e-Ticket or e-Factura: which one to issue and when

When you start issuing electronic receipts, the question comes up: do I issue an e-Ticket or an e-Factura? The difference isn't preference — it's who's buying from you. The practical rule is simple: if your client is a business or a professional who gives you their RUT, you issue an e-Factura; if it's an ordinary person consuming the product or service who doesn't give you a RUT, you issue an e-Ticket. Both are electronic fiscal receipts (CFE) and both are valid: what changes is who you issue them to.

Both are CFE

Both the e-Ticket and the e-Factura are types of Comprobante Fiscal Electrónico (CFE, electronic fiscal receipt). DGI Resolution 798/012, in its numeral 1, lists the different types of CFE — among them the e-Ticket and the e-Factura, each with its own credit and debit notes. In other words: you don't choose between 'doing electronic invoicing or not' — you're already an electronic issuer, and for each operation you choose which of the two receipts fits, depending on who you're selling to.

e-Factura: when the client is a taxpayer (RUT)

The e-Factura is used to document operations with taxpayers — clients identified by their RUT number. Why does it matter? Because your business client needs that receipt with their RUT to compute the VAT fiscal credit and to deduct the expense. If you sell to a business, a shop, a professional or anyone acting as a taxpayer who asks for a receipt with their details, that receipt is an e-Factura, and it must carry the buyer's RUT.

e-Ticket: when the client is a final consumer

The e-Ticket is used to document operations with final consumers: the person who buys for themselves, not for their business, and who doesn't give you a RUT. That's the typical case of a private individual. The e-Ticket doesn't identify the buyer as a taxpayer; it documents a sale to final consumption. If you want, the buyer's national ID (cédula) can be added (for example when they need it for some benefit), but it doesn't carry a RUT or enable a fiscal credit for the buyer.

The key data each one carries

The visible difference is the identification of the buyer. The e-Factura identifies the buyer by their RUT: that data is what lets them use the receipt for tax purposes. The e-Ticket, by contrast, normally doesn't identify the buyer with a RUT, because it's a sale to final consumption. So, when in doubt, the key question is simple: does your client give you a RUT and act as a business? Then e-Factura. They don't give you a RUT and buy as a private individual? Then e-Ticket.

How to choose in practice (freelance)

As a freelancer, at the moment of getting paid just ask: 'do you need an invoice with a RUT?'. If the client is a business or professional who'll deduct the expense or the VAT, they'll give you their RUT and you issue an e-Factura. If it's a private individual who just wants their receipt, you issue an e-Ticket. Most invoicing systems let you choose the receipt type when issuing; some even decide it simply based on whether you enter the client's RUT or not. DGI publishes on its electronic-invoicing portal how the RUT or cédula is requested when preparing the receipt.

What if my client is abroad?

For sales to clients abroad there's a specific type, the e-Factura de Exportación (export e-Invoice), meant for the export of goods or services. It's neither an e-Ticket nor an ordinary e-Factura: it's its own type of CFE. If you invoice clients abroad, check with your electronic-invoicing provider and with DGI how to issue this receipt, because it has its own rules.

• Electronic invoicing (CFE) in Uruguay: how it works
• The daily invoice report to DGI

Frequently asked questions

• When do I issue an e-Factura? When your client is a taxpayer who gives you their RUT (a business, shop or professional).
• When do I issue an e-Ticket? When you sell to a final consumer who doesn't give you a RUT (a private individual).
• Are both valid? Yes: both are CFE. What changes is who you issue them to, not their validity.
• Does the e-Ticket carry the buyer's RUT? No: it's a sale to final consumption. A cédula can be added, but it doesn't enable a fiscal credit.
• Why does my business client insist on an e-Factura? Because they need the receipt with their RUT to compute VAT and deduct the expense.
• And if I sell abroad? There's the e-Factura de Exportación, a separate type; check it with your provider and DGI.

In short: e-Factura for clients with a RUT (taxpayers who need the receipt for their fiscal credit) and e-Ticket for final consumers. Both are CFE and both are valid; the key is always the same question when getting paid: does your client give you a RUT? When in doubt, confirm with your invoicing provider and DGI.