How to issue a quote and an invoice in Tunisia for a website

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.

To sell a website in Tunisia you first give a quote (a devis), which describes the work and the price before you start, then an invoice (a facture), which records what is owed once the work is done or a deposit is requested. The quote protects the relationship, the invoice feeds the accounts and the tax return. Here is what each document should contain, how to compute the amounts, and what to confirm with an accountant.

Quote and invoice: the difference and the right moment

A devis is an offer. You send it before the work, the client reads it, asks questions, then accepts it with a signature or a written agreement. Until it is accepted, nobody owes anything. Once accepted, it becomes the shared reference: what is written is included, what is not written is not.

A facture is an accounting document. You issue it when an amount becomes due: at the order for a deposit, at delivery for the balance. It carries a number, it goes into your books and into your client's books, and you do not edit it afterwards like a draft.

If you are new to this trade, start with how to sell websites to local businesses in Tunisia. The quote comes after the conversation, never instead of it.

What a quote for a website should say

Most disputes come from a vague quote. A shop owner who reads "creation of a website" imagines whatever he likes. So put it in writing:

• The scope: the kind of site (a single page or several pages) and the list of pages. You can lean on what a small business website should contain.
• The languages: French only, or French, Arabic and English. Each language is extra work.
• Who provides the photos and the texts: you, the client, or both, with a date by which they must arrive.
• The number of revision rounds included, and the price of a change outside the quote.
• What is not included: online shop, logo, photo shoot, advertising, article writing. This list saves you from "I thought it was part of the deal".
• Domain name and hosting: who pays for them, in whose name they are registered, and what they cost each year.
• Maintenance: included or not, for how long, and what it covers.
• The price, with the amount excluding tax, the TVA if you are subject to it, and the total.
• The deposit and the payment schedule.
• The delivery time, counted from the day you receive the deposit and the content.
• The validity period of the quote, for example 30 days. After that you are free to review your price.

For the amount itself, the method is explained in how much to charge for a website in Tunisia.

The usual mentions of an invoice

An invoice normally carries the following items. Use this list as a working base and have your template checked by your accountant.

1. The date of issue.
2. A number taken from a continuous series.
3. Your identity: name or company name, address, matricule fiscal (tax identification number).
4. The client's identity: name or company name, address, matricule fiscal.
5. The description of the service, precise enough to be understood without the quote.
6. The amount excluding tax.
7. The TVA rate and amount, when you are subject to it.
8. The total including tax.
9. The fiscal stamp (droit de timbre) that applies to invoices. Its amount changes with finance laws: check the amount in force.

Add what helps you get paid: the payment method, your bank details (RIB), the due date and the reference of the accepted quote.

TVA: it all depends on your regime

The standard TVA rate in Tunisia is 19%. The real question is not the rate, though. It is whether you have to charge it. That depends on your tax regime: the forfaitaire regime, the réel regime, or the auto-entrepreneur status. In broad terms, someone who is subject to TVA adds it to the price excluding tax, collects it from the client, then pays it to the State. Someone who is not subject to it does not show it as a collected amount.

Do not guess. Ask an accountant (an expert-comptable) which regime you are under, whether you must charge TVA, and which wording your invoices should carry in your case. A mistake here is hard to repair afterwards.

Here is the calculation for someone subject to TVA. It is an example of the arithmetic, not a recommended price.

Always tell the client whether your price is HT or TTC. A shop owner remembers one figure, and it must be the right one.

Numbering, deposits and getting paid

Numbering. Numbers follow each other with no gap and no duplicate, for example one series per year. You do not delete an invoice you have issued: if it is wrong, ask your accountant how to correct it, usually with a credit note (facture d'avoir). Keep a copy of every quote and every invoice, as a PDF and in a backup. How long you must keep them is something to confirm with your accountant.

Deposit. Ask for a deposit before you start, and issue a deposit invoice for that amount. Example of the calculation: on a total of 1190 TND, a 40% deposit is 476 TND and the balance is 714 TND. The final invoice recalls the total, deducts the deposit already paid and shows what remains. How TVA is handled on the deposit depends on your regime: ask your accountant.

Payment. Three simple habits:

• By bank transfer, put your RIB on the invoice and ask for the proof of transfer.
• In cash, hand over a dated and signed receipt that quotes the invoice number, and keep a duplicate.
• By cheque, write its number on the invoice and wait until it clears before handing over the access.

LeadMax prepares proposals the owner can accept online, then quotes and invoices as PDF documents with numbering. You keep a clean series without a spreadsheet.

Electronic invoicing and El Fatoora: what changes since 2026

This is the part you most need to check for your own situation. Since 2026, the finance law extends compulsory electronic invoicing to services for TVA-registered businesses. It goes through the El Fatoora platform, operated by Tunisie TradeNet (TTN). Selling a website is a service.

What it means in practice: for a business that is concerned, an invoice sent as a plain PDF may not be enough. A PDF is a readable document. It is not an electronic invoice in the sense of that obligation.

Two honest points:

• This article is general information, not tax advice. Whether the obligation applies to you, from when and how to comply, is for an expert-comptable to tell you.
• The quotes and invoices produced by LeadMax are numbered PDF documents. They are not El Fatoora electronic invoices.

Take three questions to your accountant: am I concerned, what must I do to issue my invoices, and what about the invoices I have already issued as PDF.

Frequently asked questions

Is a quote compulsory to sell a website?

Even when nothing forces you, always write one. It is the only document that fixes the scope, the price and the deadline before you start. Without it, every disagreement is your word against the client's.

Can I invoice without a matricule fiscal?

An invoice normally carries your matricule fiscal, which assumes a declared activity. If you do not have one yet, see an accountant about the status that suits you, for example the auto-entrepreneur status, before you take money from your first clients.

Do I have to add 19% TVA to my price?

Only if your tax regime makes you subject to it. The standard rate is 19%, but the answer changes depending on whether you are under the forfaitaire regime, the réel regime or the auto-entrepreneur status. Confirm it with your accountant before you send your first quote.

Is a PDF invoice enough?

It depends on your situation. Since 2026, electronic invoicing through El Fatoora extends to services for TVA-registered businesses, and a PDF may not be enough for them. Check with an expert-comptable.

What if the client asks for extras after signing?

Go back to the quote. Anything that is not in it gets an additional quote, with its own price and deadline, accepted in writing before you start. For the rest of your activity, from finding clients to putting the site online, you can rely on LeadMax.