Choose the Right Document Type (TD01, TD04, TD06, TD24 and the Others) in SamBooks

The "Document type" field on an Italian e-invoice isn't a technicality: it decides what you're actually issuing. This guide explains which code to use for each situation, and which ones SamBooks picks for you.

What this is for

Every Italian electronic invoice carries a "TipoDocumento" code (TD01, TD04, TD06…) that tells SDI (the Interchange System) and the tax authority what kind of document it is: an ordinary sale, an advance payment, a variation note, a self-invoice, the sale of a company asset. In SamBooks you don't need to memorise the codes: the "Document type" field on the "New active invoice" form shows business names ("Invoice", "Fee note", "Credit note"…), grouped by family, with the technical code kept in the background. This guide walks you through the groups in the dropdown, explains which toggles change a document's behaviour, and — just as important — points out which document types aren't chosen here because they're generated somewhere else.

Before you start

Open Sales invoices in the left-hand menu and press New invoice: the "Document type" field, at the top of the Header section, is a dropdown grouped into four families. Below you'll find every group, the codes it contains, and when to use each one; if you're creating an ordinary invoice for a customer, the default value — Invoice (TD01) — is already correct and you can skip straight to the rest of the form (see Create a sales invoice).

How to do it, step by step

1. "Invoices" group — TD01, TD07, TD25

• Invoice (TD01) — the ordinary document, the dropdown's default value. It works for any sale of goods or supply of services to an Italian or foreign customer, in a single document.
• Simplified invoice (TD07) — only requires the customer's VAT number or tax code, without a full address, but is only allowed for a document total up to €400. SamBooks checks the threshold after calculating the total (taxable amount + VAT + stamp duty, net of withholding tax): if you go over it, creation is refused with a dedicated message and you need to redo the document as an ordinary Invoice (TD01).
• Deferred invoice, general case (TD25) — the "generic" deferred invoice, for deliveries or supplies that already took place and are documented by delivery references (a date, and optionally a delivery note number and date) that you enter yourself in a dedicated section. This is different from TD24, described below, which groups together real sales delivery notes issued by SamBooks: here you type in the delivery references by hand, line by line.

2. "Advances and fee notes" group — TD02, TD03, TD06

• Advance/down payment on invoice (TD02) and Advance/down payment on fee (TD03) — for an advance payment collected before the final invoice. The subsequent balance invoice, if you turn on the "Balance netting an advance" toggle on a TD01 (see step 5), automatically nets off the advance already invoiced.
• Fee note (TD06) — the document typically used by professionals and agents: it opens the "Withholding tax" and "Welfare fund" sections of the form on its own, and calculates the virtual stamp duty automatically when needed. Full detail on withholding tax, the welfare fund and stamp duty is in the guide Apply withholding tax, welfare fund contribution and stamp duty to an invoice.

3. "Variation notes" group — TD04, TD05

• Credit note (TD04) — reverses, in full or in part, an invoice already sent to SDI.
• Debit note (TD05) — charges an additional amount on an invoice already sent.

You can reach these two in two equivalent ways: picking one of them directly from "New invoice" — the form then shows a "Reference invoice" field, with a picker that only lists invoices in a final status (Accepted by SDI, Delivery failed, Delivered, Paid): an invoice just sent and still awaiting its outcome does not appear — or pressing the "Reverse" or "Debit note" button on the detail page of an invoice already in a final status. Full detail on both paths is in the dedicated guides: Reverse an invoice with a credit note and Issue a debit note.

