Electronic Documents in Retail: How to Create, Sign, and Store Them

Ukrainian entrepreneurs and companies may use electronic documents in their business activities. For a document to serve its purpose, its details must be prepared correctly, an appropriate signing method must be used, integrity must be verifiable, and the electronic original must be preserved. Before exchanging documents with a supplier or customer, agree on the file formats, signatories, transmission channel, and method for confirming receipt.

Along with each document, retain the related signatures, verification results, and delivery confirmations. Set the retention period according to the document type and the taxpayer’s status: for many documents of legal entities, the tax minimum is 1,825 days; for certain categories, it is 2,555 days. Audits, appeals, and other circumstances provided for by law may require longer retention.

Determine which document is needed for the transaction

Under Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Documents and Electronic Document Management,” an electronic document contains information in the form of electronic data and mandatory details. Article 8 prohibits denying its legal effect or admissibility as evidence solely because it is in electronic form. At the same time, the required details and preparation procedure depend on the document’s purpose.

Before setting up an exchange, prepare with your accountant a list of store documents: contracts, invoices, delivery notes, service documents, and cash accounting documents. For each one, determine which action it confirms, who prepares it, and who must sign it. The mere fact that a file is saved under the name “delivery note” does not confirm that the transaction was properly documented.

For companies, the Law of Ukraine “On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine” sets the requirements for primary accounting documents. Article 2 defines its scope. An individual entrepreneur (FOP) should separately identify the documents needed for their tax accounting: Section 44.1 of the Tax Code of Ukraine requires taxpayers to support accounting figures with appropriate documents.

Practical recommendation: ask your accountant to provide, in writing, the supporting document, required details, signatories, and deadline for submitting it to accounting for each typical transaction. This will help sales staff and managers collect the right documents from the outset.

Check the details of an electronic primary document

Under Parts 1 and 2 of Article 9 of Law No. 996-XIV, business transactions are recorded in accounting on the basis of primary documents. These may be prepared in paper or electronic form. The general list of mandatory details includes:

• the document or form name;
• the date of preparation;
• the name of the enterprise on whose behalf the document was prepared;
• the content and volume of the business transaction and its unit of measurement;
• the job titles and surnames of the persons responsible for the transaction and the accuracy of its documentation, subject to the statutory exception for documents whose requirements are set by the National Bank of Ukraine;
• a personal signature or other data that make it possible to identify a participant in the transaction.

A document number, the basis for the transaction, and a seal may be additional details depending on the nature of the transaction and the information-processing technology. The list in Article 9 applies to primary documents; it should not automatically be treated as exhaustive for every contract or special form.

Electronic primary documents are used in accounting in compliance with electronic document legislation. Article 9 expressly requires an electronic signature or seal to be applied to primary documents generated automatically by software.

Insignificant defects in a document are not, by themselves, grounds for refusing to recognize a transaction if they do not prevent identification of its participant and the document contains the necessary information about the document’s date, the enterprise, and the content and volume of the transaction. However, do not assume in advance that a missing quantity of goods or an unidentified transaction participant is an insignificant defect. Send such a document to your accountant to assess and arrange a correction.

When a services document may omit the customer’s details

Part 2 of Article 9 of Law No. 996-XIV permits the omission of the job titles, surnames, and signature or other identifying data of the customer of services or work, or the lessee or tenant, under specified conditions. The document must state the date or period when the services were provided, work was performed, or property was leased; the written contract must provide for this documentation procedure; and the transaction must be recorded in the accounting period in which it took place.

This exception does not apply to transactions paid for with public funds, leases of state or municipal property, construction contracts, design and survey work, donations, charitable assistance, or humanitarian aid. It also does not create a general permission to document the transfer of goods without the buyer’s details. If a store receives services under this procedure, the accountant must check all the conditions in the contract and document.

The basis for these requirements is Article 9 of Law No. 996-XIV.

Choose a signature appropriate to the document and the parties’ agreement

Under Article 6 of Law No. 851-IV, parties use electronic signatures and seals where required by law or by agreement. A qualified electronic signature (QES) is therefore not a universal requirement for every commercial letter. For a document intended to serve a specific legal or accounting purpose, check the applicable legal requirements and the terms of the contract.

QES and AdES are not distinguished by the rule “cloud or flash drive.” The type of signature depends on the device, certificate, and compliance with legal requirements. Part 3 of Article 15 of Law No. 2155-VIII links the use of qualified signatures to a high level of trust in electronic identification means and schemes, and the use of advanced signatures based on qualified certificates to a medium level. This does not mean that all signatures have the same legal consequences.

