— KSeF was not completely foreign to me. At the beginning of January, I looked into the Certificates and Authorizations Module (MCU) for the first time. However, I did not issue any documents at that time, I only checked logging in, creating certificates and granting authorizations – says Mr. Marek, a micro-entrepreneur.
Only today he issued a full invoice for the first time. What surprised him?
— When you asked me for help, I thought: I won't wait until midnight. I was convinced that the Ministry of Finance would launch the system earlier so that it could be safely tested. Meanwhile, on Saturday, until midnight, the message “technical break” was still displayed on the KSeF website, says Mr. Marek. A message about the system under construction appeared on the taxpayer's application website. After midnight, the taxpayer's application started.
Read also: The revolution, i.e. KSeF, is starting. Want to be ready? Read it
KSeF Taxpayer Application
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A button with a link to the login page appeared on the KSeF information portal.
Log in to KSeF
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Login. There were no problems here
To log in to KSeF, you must authenticate. There are two options to choose from: a qualified certificate (paid qualified signature or electronic seal) and a trusted profile (free of charge).
Mr. Marek logged in to KSeF using a trusted profile and electronic banking.
– I use e-administration quite often, so there were no problems – he reports.
To enter the system, You must provide the company's Tax Identification Number and confirm your identity. After authenticating via PZ and SMS, Mr. Marek landed on the KSeF main screen.
On the left you can see a vertical menu in which they are listed first Invoicesand below – Session history, Right, Tokens and Certificates.
The central part of the page presents a description of the operation of the National e-Invoice System – a reminder that it is used to issue, sending, receiving and storing structured invoices. This is where the user starts the entire invoicing path.
See also: KSeF starts on February 1. See what you need to know about him
KSeF home page
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Issuing an invoice. Lots of options to choose from
When Mr. Marek went to the tab Invoiceshe was surprised by the number of options available.
So far, Mr. Marek has used a commercial invoicing program. Everything was simple there: the system automatically assigned the invoice number and date, the payment deadline was selectable in days, the contractor was selected from a saved list, and the entrepreneur only entered the name of the service and the amount.
In KSeF it looks different. At the beginning, you need to indicate one of four invoice types: basic, advance payment, settlement or corrective.
– Here the decision was obvious: the basic invoice – says Mr. Marek.
See also: Will you be able to deduct VAT from an invoice outside KSeF? Look
Issuing an invoice
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Shortened or extended form
The next step turned out to be less intuitive. The system requires you to choose between short form and extended.
— I chose the shortened one, but completely blindly. “I have no idea what the difference is,” he admits.
The short form hides many advanced fields available in the extended form, e.g. annotations, WZ numbers, transport data. However, there is no such information or explanation.
— Then I had to enter the invoice number. At the beginning I entered 1 because this is the first invoice in February. But then I thought that this was the first invoice of many and I assigned a number according to the system I use, i.e. 00001/02/2026 – says Mr. Marek.
It's worth knowing that the invoice number assigned by the seller is different from the unique invoice identifier in KSeF – this one the system generates automatically only after the document has been successfully sent.
Then Mr. Marek had to choose the date of issue, but he was puzzled by the note “subject to Article 106 of the VAT Act”.
— I didn't know this recipe, so I checked it on the Internet. It turns out that this simply means that the structured invoice is considered issued on the day it is sent to KSeF. And this surprised me, because the message in the system was very imprecise, he describes.
The next step in the issuing process is to select the date or period to which the invoice applies.
– And surprise again. I selected the basic invoice, so I expected to only see the options that apply to it. And yet the system showed more of them – he reports.
The point is that the “Period covered by the invoice” requires the start and end date. Skipping one of them will block the transition to the next screen.
Next, it was time to choose the currency. And only after about 15 minutes did Mr. Marek reach the section: “name of the product or service”.
— Fortunately, the system calculated VAT itself – he adds.
However, further problems quickly appeared. The system asked for “additional information on the invoice”.
– And I don't know what I should write there, so I looked for information for a while, but then I skipped it – he says.
Date and form of payment
Then he went to the payment section – and here, too, a surprise awaited him.
— I usually just enter the due date. Meanwhile, in KSeF it was a separate, optional point with many options. The worst thing was that I had to manually select the payment date from the calendar. In my program I simply choose 7, 14, 30 or 60 days. And here I have to count when exactly 14 days have passed – Mr. Marek is irritated.
Then Mr. Marek had to enter the account number.
— I don't know it by heart, so I had to look for it again and waste more minutes. And yet the tax office knows my account number, he could suggest it optionally – he comments.
The invoice payment date is selected from the calendar
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Seller and buyer
The big surprise was that the system again asked for the seller's NIP and address.
— I issue an invoice as a logged in, authenticated user. The system knows who I am. I don't understand at all why I have to enter the Tax Identification Number again and I can't even copy it – says Mr. Marek. Fortunately, after completing it, the system will download the remaining address data.
Finally, KSeF asked to indicate whether the buyer is a local government unit or a member of a VAT group. The biggest surprise came a moment later.
– Just imagine that After issuing the invoice, I could download it in XML format, but I couldn't see its visualization to check if I had done everything correctly. The invoice preview appeared only at the very end – complains Mr. Marek.
No preview of the invoice visualization
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However, he emphasizes that it is worth checking everything carefully before clicking the “send invoice” button. In case of a mistake, a corrective invoice must be issued using an extended form.
The last step in issuing an e-invoice
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I sent the first invoice to KSeF
Finally, he managed to go through all the stages and send the first invoice to KSeF.
— After several seconds, the system generated the KSeF invoice number and the document appeared on the issued list – reports Mr. Marek.
The invoice at KSeF has been issued
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To see it, he had to go to the “List of invoices”. From this level, you can download both an e-invoice in an XML file and its visualization, which looks like existing invoices.
The first e-invoice on the invoice list
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Since the first attempt was successful, Mr. Marek decided to check the process again.
— But when I saw that I had to re-enter all the data from scratch, including remembering the next invoice number, because the system does not automatically assign the next invoice number, I resigned – sums up.
However, when you click on the invoice number from the invoice list, its visualization and the “issue a similar invoice” option with the same data will be displayed. This may make the process easier, but the new invoice number still needs to be entered manually.
Conclusions. The system works, but it has drawbacks
— The system started after midnight and works, but it has drawbacks. It surprised and disappointed me in several places. 30 minutes for an invoice is a lot, but it was my first invoice and I also had to check a few things. I assume that over time I would become more skilled, says Mr. Marek.
He understands that the system is just starting, that it is a very large, difficult and complicated undertaking, but in his opinion the invoicing process itself could have been better prepared.
— There are a few facilitations and clear, understandable hints missing. In retrospect, I believe that the Ministry of Finance should have encouraged the use of the trial version more effectively. It is the state that forces me to use KSeF, so it should propose a tool fit for the 21st century. And here there are no solutions that are standard in commercial programs – says Mr. Marek.
E-invoice in xml format
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