4. "Special cases" group — TD27, TD26, TD22, TD23, TD28

These are the less frequent document types, each with its own "Special document data" section that appears under the header as soon as you select it:

• Self-consumption or free transfer (TD27) — this is a self-invoice: the buyer is your own company, and SamBooks fills it in automatically, so it doesn't ask you for customer data. Choose the reason for issuing: "Gift (free transfer)" or "Owner's self-consumption". Use it for goods leaving the company without a genuine sale — a gift to a customer, a personal withdrawal by the owner.
• Sale of depreciable assets (TD26) — for selling a company fixed asset (a machine, a vehicle, equipment). The form asks you to select the asset sold from a list: on top of documenting the sale, the invoice also records its disposal in the fixed-asset register. You can't create it without indicating the asset.
• Extraction of goods from a VAT warehouse (TD22) and with VAT payment (TD23) — for goods leaving a VAT warehouse. The form offers "Origin document number" and "Origin document date" fields to link back to the original paper document, though they aren't mandatory here.
• Purchases from San Marino with VAT (TD28) — here, unlike TD22/TD23, the origin document's number and date are mandatory: without them, creation is blocked.

5. Accompanying invoice and balance netting (TD01 only)

When "Document type" is set to Invoice (TD01), two independent toggles appear below the lines, both off by default:

• "Accompanying invoice (DDT incorporated)" — turn it on when you deliver the goods at the same moment you invoice, with no separate delivery note: the invoice incorporates the transport data. Turning it on reveals the fields "Transport reason" (required), "Appearance of goods", "Number of parcels", "Weight (kg)" and "Carrier".
• "Balance netting an advance" — turn it on when this invoice is the balance of an advance already invoiced: pick the advance invoice to net off from a list, and the balance invoice's total is automatically reduced by what was already invoiced as an advance, with netting lines generated on its own.

Use one toggle at a time: if you turn both on, the invoice is created as a balance-netting invoice and the accompanying transport data is not saved. If you need both, issue the delivery note separately.

6. Triangulation (TD25 only)

When "Document type" is set to Deferred invoice, general case (TD25), a third toggle appears below the delivery references, "Triangulation (goods from a foreign supplier to the buyer)": turn it on when the goods travel directly from your foreign supplier to the final foreign customer, without physically passing through Italy. Turning it on makes the form a genuine triangulation invoice: the required fields "Supplier country (ISO2)", "Supplier name" and "Supplier VAT number" appear. The supplier's country cannot be "IT" — if you enter it, SamBooks blocks creation, reminding you that this isn't a triangulation. The lines of a triangulation invoice need to be set as non-taxable: the VAT nature and regime are derived from the final customer's country, not from this block.

The document types that are NOT in this dropdown, and why

Not every TD code is chosen from "New invoice". Some are generated from a different point in the platform, with logic that makes them a poor fit for a generic dropdown:

• Deferred invoice from delivery notes (TD24) — it's not in the dropdown because it doesn't start from scratch: it groups already issued sales delivery notes (with reason "Sale") into a single monthly invoice per customer. It's created from the dedicated "Invoice from DDT" page, reachable from the active invoices list. Full detail in Invoice the month's delivery notes with the deferred TD24 invoice.
• Reverse-charge integration/self-invoice (TD16, TD17, TD18, TD19) and regularisation self-invoices (TD20, TD21) — these are documents that the system generates for you starting from an already-registered purchase invoice that falls under reverse charge (for example an intra-EU purchase or a service received from a foreign supplier): on that purchase invoice's detail page you'll find the "Generate self-invoice" button. There's no — and there wouldn't be much point in having a — way to create these from scratch on the sales side: they always originate from the purchase that triggers them.
• Omitted invoicing communication (TD29) — this too is generated starting from an already-registered purchase invoice for which the supplier failed to issue an e-invoice within the deadline: no supplier "sends" this one, so it isn't a type you pick here.
• Simplified credit and debit notes (TD08, TD09) — these two codes exist in the catalogue ("Simplified credit note", "Simplified debit note"), but today they aren't offered either in the creation dropdown or by the "Reverse" path on a simplified invoice (TD07): reversing a simplified invoice still produces an ordinary TD04 credit note. They do remain recordable on the purchase side: you'll find them in the "New purchase invoice" form, in the "Simplified" group, because a supplier really can have sent you one.