An image of a handwritten signature inserted into a file, or a scan of a signed paper document, does not by itself confirm that a QES was created. The file format also does not determine its status: a file may contain a valid electronic signature or merely be an image of a document.

For transactions that are subject to notarization and/or state registration in cases established by law, Part 6 of Article 17 of Law No. 2155-VIII provides that the electronic form may be used exclusively with qualified electronic trust services. For banking, payment, and other specially regulated transactions, take the applicable special rules into account.

An electronic seal confirms the origin and integrity of data. If a document requires the signature of a specific authorized person, do not automatically treat a seal as a sufficient substitute for that signature. The rules and legal consequences are set out in Articles 15, 17, 17-1, and 18 of Law No. 2155-VIII.

Create the original and verify the document you receive

Under Article 7 of Law No. 851-IV, an original is an electronic instance containing the mandatory details, including the author’s electronic signature or a signature that the law equates to a handwritten one. The original must make it possible to prove its integrity and authenticity. If a document is sent to several recipients or saved on several electronic media, each corresponding electronic instance is considered an original.

At the same time, Article 8 prohibits using an electronic document as the original of a certificate of inheritance. A separate prohibition applies to a document that, by law, may be created in only one original copy; an exception is provided for this category where there is a centralized repository of electronic document originals. Other prohibitions may be established by law. Before converting a special document to electronic form, check whether such a restriction applies.

Article 6 links completion of an electronic document to the application of a signature and/or seal. If the technology requires several signatures or seals, creation is complete once the last one is applied. Therefore, after the document has been approved by all participants, retain the final set of files.

Recommended procedure for a delivery note:

1. The manager checks the buyer, list of goods, quantities, units of measurement, prices, and totals against the actual transaction.
2. The responsible person checks the details and sends the final file to the authorized signatory.
3. The signatory signs the approved version. If the signature is stored in a separate file, the employee sends it together with the document.
4. The recipient checks integrity, the type of signature, the signatory’s details, and whether the received document corresponds to their transaction.
5. If both parties have agreed to sign, the recipient adds their signature and returns the final set.
6. Each party retains the document, all related signatures, verification results, and evidence of sending and receipt.

Under Article 12 of Law No. 851-IV, integrity is checked by validating an advanced or qualified signature or seal. For other types, other information protection tools and methods are used in compliance with the law.

When validating a QES, consider, among other things, whether the qualified certificate was valid when the signature was created, whether the key corresponds, the signatory’s details, use of a qualified device, and the absence of any breach of integrity. These conditions are set out in Part 2 of Article 18 of Law No. 2155-VIII. The employee should retain the available verification result and separately check that the person is authorized to sign the relevant document.

If verification reveals a problem, ask the sender to provide the complete set of files and determine the cause before accepting the document into accounting. A signature helps detect changes to data; it does not mean the file cannot technically be changed and, by itself, does not ensure confidentiality of its contents.

Agree on exchange rules with the counterparty

Articles 10, 11, and 14 of Law No. 851-IV allow parties to set the procedure for electronic document management within the limits of the law. Prior agreement is especially necessary if payment, the deadline for raising objections, or another action depends on receiving a document.

Consider including the following in the contract or a separate exchange agreement:

• the types of documents the parties will exchange electronically;
• document and signature formats, and the procedure for sending attachments;
• permitted signature types and the procedure for checking signatories’ authority;
• agreed email addresses or accounts in the service;
• the time of sending and receipt, and the content of the receipt confirmation;
• deadlines for signing, sending objections, and resending documents;
• actions in the event of a technical failure or a change of address or authorized person;
• the procedure for documenting corrections and obtaining each party’s own set of files.

Unless legislation or a prior agreement provides otherwise, a document is considered received when the author receives an electronic message from the addressee confirming receipt. If no confirmation procedure has been agreed, the confirmation must contain data about the fact and time of receipt and about the sender of the confirmation. If no confirmation is received, the general rule in Article 11 is that the document is considered not received.

A message appearing in the sent folder does not, by itself, confirm that these conditions have been met. Retain the recipient’s message or the service receipt specified in the agreement, which makes it possible to link the confirmation to a specific document. The contract should separately define receipt of the file and approval of its contents.

Illustrative example: a supplier sends a signed delivery note, and the store replies that it received that specific note, identifying its number and date. Such a reply helps establish which document the confirmation concerns. If the quantity of goods does not match, the store separately reports the discrepancy under the agreed procedure.

If the parties need additional evidence of delivery, they may consider a qualified electronic trust service for registered electronic delivery. Under Part 4 of Article 27 of Law No. 2155-VIII, it provides the statutory presumptions of data integrity, identification of the sender and recipient, and accuracy of the time of sending and receipt.

