Invoice terms in Arabic: an English–Arabic glossary for invoices and quotations

A tax invoice in Arabic is فاتورة ضريبية, a simplified tax invoice is فاتورة ضريبية مبسطة, a credit note is إشعار دائن, a debit note is إشعار مدين and a quotation is عرض سعر. The invoice number is رقم الفاتورة, the VAT number الرقم الضريبي (ZATCA’s own sample writes رقم التسجيل الضريبي), VAT itself is ضريبة القيمة المضافة and the total amount due is إجمالي المبلغ المستحق. The tables below cover every other label on an invoice, a quotation, a credit note and a statement of account.

Each Arabic term here comes from one of two sources: the bilingual sample tax invoice in ZATCA’s “Guideline for Tax Invoicing and Records under VAT Provisions” (Version 3, May 2026), or the labels BuzPulse prints on its own documents. Where the two use different words for the same thing, both are given — neither is a mistake.

ZATCA’s guideline (§4.2.1) quotes the VAT Implementing Regulations: invoices must be issued in Arabic, in addition to any other language used. It adds that every field of a tax invoice must be completed in Arabic, that the Arabic is the approved and conclusive text, and that any other language is treated as a translation only. So on a Saudi tax invoice the Arabic labels are not decoration — they are the part that counts.

The same guideline (§4.2.6) says a tax invoice may take different forms and that its sample template does not have to be copied. What it does fix is the title: the document must say whether it is a “Tax Invoice” or a “Simplified Tax Invoice” (§4.2.3). This is general information drawn from ZATCA’s published guidance; ZATCA’s rules, and your tax adviser, are the authority for your business.

Which of the two invoice titles to use depends on the sale, not on preference — simplified tax invoice vs tax invoice sets out ZATCA’s two cases for the simplified form.

A due date is optional on a tax invoice

ZATCA’s guideline (§4.2.5) lists the payment due date, return and exchange terms, contact details and shipping details as commercial information a seller may add, not as part of the mandatory content. BuzPulse prints a due date only when the invoice has one. How long to give a customer is covered in payment terms.

Identifiers are copied, not translated

A VAT number, CR number or invoice number is the same value in both languages. On the Arabic side BuzPulse writes the digits of the VAT, CR and additional numbers and of phone numbers as Arabic-Indic digits (٣١٠…), but leaves any value containing Latin letters — an email address or an IBAN — exactly as typed, so it still matches your records. Amounts, quantities and dates stay in Western digits in both languages.

When an issued invoice has to change, ZATCA’s guideline (§7) says the adjustment is made with a credit note or debit note that states its type and the serial number of the tax invoice it amends — the original is not edited. Credit note vs debit note explains when to use each. On a statement of account the same two ideas appear as column headings:

Why “credit” has two Arabic words

آجل is credit in the sense of “pay later” — the Cash / Credit choice on an invoice. دائن is credit in the accounting sense — a credit note, or the credit column of a statement. Swapping them changes the meaning, so a translated invoice that says إشعار آجل for a credit note is wrong.

You do not type any of the fixed labels above. In the Invoice Generator, set the language to English + Arabic and every heading, column and total prints in both languages from the same wording each time; you add the Arabic only for your own content — business and customer names, addresses and item names. The Quotation Generator works the same way for quotations.

1. 1

   Choose English + Arabic

   In the invoice or quotation builder, pick English + Arabic as the document language. The Arabic fields appear beside the English ones.

2. 2

   Fill in your own Arabic

   Type the Arabic for names, addresses and items, or, signed in, use Translate on a field and check what it proposes before accepting it.

3. 3

   Pick the right invoice type

   Tax Invoice or Simplified Tax Invoice — the English and Arabic title follow your choice.

4. 4

   Check the preview, then download

   Read each Arabic line against its English line, especially names and identifiers, before sending the PDF.

Received a Saudi invoice and want to check its QR code? The free ZATCA QR code scanner reads it and shows the seller name, VAT number, time and totals it carries.

• No Arabic-only invoice. Invoices and new quotations are English, or English with Arabic. A fully Arabic document is not offered.
• No automatic translation of your content. The fixed labels are built in; your names and item descriptions are yours to write. Translate is optional, needs an account, and its suggestion must be checked.
• No debit notes. BuzPulse issues credit notes and returns, not debit notes.
• No ZATCA Phase 2 integration. It does not clear or report invoices to ZATCA’s FATOORA platform; once your Phase 2 wave applies, tax invoices must come from a compliant, integrated solution.
• No legal review. The glossary gives the usual wording; whether a particular invoice meets the rules for your business is for ZATCA’s guidance or your tax adviser.