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How invoices are generated

DishInk generates ZRA-compliant invoices automatically at the moment of payment. There is no separate step, no manual trigger, and no batch upload at end of day. When a cashier completes a payment, the invoice is created, submitted to ZRA, and printed — all within a few seconds. This page explains the different invoice types DishInk produces and when each one is used.

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Invoice types

Sales Invoice

Issued on every completed sale. The standard tax invoice that customers receive.

Credit Note

Issued on every refund. References the original invoice number and is submitted to ZRA as a corrective document.

Split Bill Invoice

Each payer in a split bill receives their own portion invoice. The shared ZRA submission references the full table amount.

Corporate Invoice

A standard sales invoice with the customer’s TPIN included. Required for B2B sales to VAT-registered businesses.

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Sales invoice

A sales invoice is generated automatically every time a payment is completed at the POS.

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What triggers it

  • Cashier taps Charge or Process Payment
  • Payment is confirmed (cash, mobile money, card, or complimentary)
  • DishInk creates the transaction record and submits to ZRA

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What it contains

Every sales invoice contains the fields required by ZRA:
  • Business name, address, and TPIN
  • TAX INVOICE header (required by ZRA)
  • Date and time (server timestamp)
  • CIS Invoice Number (consecutive, server-generated)
  • Line items with description, quantity, and unit price
  • Tax summary by VAT category
  • Total including tax
  • Payment method
  • ZRA receipt number (from ZRA’s fiscal response)
  • Digital signature (from ZRA’s VSDC)
  • Verified QR code
See Receipt Format for a full breakdown of every field.

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The CIS Invoice Number

The CIS Invoice Number (CIS-000001, CIS-000002, etc.) is the consecutive invoice reference ZRA requires. It is:
  • Generated server-side — cashiers cannot influence it
  • Sequential with no gaps (ZRA requires this)
  • Unique per restaurant
  • Permanently stored and cannot be reused or modified
For multi-branch restaurants, each branch maintains its own CIS Invoice Number sequence. The sequence is scoped to the restaurant location, not the entire group.

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Credit note (refund invoice)

When a refund is processed, DishInk automatically generates a credit note — a corrective invoice that ZRA uses to reverse the original sale in your tax record.

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What triggers it

A manager or owner processes a refund through the POS. A manager PIN is required to authorise refunds.

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What it contains

  • All standard invoice fields
  • CREDIT NOTE header instead of TAX INVOICE
  • The original ZRA receipt number (so ZRA can link the credit to the original sale)
  • A ZRA reason code explaining why the credit was issued
  • The refund amount (shown as a negative value)
  • A new, separate CIS Invoice Number

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ZRA reason codes

When processing a refund, DishInk records a reason code in the ZRA submission. The standard codes are: The cashier or manager enters a free-text reason when processing the refund. DishInk maps this to the appropriate ZRA code.

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Same-day voiding vs refunds

A void cancels a transaction from the same business day. It requires a manager PIN and a reason.
  • Only available on the same calendar day as the original transaction (Zambia timezone)
  • Does not generate a ZRA credit note submission — the transaction is marked voided locally
  • The CIS Invoice Number remains in the sequence (gaps are acceptable for voids)
  • Use voids for same-day errors: wrong amount, wrong payment method, accidental duplicate
Voids are not the same as refunds. A void cancels a transaction entirely. A refund issues money back to a customer for a transaction that was originally correct.

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Split bill invoices

When a table splits their bill, each payer receives their own invoice showing their portion of the total.

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How it works

  1. The bill is split (equally, by items, or custom amounts)
  2. As each payer pays their portion, a transaction record is created
  3. On the first portion payment, DishInk submits the full table total to ZRA and receives a ZRA receipt number
  4. The first payer’s receipt carries the full ZRA fiscal details
  5. Subsequent payers’ receipts reference the shared ZRA submission

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What each receipt shows

First payer: SPLIT PORTION: Guest 1 · Payer 1 of 3 CIS INVOICE NO: CIS-000042 [full fiscal footer with ZRA receipt number and QR code] text Subsequent payers: SPLIT PORTION: Guest 2 · Payer 2 of 3 SHARED CIS INVOICE NO: CIS-000042 [reference to shared fiscal submission] text
ZRA requires that the total table amount is fiscalised once, not once per payer. Fiscalising each portion separately would double or triple-count the revenue. DishInk handles this correctly by making a single ZRA submission for the table total.