Organize the archive, access, and backup copies

Article 13 of Law No. 851-IV requires electronic documents to be stored in a form that makes it possible to verify their integrity. The information must be available for later use, and the document must be capable of being restored in the format in which it was created, sent, or received. Where available, retain information about its origin and destination, and the date and time it was sent or received.

Practical recommendation: create a separate archive set for each transaction:

• the final electronic document in its original format;
• separate signature files or the container holding them;
• signed attachments and related documents;
• signature verification results, available certificates, and timestamps;
• confirmation of sending and receipt;
• documents and correspondence about objections, corrections, or replacements;
• a readable rendering for viewing and printing.

Maintain a register that lets you find a set by counterparty, document type, number, date, and transaction. Restrict deletion rights, appoint an archive custodian, and provide access to another authorized employee during their absence. Do not include signatories’ private keys or passwords in the shared archive: Article 12 of Law No. 2155-VIII requires the confidentiality of the private key and prevention of access by other persons.

It is recommended to keep a backup copy on separate media or in a separate storage location and periodically check that documents can be restored. If electronic documents cannot be kept on a storage medium for the required period, Article 13 of Law No. 851-IV requires duplicating them on several electronic media and periodically copying them in accordance with the procedure established by law. If these requirements also cannot be met, the documents must be kept as paper copies unless a paper original exists. This is a special procedure for cases where electronic storage is impossible. Always check data integrity when copying. Separately test whether signatures, attachments, and receipt confirmations are available after restoration.

If you use an external service, find out before signing the contract what can be exported, how to obtain the complete set after payments stop, and how signature verification will be supported for the required period. The law permits the use of a trust service for storing signatures, seals, timestamps, and certificates. For electronic data intended for permanent storage, Part 4 of Article 26 of Law No. 2155-VIII requires a qualified electronic timestamp.

Set a retention period for each document category

Electronic documents must be kept for at least as long as the period established by law for the corresponding paper documents. The minimum tax retention periods are set out in Section 44.3 of the Tax Code of Ukraine. For practical purposes, use the precise number of days specified in the provision.

For tax documents, the period begins on the day the reporting for which they were used is submitted. If that reporting is not submitted, it begins on the statutory submission deadline. For documents concerning other legislation monitored by tax authorities, the period begins on the date of the relevant business transaction; for permits, it begins on the date their validity expires.

An FOP should determine the period according to the applicable document category and take into account other applicable requirements. The five-year rule in Subsection 44.3.2 should not automatically be extended to every entrepreneur. Similarly, the three-year reference in Part 3 of Article 8 of Law No. 996-XIV does not allow a company to shorten a longer period established by tax or other legislation.

Under Section 44.4, documents related to the subject of an audit, an administrative appeal, or court proceedings must be kept until the relevant procedures and statutory appeal periods are complete, but at least for the periods in Section 44.3. If law enforcement authorities have seized documents or the documents are needed for proceedings, consult a lawyer about continued storage before deleting anything.

Section 44.3 also provides for the periods to be extended by any time during which the limitation period is suspended in the cases specified in Section 102.3. In the separate case of receiving information under Section 86.14 about circumstances involving the provision of an unlawful benefit to an official of a foreign state, Section 44.4 extends the retention period for the relevant documents by 1,095 days.

Before deleting an archive, the accountant must determine the document category, the start of the retention period, any longer special periods, and whether procedures are still in progress. Under Section 102.3 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, the limitation period is suspended while the taxpayer continuously remains outside Ukraine for at least 183 days; while an audit is prohibited by law or court order; while an audit is suspended, extended, or postponed under the rules specified in that section; or while an administrative or court appeal against a decision assessing a monetary obligation is pending.

Section 102.3 also covers the impossibility of conducting an audit and determining monetary obligations due to an act stating that an audit is impossible, the refusal to admit tax officials where the tax authority has complied with the established conditions, or a court challenge to a decision to conduct an audit. Exceptions apply to the act and the challenged decision if the relevant actions are found unlawful or the decision is found unlawful and/or canceled.

Under Section 44.3, retention periods are extended for the corresponding suspension period. Before deleting documents, the accountant must also check applicable transitional provisions and special archival periods. Do not set up automatic deletion based only on the expiry of 1,095, 1,825, or 2,555 days. If a taxpayer is being liquidated, Section 44.3 requires documents under Section 44.1 for the period of business activity to be transferred to an archive in accordance with the procedure established by law.

This period must cover at least 1,825 days preceding the liquidation date. For documents and information needed for tax control under Articles 39, 39-2, and Section 141.4 of Article 141, the period is at least 2,555 days.