Ask Sam

You can ask Sam to create the right document directly by describing the situation, without going through the dropdown: "make an advance invoice for customer Smith for €500" creates a TD02, "make a fee note with withholding tax for customer Jones" creates a TD06, "make a self-invoice for a gift of goods to a customer" creates a TD27, "sell the Fiat Ducato van asset to customer Green" creates a TD26 linked to the fixed-asset register, "make an accompanying invoice with the DDT incorporated for customer Smith" turns on the same toggle described in step 5. You can also ask Sam for the reverse-charge self-invoice (TD16-TD21) starting from the purchase invoice ("generate the self-invoice for purchase invoice 12"): the result is the same as the "Generate self-invoice" button on the detail page. In every case Sam always creates a draft: sending it to SDI stays a separate step that you confirm.

If something goes wrong

• I can't find TD24 in the "Document type" dropdown: that's correct, it isn't there — it's generated from the "Invoice from DDT" page, not from "New invoice" (see above).
• I went over €400 on a simplified invoice (TD07): creation is refused after the total is calculated; redo the document choosing "Invoice (TD01)".
• The supplier I entered for triangulation is Italian: SamBooks blocks creation, because with an Italian supplier it isn't a triangulation — check the country, or use an ordinary deferred invoice without turning the toggle on.
• I can't find a field to pick a customer on a TD27 self-invoice: that's correct, there isn't one — the buyer on a self-invoice is your own company, and SamBooks fills it in automatically.
• I can't create a TD26 invoice without selecting an asset: it's required — the invoice also records the asset's disposal, so it needs to know which one.
• I'm looking for TD08 or TD09 and can't find them in any dropdown: they aren't in the sales dropdown, but you'll find them in the "New purchase invoice" form, "Simplified" group; a simplified invoice is still reversed with an ordinary TD04 credit note.

Frequently asked questions

What document type do I use for a normal sale? Invoice (TD01), the dropdown's default value: it works for any sale of goods or supply of services in a single document.

When do I use TD24 and when TD25? TD24 groups already-issued sales delivery notes into a single monthly invoice, from the "Invoice from DDT" page. TD25 is a "free-form" deferred invoice, where you enter the delivery references yourself, line by line, from the "New invoice" form — use it when the delivery didn't go through a delivery note issued in SamBooks.

What is a simplified invoice and when can I use it? It's document type TD07: only the customer's VAT number or tax code is required, without a full address, but only for a total up to €400. Above that threshold it needs to be redone as an ordinary Invoice (TD01).

How do I make an advance invoice? Choose "Advance/down payment on invoice" (TD02) or "Advance/down payment on fee" (TD03) from the "Advances and fee notes" group. On the subsequent balance invoice, turn on the "Balance netting an advance" toggle to net off the advance already invoiced.

How do I make an invoice for a gift? Choose "Self-consumption or free transfer" (TD27) and, as the reason, "Gift (free transfer)": it's a self-invoice, you won't be asked for a customer.

How do I invoice the sale of a company machine? Choose "Sale of depreciable assets" (TD26) and select the asset sold: the invoice also records its disposal in the fixed-asset register.

TD06 or TD01 for a fee note? TD06 (Fee note) is the type designed for professionals and agents: it opens the withholding tax and welfare fund sections on its own. You can still use withholding tax and the welfare fund on another document type too, if you need to.

How do I make an accompanying invoice? On an Invoice (TD01), turn on the "Accompanying invoice (DDT incorporated)" toggle below the lines: the necessary transport fields appear.

What does triangulation mean on an invoice? It's the toggle available only on TD25: the goods travel directly from your foreign supplier to the final foreign customer, without passing through Italy. It requires the origin supplier's country, name and VAT number.

Why can't I find TD24 in the dropdown? Because it isn't created from scratch: it's generated by grouping already-issued delivery notes, from the dedicated "Invoice from DDT" page.

Can I issue a simplified invoice above €400? No: above that threshold SamBooks refuses creation, and it needs to be redone as an ordinary Invoice (TD01).

Related features

• Create a sales invoice
• Apply withholding tax, welfare fund contribution and stamp duty to an invoice
• Reverse an invoice with a credit note
• Issue a debit note
• Invoice the month's delivery notes with the deferred TD24 invoice