Hosam Case Study: ZATCA Fatoora and Zoho Books

At a glance

Invoices checked before submission

Compliant XML and QR on every invoice

Clearance and reporting handled automatically

Fatoora status visible in accounting

The challenge

What Hosam needed to fix

Hosam engaged Shyphan for a Fatoora integration so that invoices raised in its accounting system meet ZATCA e-invoicing requirements, with clearance or reporting status written back to each invoice.

Tax field accuracyInvoices needed every mandatory ZATCA field present and valid.
XML and QREach invoice needed compliant XML and a QR code.
Clearance and reportingInvoices had to be cleared or reported to Fatoora.
Status in accountingFinance needed the Fatoora status on each invoice.

Hand with pen checking a financial statement beside a calculator. Photo credit

Before and after

What changed for the team

BeforeAfter

Mandatory ZATCA fields not checked before an invoice was submitted

Every invoice validated for mandatory tax fields before submission

Compliant XML and QR code needed for each invoice

Compliant XML and QR generated for every invoice by the integration

Each invoice needed separate clearance or reporting to Fatoora

Clearance and reporting calls to Fatoora handled automatically

Finance unable to see Fatoora status from accounting

Fatoora status stored on each invoice in Zoho Books

How it works

The business process, step by step

01
Source invoice
Finance raises the invoice in Zoho Books in the usual way. The integration takes it from accounting as the source record for the e-invoice, so staff keep working in the system they already use.
02
Tax field checks
Before anything is sent to ZATCA, the integration checks that every mandatory tax field on the invoice is present and valid, so problems are found before submission rather than after a rejection.
03
XML and QR
For each invoice that passes the checks, the integration generates the e-invoice XML and the QR code in the format ZATCA requires, ready for submission to the Fatoora platform.
04
Fatoora
The e-invoice is sent to ZATCA Fatoora for clearance or reporting, depending on the invoice type. Error responses are handled by the integration, and corrected invoices can be resubmitted.
05
Status stored
The Fatoora response is written back to the invoice in Zoho Books, so finance can see the clearance or reporting status of every invoice without leaving the accounting system.

The solution

What we built for Hosam

Shyphan delivered the project on ZATCA Fatoora and Zoho Books, covering a 5-step process with 2 integration points.

ZATCA Fatoora

E-invoice XML and QR generation
Clearance and reporting calls
Error handling and resubmission

Source invoices with Fatoora status recorded

Who uses it

Finance team

Raise invoices in Zoho Books and review the Fatoora clearance or reporting status written back to each one.

Finance administrators

Review Fatoora error responses, correct the invoice data in Zoho Books and resubmit invoices that were not accepted.

Finance managers

Check Fatoora status across invoices in Zoho Books to confirm that sales invoices have been cleared or reported.

Architecture

How the systems connect

InputsZoho Books invoicesFatoora responses

Delivered by ShyphanZATCA Fatoora

OutputsZATCA FatooraStatus write-back

Integrations

Accounting to Fatoora
Invoices sent for clearance or reporting.
Status write-back
Fatoora response stored on the invoice.

Reports and dashboards

Fatoora status by invoice

Clearance or reporting status written back from Fatoora for each invoice in Zoho Books.

Validation failures

Invoices held back because a mandatory ZATCA tax field was missing or invalid.

Errors and resubmissions

Fatoora error responses and the invoices corrected and resubmitted after them.

Submission log

Invoices sent for clearance or reporting, with the generated XML and QR for each.

The results

What the system does now

Invoices checked before submission
Compliant XML and QR on every invoice
Clearance and reporting handled automatically
Fatoora status visible in accounting

Delivery

Five phases, discovery to support

01
Discovery
Process mapping, documents and data reviewed with each team.
02
Design
Target flow agreed across 2 apps and 2 integration points.
03
Build
Apps configured, custom logic built and integrations connected.
04
Test and train
User acceptance testing with real scenarios and role-based training.
05
Go-live and support
Cut-over, hypercare and ongoing improvements.

Local rules built in

ZATCA e-invoicing

Fatoora-format tax invoices with XML and QR, cleared or reported as required.

15% VAT

Standard, zero-rated and exempt supplies mapped, with return-ready reports.

Saudi PDPL

Personal data kept to what the process needs, with role-based access.

Arabic and English

Bilingual documents where customers and authorities expect them.

FAQ

Questions about this project

What happens if an invoice fails the tax field checks?

The integration validates mandatory ZATCA fields before generating the e-invoice, so an invoice with missing or invalid data is caught before submission. Error handling and resubmission also cover responses from Fatoora, so corrected invoices can be sent again.

Does finance need a separate portal to see Fatoora status?

No. The Fatoora response is written back to the invoice in Zoho Books, so finance sees whether each invoice was cleared or reported directly in the accounting system they already work in every day.

What did the integration cover?

The scope covered tax field checks on source invoices, e-invoice XML and QR generation, clearance and reporting calls to ZATCA Fatoora, error handling and resubmission, and storing the Fatoora status back on each invoice in Zoho Books.

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Hosam

What Hosam needed to fix

What changed for the team

The business process, step by step

Source invoice

Tax field checks

XML and QR

Fatoora

Status stored