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Corporate invoice (B2B)

When selling to another VAT-registered business, the customer’s TPIN must appear on the invoice. This allows the customer to claim input VAT on their purchase.

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How to issue a corporate invoice

At checkout, the cashier enters the customer’s TPIN in the Customer TPIN field before completing payment. DishInk includes the TPIN in:
  • The ZRA submission (custTpin field)
  • The printed receipt (CUSTOMER TPIN: XXXXXXXXXX)
  • The transaction record (for your audit trail)
There is no separate invoice type — a corporate invoice is a standard sales invoice with the customer TPIN populated.
For regular corporate customers, consider keeping a list of their TPINs so cashiers can enter them quickly without asking each time.

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Invoice numbering

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CIS Invoice Number sequence

DishInk maintains a server-side sequence for CIS Invoice Numbers. The sequence:
  • Starts at 1 when Smart Invoice is first activated
  • Increments by 1 for every invoice (sales and credit notes)
  • Never resets (it is permanent, not per-day or per-month)
  • Cannot be edited by any user

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What happens if a transaction fails

If a transaction fails to complete after a CIS Invoice Number has been reserved, that number is used for the next successful transaction. This can occasionally create gaps in the sequence (e.g. CIS-000041, CIS-000043 with no CIS-000042). This is acceptable to ZRA for failed/voided transactions.

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Invoice number format

CIS-000001 CIS-000042 CIS-123456 text Zero-padded to 6 digits. The prefix CIS stands for Computerised Invoice System — the term ZRA uses for ERP/POS-generated invoice numbers.

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Reprinting invoices

Any past invoice can be reprinted with full fiscal details from DishInk’s transaction history.
  1. Go to POS → Transactions
  2. Find the transaction using date, amount, or receipt number
  3. Tap the receipt icon or Reprint
The reprinted copy carries the same CIS Invoice Number, ZRA receipt number, signature, and QR code as the original. It is a legally identical copy of the original invoice.
Reprinting is only available for transactions where fiscalisation succeeded. Pending or failed transactions can be reprinted once their fiscalisation job completes.

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What you cannot do

You cannot delete an invoice. ZRA does not permit invoice deletion. If an invoice was issued in error, the correct procedure is to process a refund which generates a ZRA-approved credit note. DishInk blocks invoice deletion at the database level.
You cannot edit an invoice after it is issued. If an invoice has incorrect amounts, void it (same day) or refund it (any day). Do not attempt to modify the underlying transaction record.
You cannot reuse a CIS Invoice Number. The sequence is permanent and enforced server-side. If you believe there is a numbering issue, contact DishInk support — do not attempt to fix it manually.

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Tips and best practices

Before your first busy service, complete a small test transaction and confirm the receipt prints with a ZRA receipt number and a scannable QR code. This confirms the entire fiscalisation chain is working end-to-end.
For corporate customers who request invoices after the fact, you can reprint any past transaction from the Transactions history. The reprinted copy is a legally valid duplicate of the original.
Reconcile your CIS Invoice Number sequence against your ZRA Smart Invoice portal records monthly. The counts should match. A discrepancy may indicate unsubmitted (Dead) jobs in the Fiscalisation Queue.

Receipt Format

Every field on a ZRA-compliant invoice explained.

Fiscal Compliance

Audit trails, record retention, and ZRA inspections.

Fiscalisation Queue

Monitoring ZRA submission status and resolving failures.

ZRA Integration

Device setup and TPIN configuration.

Refunds

How to process refunds and credit notes at the POS.

FAQ

Common questions about invoices and compliance.
Last modified on August 17, 2026