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Colombia Invoice Template (Factura)

A free, editable invoice layout for sales involving Colombia. It has fields for your tax ID, your customer's NIT (Número de Identificación Tributaria), the payment form (contado or crédito, with the term), the payment method, and IVA where it applies. It is not a factura electrónica de venta. Anyone obliged to invoice in Colombia, including businesses responsible for IVA, merchants and people practising liberal professions, must issue electronic sales invoices that DIAN validates before they count as issued, with a CUFE code and a QR code, under DIAN Resolution 165 of 2023. A paper invoice is valid only when technical problems make electronic invoicing impossible. So this layout is for sellers outside that system, such as a foreign provider billing a Colombian company, or for planning the content before you key it into DIAN-enabled software. It downloads as an HTML file you edit in a browser and print or save as PDF; totals are not calculated for you.

Preview this editable document

Download the HTML file to edit its fields, then print or save as PDF. Totals are entered manually.

What This Template Includes

  • Your NIT (if registered in Colombia) or your foreign tax ID
  • Customer's NIT (or ID number; "consumidor final" if none is given)
  • Payment form: contado or crédito, with the term
  • Payment method (cash, card, bank transfer or other)

How to fill in this Colombia Invoice (Factura)

  1. Download the template. It opens as an editable HTML file in your browser.
  2. Replace each bracketed field with your details. Totals are not calculated for you, so check the arithmetic.
  3. Print it or save it as a PDF from your browser. InvoiceQuickly does not create or store this document type.

Recommended Payment Terms

DIAN's requirements for an electronic sales invoice include the payment form, contado (cash) or crédito (credit) with the term, and, for cash sales, the payment method such as card or bank transfer. Use the same discipline on this layout: write "Crédito a 30 días" (credit, 30 days) or "Contado", the due date, the currency, and your bank details. If you bill from abroad in US dollars, state who pays bank charges.

Tax Information

The general IVA rate in Colombia is 19% (Estatuto Tributario article 468), with exceptions in the same title. On a factura electrónica de venta, IVA and any other taxes such as the national consumption tax must be shown separately with the rate that applies. Show IVA only if you are responsible for it in Colombia; a foreign supplier with no Colombian registration does not add Colombian IVA to its invoice. InvoiceQuickly applies one tax percentage per invoice, labels it "Tax" rather than "IVA", copies a saved tax ID to new invoice PDFs, does not offer COP in the editor and cannot issue or validate DIAN electronic invoices.

Industry context (2026)

Under DIAN Resolution 165 of 2023, now compiled into DIAN Resolution 227 of 2025, everyone obliged to invoice must use electronic sales invoices that DIAN validates before they are issued, each carrying a unique CUFE code, a digital signature and a QR code. Paper invoices survive only as a fallback when technical problems prevent electronic invoicing. The same framework covers electronic POS tickets as an equivalent document, and the documento soporte that a buyer issues when it purchases from a supplier not obliged to invoice. The general IVA rate has been 19% since Ley 1819 of 2016 amended article 468 of the Estatuto Tributario, and the Senate's official text, updated to 15 October 2026, still shows 19% (sources accessed 27 October 2026).

Worked example

Two versions of the same job (an illustrative example). First, Estudio Andino SAS in Bogotá, responsible for IVA, builds a booking website for a hotel company in Cartagena. Lines: website design and build, COP 8,000,000; content migration, 20 hours at COP 100,000 = COP 2,000,000. Subtotal: COP 10,000,000. IVA 19%: COP 1,900,000. Total: COP 11,900,000, "Crédito a 30 días". Because Estudio Andino is obliged to invoice, it issues this as a factura electrónica de venta from DIAN-enabled software, with its authorised prefix and number, the hotel's NIT, the CUFE and the QR code; DIAN validates it before it is delivered. This layout is only a planning copy for that sale. Second, a freelance developer in Austin, Texas, with no Colombian registration or tax residence, does the same build for the same hotel company. Assuming the developer is not an obliged party under article 7 of Resolution 165, the invoice is in US dollars: US$2,500.00 for the build and US$500.00 for migration, total US$3,000.00, with no Colombian IVA, the hotel's NIT and "payment within 30 days". That invoice can come from this layout or from InvoiceQuickly, and the hotel company handles its own Colombian documentation of the purchase.

Common mistakes to avoid

Sending a PDF instead of a factura electrónica

If you are obliged to invoice in Colombia, the invoice must be validated by DIAN before it is issued. A PDF or Word invoice is not valid on its own.

Leaving out the customer's NIT

Business buyers need their NIT on the invoice. "Consumidor final" with 222222222222 is only for buyers who give no identification.

Not stating the payment form

Electronic invoices must say whether the sale is contado or crédito, with the credit term.

Using your own numbering

Electronic invoice numbers come from a range, with an optional prefix, authorised through DIAN's numbering service.

Adding IVA you are not responsible for

Only charge Colombian IVA if you are responsible for it in Colombia. A foreign supplier without Colombian registration bills its fee without IVA.

Invoicing Tips

  • 1If you are obliged to invoice in Colombia, use DIAN-enabled e-invoicing software. A PDF from a template is not a factura electrónica de venta.
  • 2Ask business customers for their NIT before you invoice. A factura electrónica falls back to "consumidor final" and 222222222222 only when the buyer gives no ID at all.
  • 3Write the payment form on every invoice: "Contado" or "Crédito a 30 días".
  • 4Billing a Colombian company from abroad? Ask whether they need anything from you for their documento soporte, DIAN's electronic record of purchases from suppliers not obliged to invoice.
  • 5Keep your invoice numbering consistent. Colombian electronic invoices use a numbering range and optional prefix authorised by DIAN.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a PDF or paper invoice valid in Colombia?

Not for someone obliged to invoice. Under DIAN Resolution 165 of 2023, obliged parties issue electronic sales invoices that DIAN validates before they are considered issued, and a paper invoice is valid only when technical problems prevent electronic invoicing. A PDF can be the printed representation of a validated e-invoice, but it cannot replace it.

What must a factura electrónica de venta include?

Article 11 of Resolution 165 of 2023 lists, among others: the title "factura electrónica de venta"; the seller's name and NIT; the buyer's name and NIT (or ID, or "consumidor final"); a consecutive number with the DIAN-authorised prefix and range; the date and time of generation and of validation; a description of each item with quantity and unit; the total; the payment form and method; the seller's tax status where relevant (for example gran contribuyente); IVA and other taxes with their rates; the digital signature; the CUFE code; and a QR code linking to DIAN.

What is the IVA rate in Colombia?

19% is the general rate under article 468 of the Estatuto Tributario, in the text updated to 15 October 2026 on the Senate's official site. Some goods and services take a different rate or are excluded or exempt under the same title of the Estatuto.

I am a foreign freelancer billing a Colombian company. Do I need a DIAN e-invoice?

It depends on whether you are an obliged party under article 7 of Resolution 165 of 2023. Article 8 expressly lists providers of electronic or digital services from abroad without Colombian tax residence as not obliged to invoice. A supplier that is not obliged can bill with an ordinary invoice like this one, and the Colombian buyer records the purchase with a documento soporte where DIAN requires it.

Can InvoiceQuickly issue a DIAN electronic invoice?

No. InvoiceQuickly creates PDF invoices with one tax percentage and has no DIAN connection, CUFE, digital signature or QR code. A supplier outside the Colombian system can use it to bill a Colombian company in USD, with the customer's NIT typed into the notes, because the app copies saved business and client tax IDs to new invoice PDFs.