For veterinary clinics in Turkey, the document type depends on the business's tax status. A vet earning self-employed professional income as an individual issues different documents from a clinic operating as a company; a clinic that sells both services and products may see two types side by side. This article is informational and does not replace an accountant's advice. For current rules, check announcements from the Revenue Administration (GİB) and consult your accountant.
Three document types
- e-Invoice (e-Fatura): issued between taxpayers registered in the e-invoice system.
- e-Archive invoice (e-Arşiv): issued electronically instead of on paper to people and organisations that are not e-invoice taxpayers. An invoice to an individual pet owner usually falls here.
- e-SMM (electronic self-employment receipt): the electronic document that self-employed professionals use instead of a paper receipt. It is the core document for a vet who runs a practice as an individual.
Which one you issue depends on your tax status and on the other party.
| Situation | Usually corresponds to | Verify |
|---|---|---|
| Individual practice, consultation and treatment fees | e-SMM or paper receipt | Accountant, GİB announcements |
| Company clinic, services and product sales | e-Archive or e-Invoice | Obligation and registration status |
| Retail sales such as pet food and accessories | Invoice or cash-register receipt | Document by type of sale |
| Sale to a business customer (e.g. a shelter, a shop) | e-Invoice if the buyer is an e-invoice taxpayer | Buyer's registration status |
The table is a general frame, not a one-to-one rule. Ask your accountant about your own case.
Who must switch to e-documents?
The obligation depends on turnover and activity thresholds set in notices published by GİB. Thresholds may change from year to year. We give no fixed figure here; confirm your clinic's position with your accountant and GİB announcements. Staying under the threshold and switching voluntarily is also possible. The benefit of a voluntary switch is less paper printing, storage and archiving; the downside is the initial setup and integrator cost.
Transition steps
- Clarify your tax status and whether you are obliged to switch with your accountant.
- Apply with a financial seal or e-signature.
- Decide whether to use the GİB portal directly or a private integrator.
- Connect your clinic software's document flow to the integrator.
- Issue test documents and verify them, then go live.
- In the first weeks, review each day's issued documents and cancellations together with your accountant.
Portal or integrator?
| GİB portal | Private integrator | |
|---|---|---|
| Document entry | Manually on the portal screen | Automatically from clinic software |
| Volume | Fine for few documents | Needed as daily document count grows |
| Cost | Direct portal use | Integrator contract and credits or subscription |
| Record consistency | Entered separately from the clinic record | Fed from the same record |
Ask each integrator for prices and terms in writing; this article does not recommend a specific provider.
What does clinic software do here?
The software builds invoice lines from consultations and product sales and keeps the customer's account and tax information in the same record. Delivery of the document to GİB goes through an authorised integrator or a GİB service. In other words, the software's job is to prepare the document correctly and keep records tidy; an integrator takes on the official transmission.
Document queue
- Invoice A-001e-Archive recordWaiting for provider
- Invoice A-002e-Invoice recordWaiting for provider
Live flowWaiting for provider 3 / 3
Steps
- 1Document record createdAn invoice record is prepared.
- 2Enters the queueA sending order is created.
- 3Waiting for providerReal sending needs an integrator connection.
Today VetBis does not send documents directly to the tax authority.
Common mistakes in clinics
- Issuing both a receipt and an invoice for the same consultation, which creates a duplicate document.
- Trying to add customer tax details afterwards; correcting after issue requires a cancellation.
- Keeping product VAT rates wrong on the card, so invoice totals come out wrong.
- Not recording cancellation and return documents, leaving a gap at month end with the accountant.
- Not asking about archive access to old documents when changing integrators.
Getting ready: record discipline
Before you move to e-documents, the clinic's internal records should be in order:
- Complete name or title, national ID or tax number and address fields on customer cards.
- Check the VAT rate on product and service cards.
- Track which document each payment belongs to; leave no payment without a document.
- At day end, compare the cash register with the documents issued. See our cash desk and end-of-day article for the routine.
Where VetBis stands
In VetBis, invoices, quotes, payments and refunds work in the billing screens. e-Invoice, e-Archive and e-SMM document records and the cash-register receipt record are defined in the software; however, real sending needs a connection to an integrator or GİB, and that connection is in preparation. In other words, VetBis does not send documents directly to GİB today. The status is labelled on the e-invoice feature page. Keep issuing your official documents through your current accountant or integrator, and keep the record flow tidy in VetBis.
Frequently asked questions
Which document suits an individual practice? A self-employed professional receipt is usually used; its electronic equivalent is the e-SMM. Confirm the obligation and the switch status with your accountant.
What if an owner asks for an invoice? You issue the document according to your tax status; for an individual customer it is usually an e-Archive invoice or a receipt. Keeping customer details complete on the card makes this easier.
Can I access old documents if I change integrator? That depends on the provider's contract. Before switching, ask in writing about archive access and exporting your documents.
What is the e-document obligation threshold? Thresholds are set in GİB notices year by year and may change; check GİB announcements and your accountant for the current value.
Pre-transition checklist
- Tax status confirmed
- Obligation status clarified with the accountant
- Financial seal or e-signature ready
- Integrator chosen and archive terms asked about
- Tax details complete on customer and product cards
- Test document issued
- Daily cash-to-document comparison in place
Conclusion
The hard part of e-document transition is not software but the right tax status and the right integrator choice. For the pre-accounting side see the accounting article, and for integration status the integrations page.