How to invoice receipts in Mexico in 2026: portal by portal or with a photo

Invoicing a receipt means asking the merchant for the electronic invoice (CFDI) for a purchase that only came with a receipt. If the expense belongs to the company, the invoice is issued in the company's name and with its tax details, even if the employee paid.

The problem is that each merchant has its own portal, asks for different details and sets its own deadline. With one receipt, no big deal. With a month of receipts from the road, someone in Finance ends up chasing invoices.

Key takeaways

To invoice a receipt, you go to the merchant's portal with the receipt details it asks for (folio, date and total). Then you enter the tax details of whoever receives the invoice: RFC (tax ID), legal name (without «S.A. de C.V.»), tax regime, zip code and CFDI use.

• The invoice for a receipt is issued by the merchant that made the sale, on its portal or at the register. The SAT portal cannot be used to invoice a store receipt.

• A receipt for a work expense is invoiced in the company's name, with its tax details, even if the employee paid with their own money.

• In CFDI 4.0 the legal name is written exactly as on the Constancia de Situación Fiscal (tax status certificate), without «S.A. de C.V.» or any other corporate type, according to the SAT's CFDI 4.0 filling guide.

• The deadline to invoice a receipt is set by each merchant on its receipt or portal, and some only accept receipts from the same month as the purchase.

• The electronic invoice (CFDI) is the XML file; the PDF is its printed representation, according to article 29 of Mexico's Federal Tax Code.

The company's tax details come from its Constancia de Situación Fiscal.

How to invoice a receipt step by step

A receipt is invoiced on the merchant's portal in five steps. You find the portal, enter the receipt, enter the tax details, check the preview and send the XML and PDF to Finance's email.

1. Find the invoicing portal address. It is almost always printed at the bottom of the receipt; if not, it is on the merchant's website.

2. Enter the receipt details the portal asks for: folio or receipt number, date, total and, at some merchants, the branch or an invoicing code.

3. Enter the company's tax details, not yours: RFC, legal name, tax regime, zip code and CFDI use.

4. Check the preview before confirming. If the invoice is issued with a wrong detail, you have to ask the merchant to cancel it and issue it again.

5. Enter Finance's email, or a shared team inbox, so the XML and PDF go straight to whoever reconciles expenses.

And that's it! If the expense belongs to your company and you have to do this for every receipt, there is another way: try it by sending one receipt for free and Zumma requests the invoice for you.

What company details you need to request the invoice

To request the invoice for a work expense you need five company details: RFC, legal name, tax regime, zip code and CFDI use. Four of them are required by article 29-A of the Federal Tax Code; the tax regime, by the SAT's CFDI 4.0 filling guide. The first four in the table come from the company's Constancia de Situación Fiscal.

If you invoice your own expense as an individual, you use the same five details, with your 13-character RFC and your tax regime (for example, 612 or 626).

What goes in the legal name field of an invoice?

The company's name exactly as it appears on its Constancia de Situación Fiscal, without the corporate type, which the certificate shows in a separate field. If the certificate says «Comercializadora del Norte», don't write «Comercializadora del Norte, S.A. de C.V.». In CFDI 4.0 the name, zip code and tax regime are validated against the RFC; if anything doesn't match, the invoice is not issued.

A tip for teams on the road: pin a message in the team chat with the five details from the table, written exactly as they should be entered. Whoever is at the gas station or the toll booth doesn't have to ask anyone.

What receipt details you need to invoice

To invoice, portals ask for the folio or receipt number, the date and the total; some also ask for the branch or an invoicing code. These are the details four merchants common in travel expenses ask for:

The company's tax details are the same everywhere; what changes is where each number is on the receipt. Some receipts carry several numbers (register, transaction, folio), and each portal asks for a specific one. Enter the total with cents and the full folio, including its zeros.

Where each receipt is invoiced: portals by expense type

Each receipt is invoiced on the portal of the merchant that issued it. These are the step-by-step guides for a team's most common expenses:

If the merchant is not on the list, look for the portal address at the bottom of the receipt or ask at the register whether they invoice on the spot.

Can you invoice a receipt on the SAT portal?

No: the invoice for a receipt is issued by the merchant that made the sale, on its portal or at the register. The SAT invoicing service is for issuing your own invoices, not for invoicing a purchase you made at a store.

