The essentials
- Electronic invoice when the customer is backing up an expense; electronic tiquete for end consumers.
- Every receipt carries a unique numerical key that identifies it.
- The forgotten part: Hacienda's response message. Without it, the file is incomplete.
- The shop also receives receipts and has obligations as a recipient.
- Promec doesn't yet issue electronic receipts in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica has a quirk that changes a shop's daily work: the flow doesn't end when you send the receipt. Hacienda replies, and that reply is part of the document. A shop that only keeps what it issued has half the file.
What Promec does today in Costa Rica. The system runs the whole shop — AI quotes, scheduling, the mechanic's app, inventory, the customer portal and accounting — and it invoices with your own series, your own taxes and your own currency. What it
doesn't do yet is issue electronic receipts (comprobantes electrónicos) with Hacienda. That integration is in development and we don't have a date for it; until then, issuing stays with your current invoicing provider. We're telling you this before you sign up, not after:
here is where direct integration already exists.
The response message, which almost nobody keeps
You issue, you send, and Hacienda returns an acceptance or rejection message. That file is the proof the receipt was properly issued. If your system processes it and discards it, or leaves it in an inbox nobody checks, the day someone asks for the file you'll have the receipt but not the confirmation it was accepted.
The files for every transaction
The signed receipt's XML, Hacienda's response message, and the representation you gave the customer. The first two are the ones that get requested.
You're a recipient too
A shop buys parts constantly, and in the Costa Rican model the recipient of receipts has its own role: accepting or rejecting what it receives. With two suppliers and a weekly purchase it's a nuisance; with six suppliers and daily purchases it's a task that needs to be inside the workflow, not in someone's inbox.
The receipt format is set by Hacienda through resolutions and has changed versions over time. There's no point memorizing the number: what you should demand from a software provider is that they update when a new version is published, and that they tell you. A system that freezes the format stops working the moment the rule changes.
What's actually up to you
- Customer identification captured when the vehicle comes in.
- Labor and parts in separate line items from the quote onward.
- One single place where issued receipts, responses and purchases all live.
Sources
Official portal and technical documentation of the Ministerio de Hacienda. Informational content: it does not replace your accountant. Deadlines, thresholds and format versions change by regulation, often — always confirm the version in force.
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FAQ
Electronic invoice or electronic tiquete?
The electronic invoice is issued when the customer needs it to back up their expense and provides their identification details. The electronic tiquete covers sales to end consumers. Both exist side by side at a shop: the fleet asks for an invoice, the individual is usually fine with the tiquete.
What's the numerical key?
It's the receipt's unique identifier, a long string that encodes country, date, issuer identification, sequence number, receipt status and a security code. It's what lets the document be located and what makes it unrepeatable.
What's the response message, and why does it matter?
When you send a receipt, Hacienda returns a message stating whether it accepts or rejects it. That message is part of the file: a receipt that was sent but not accepted wasn't properly issued. If your system doesn't keep the responses, you can't prove they were.
I receive invoices from my parts suppliers. Do I have to do anything?
In the Costa Rican model the recipient also plays a role: there are acceptance or rejection messages for the receipts you receive. For a shop that buys parts daily, this is real volume. Confirm with your accountant how it should be handled in your case.
Does Hacienda certify shop software?
No. Hacienda defines the format and validates receipts. There's no seal for 'authorized shop software.'