is separate and is paid by you directly to Zoho.
India is 2 hours 30 minutes ahead of Riyadh. Our working day, Monday to Saturday 9 AM to 7 PM IST, covers 6:30 AM to 4:30 PM Saudi time. The Saudi working week is Sunday to Thursday, so the shared working days are Monday to Thursday.
Who are we?
Biz Systems is a Zoho Advanced Partner based in Kolkata, India, with 100+ clients. Our Gulf work to date is in the UAE, where we run Zoho Books for a mainland trading company and a free-zone entity. We have not yet delivered a Saudi project, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise. What transfers is the method: clean data first, test with real documents, fixed price, 30 days of support after go-live.
Related: UAE e-invoicing with Zoho Books · Zoho implementation for UAE businesses.
Frequently asked questions
What is the latest ZATCA Phase 2 wave?
Wave 25, announced by ZATCA on 24 July 2026. It covers taxpayers whose VAT-liable revenue exceeded SAR 187,500 in any of the years 2022 to 2025, and they must integrate with the FATOORA platform by 1 February 2027.
Is Zoho Books compliant with ZATCA Phase 2?
Zoho states that Zoho Books is a ZATCA approved Phase 2 e-invoicing compliant solution. Confirm the current status on Zoho's Saudi Arabia page before you commit.
How do I know which wave applies to my business?
ZATCA notifies taxpayers directly, at least six months before their deadline. The wave is set by your VAT-liable revenue in the base years named in the announcement.
Has Biz Systems implemented Zoho for Saudi companies?
Not yet. Our Gulf implementations so far are in the UAE. We offer the same Zoho Books setup, data clean-up, integration testing and training for Saudi businesses, delivered remotely from India, which is 2 hours 30 minutes ahead of Riyadh.
Talk to the people who will build it
A 30-minute call with our team. We map what you run today, tell you what we would build on Zoho, and send a fixed-price proposal.
+91 74395 16363 · info@bizsystems.in · Mon–Sat, 9 AM – 7 PM IST
Sources
- ZATCA: Wave 25 announcement — https://zatca.gov.sa/en/MediaCenter/News/Pages/Wave25-E-invoicing.aspx
- ZATCA: Wave 24 announcement — https://zatca.gov.sa/en/Pages/news-1426.aspx
- KPMG summary of Wave 23 — https://kpmg.com/us/en/taxnewsflash/news/2025/06/tnf-saudi-arabia-e-invoicing-requirement-extended-to-23rd-group-of-taxpayers.html
- Zoho Books Saudi Arabia: e-invoicing — https://www.zoho.com/sa/books/e-invoicing/
- Zoho: data centre locations — https://www.zoho.com/know-your-datacenter.html
Prices, dates and thresholds were checked against these sources on 5 October 2026. They change; confirm against the official source before acting.