What the SAT does offer is the CFDI verifier. There, Finance enters the tax folio (UUID) and the RFCs of the issuer and the recipient, and confirms that the invoice exists and has not been canceled.

How long do you have to invoice a receipt?

Each merchant decides, and sometimes the window is short: some only invoice receipts from the same month as the purchase. The deadline is on the receipt or the portal. To deduct the expense there is another limit: the invoice must be obtained no later than the due date of the annual tax return (article 27, section XVIII, of the Income Tax Law).

If you don't request the invoice, the merchant may include that sale in its global invoice to the general public, issued with the generic RFC XAXX010101000. Invoicing it later in your company's name may force the merchant to correct that global invoice. That is why merchants set a deadline to invoice.

It is best to request the invoice on the day of the expense. A receipt from the 29th handed to Finance on the 5th of the following month may no longer be invoiceable.

What if the employee paid with their own money?

The invoice is still requested in the company's name, with the company's tax details, even if the employee paid in cash or with their own card. The company then reimburses the expense according to its policy.

Having the invoice does not make every expense deductible. Under article 27 of the Income Tax Law, a payment over MXN $2,000 is deductible only if it is not made in cash. Valid methods are a transfer or a nominative check from a company account, a credit, debit or service card, and an authorized electronic wallet. Fuel follows that rule for any amount, and its invoice must include the gas station's current permit. At restaurants, 8.5% of the bill is deductible if paid by card or electronic wallet (article 28, section XX, of the Income Tax Law). If the meal is a travel expense more than 50 km from the company, up to MXN $750 per person per day is deductible, without the 8.5% limit, if it comes with the lodging invoice (article 28, section V). If there is only a transportation receipt, the meal must be paid with the traveler's credit card.

Outside those cases, when the employee paid in cash or with their own card, deductibility depends on the amount, the tax regime and each company's activity. Confirm it with your accountant.

How to invoice your team's receipts without going to each portal

To skip the portals, the employee sends Zumma a photo of the receipt and Zumma requests the invoice in the company's name. That way whoever spends stops filling out portals, and Finance stops getting receipts all at once at month-end, some already past the deadline.

Zumma is Mexican B2B software that gets the CFDI for employees' expenses from a photo of the receipt sent on WhatsApp. The employee sends it from their own WhatsApp, with nothing to install, and the invoice PDF and XML arrive in Finance's dashboard.

For Zumma to request the invoice, take the receipt photo like this:

• Photograph the whole receipt, with no wrinkles or cut-off edges.

• Check that all the information is visible and the photo is in focus.

• If a detail is on a separate slip (for example, the invoicing code), include it in the same photo.

• Send one photo per receipt.

You can try it with a real receipt: open your account and send your first receipt for free.

Frequently asked questions about invoicing receipts

How do you turn a receipt into an invoice?

Go to the invoicing portal printed on the receipt and enter the folio, date and total. Then enter the company's tax details and download the XML and PDF.

How are fuel receipts invoiced?

A fuel receipt is invoiced on the gas station's portal, with the tracking number or receipt code and the company's tax details. The guide for each gas station is in the portals table.

How are toll receipts invoiced?

A toll receipt is invoiced on the highway operator's portal. For CAPUFE tolls you enter the receipt code; the guide to invoicing CAPUFE tolls has the steps.

What if the merchant refuses to invoice a receipt?

The merchant is required to issue the invoice when you ask for it: not issuing it is an offense under article 83, section VII, of the Federal Tax Code. If they refuse, keep the receipt and file a complaint with the SAT through its service channels.

Can you invoice a lost receipt?

It is hard, because portals ask for the folio or the code printed on the receipt to find the sale. That is why the employee should photograph the receipt as soon as they pay.

What CFDI use goes on a company expense receipt?

For most work expenses, G03 «Gastos en general» (general expenses). If you have doubts about a specific expense, confirm it with your accountant.

What to do with every receipt

• Request the invoice on the day of the expense, at the register or on the merchant's portal.

• Use the company's five details, with the legal name exactly as on the certificate.

• Keep the XML: it is the invoice; the PDF only represents it.

• If your team collects many receipts from many merchants, let Zumma request the invoices.

If you don't use Zumma yet, send your first receipt for free, or book a demo to try it with up to 5 real receipts from your team.

This guide summarizes general rules with their source; your accountant reviews your specific case.