What does CFDI mean?
CFDI is the acronym for Digital Tax Receipt over the Internet. It is the official name of the electronic invoice in Mexico: a digital document, with fiscal validity, that supports a purchase-sale or service operation before the Tax Administration Service (SAT).
Unlike a paper invoice or a simple PDF, a CFDI is an XML file with a standardized structure that the SAT validates and registers. The current version is CFDI 4.0, which entered into mandatory operation and brings stricter rules on the data that must exactly match the tax information of the sender and the receiver.
How does the stamping work?
Stamping is the step that converts a draft invoice into a valid CFDI. When you generate an invoice, the file is sent to a PAC (Authorized Certification Provider), which is a company authorized by the SAT to validate and seal receipts. The PAC checks that everything is correct, adds the SAT digital seal and a unique fiscal folio (UUID), and returns it already "stamped", that is, with official validity.
This process occurs in seconds and is what gives legal certainty to the invoice. Without stamping, a document is not a valid CFDI and is not used to deduct or credit taxes. That's why any serious billing system needs to be connected to a PAC in order to ring.
What data does CFDI 4.0 require?
Version 4.0 tightened requirements to reduce errors and fraud. These are the key data that you must carry and that must coincide with the Certificate of Tax Situation:
- Name or company name of the recipient, written exactly as it is on the SAT.
- RFC of the sender and receiver.
- Postal code of the recipient's tax address.
- Tax regime of the recipient.
- Use of the CFDI (what the recipient will use the invoice for).
- Description of products or services with your SAT catalog code.
- Breakdown of taxes (VAT, withholdings when applicable).
What is the payment plugin?
The payment supplement (or CFDI with payment receipt supplement, known as REP) is a special type of receipt that is issued when an invoice is paid in installments or after it has been issued. It serves to record when and how the money was actually received.
In practice: if you issue an invoice "on credit" (to be paid later), the original invoice is marked as "payable", and when the customer pays you you must issue a payment supplement that links that payment to the invoice. This gives the SAT complete traceability between what is invoiced and what is collected. Managing payment add-ons well is one of the most confusing parts for businesses, and doing it poorly creates tax discrepancies.
How Aura solves it
Aura has CFDI 4.0 electronic invoicing integrated into the same system where you generate your sales, so invoicing is not a separate procedure: from an order, a point of sale ticket or an online order, you issue the CFDI with one click and Aura takes care of the stamping with the PAC automatically.
The system validates that the recipient's fiscal data is complete and correct before stamping, so that your invoice does not bounce, and manages payment complements when you invoice on credit. Everything is archived, with its XML and PDF, ready for your accounting. Instead of jumping between your sales system and a separate billing portal, in Aura selling and invoicing are part of the same flow, and artificial intelligence can help you issue or view invoices just by asking.
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Start your trial →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between CFDI 3.3 and CFDI 4.0?
Version 4.0 is current and mandatory. It requires more data and that it coincides exactly with the tax information of the SAT (name, postal code and regime of the recipient), something that 3.3 did not require with that rigor.
Do I need to hire a separate PAC to ring?
With an integrated billing system like Aura, ringing with the PAC is already included in the flow, so you don't have to manage that connection on your own.
When should I issue a payment supplement?
When you issue an invoice that will be paid later (on credit) or in installments. Upon receipt of each payment, you must issue a supplement linking it to the original invoice.
Is a point of sale ticket a CFDI invoice?
No. The ticket is proof of sale, but it does not have tax validity to deduct. For this, the client must request the invoice (CFDI). In Aura you can generate it directly from the POS sale.
What happens if I issue a CFDI with wrong data?
A CFDI with data that does not match the SAT may be rejected at stamp duty or cause tax problems for the recipient. That is why a system that validates the data before ringing is convenient, like Aura does.