Prepare a readable copy and a procedure for correcting errors

Under Article 5 of Law No. 851-IV, an electronic document may be displayed on a screen or on paper in a readable form. A paper rendering certified in accordance with the procedure established by law is a paper copy of the electronic document. Article 7 also provides for electronic copies; it does not impose a universal requirement to notarize every copy.

A screenshot, printout, or image saved again does not replace the original electronic file with its related signatures and the materials needed for verification. If an employee prepares a document for printing, they must use the final signed version and preserve its link to the electronic original.

Part 6 of Article 9 of Law No. 996-XIV requires an enterprise, at its own expense, to produce paper copies of electronic primary documents and registers when requested by other participants in transactions, law enforcement authorities, or relevant authorities acting within their statutory powers. It is therefore advisable to check in advance that all documents and attachments can be fully opened and printed.

If an error is found after signing, retain the received file and refer the matter to the accountant. As an internal procedure, it is recommended to record the reason for the correction, link the new or corrective document to the previous one, obtain the necessary signatures again, and notify the counterparty. The specific accounting correction method depends on the document type and transaction. Part 7 of Article 9 requires measures to prevent unauthorized and undetectable corrections.

Use a separate procedure for fiscal electronic receipts

The rules for exchanging signed delivery notes do not determine how to create, register, and issue a fiscal electronic receipt. A store should describe its work with fiscal receipts separately from its exchange of business documents with counterparties.

Ask your accountant to determine which store transactions require a fiscal receipt and agree with employees on how to issue it to the customer. Sending an invoice or delivery note does not, by itself, confirm compliance with the requirements for issuing a fiscal receipt.

Creating, saving, and printing delivery notes in Torgsoft

In Torgsoft, the “Друк” (“Print”) menu on the “Реалізація” (“Sales”) form lets you open a delivery note or invoice for viewing, save it in an available format, or print it. In practice, this makes it possible to prepare a document using sales data, check it with the accountant, and pass it on for further processing under the procedure agreed with the counterparty. These features are described in the official instructions for the “Реалізація” form.

In the sales settings, the “Файли документа” (“Document files”) action allows you to attach files, view and copy them, and delete a selected file. This can be used to link an accounting record to transaction documents. Separately determine where the complete signed set and its backup copy will be stored, and check that they can be restored.

For financial transactions, the “Фінансовий документ” (“Financial document”) mode supports printing a selected cash order. For a report from the list of cash documents, it supports printing or creating an Excel file. Before generating a report, set the required cash desk and period filters in accordance with the official description of the mode. The saved or printed output must then be processed according to the requirements for the specific document; the described features do not confirm the application of a QES or the provision of a long-term signature storage service.

What to agree with your accountant before you start

1. Identify the documents for each typical store transaction and approve their details.
2. Assign the people who prepare, check, sign, and submit documents to accounting.
3. Agree with counterparties on signature types, exchange addresses, and receipt confirmations.
4. Use one trial set to check signing, transmission, verification, printing, and restoration from a backup copy.
5. Set retention periods by category and establish how to block deletion during audits and disputes.
6. Define actions to take in the event of errors, loss of access, or damaged files.

What to do if documents are lost

Under the general procedure in Section 44.5 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, within five days from the date documents are lost, damaged, or destroyed early, the taxpayer must notify the controlling authority where they are registered in writing, following the procedure for filing tax returns, and attach properly prepared documents confirming the event. In the circumstances specified in this section, the relevant customs authority must also be notified.

The documents must be restored within 90 calendar days from the day following the day the notice reaches the controlling authority. If a taxpayer submitted the notice in the prescribed manner and on time, and an audit is impossible because the documents were lost, damaged, or destroyed early, the audit period is postponed until the documents are restored and provided within the time limits set out in Section 44.5, but for no more than 120 days.

This rule does not apply to audits specified in Article 200 of the Tax Code of Ukraine. If the documents are not restored, or after this procedure they are lost, damaged, or destroyed early again, Section 44.5 provides that they are deemed absent when reporting is prepared or the relevant statutory requirements are fulfilled.

As an exception to Article 44, subparagraph 69.28 of paragraph 69 of subsection 10 of Section XX of the Code establishes special rules for taxpayers and tax agents that conducted business in territories of active hostilities or temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and cannot produce primary documents. The grounds may include loss, destruction, or damage to documents caused by hostilities, or an inability to remove the documents from the territories specified in the provision because of a risk to life or health or administrative obstacles.

The territory must be checked against the list established under the procedure set by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Loss unrelated to hostilities in the relevant territories does not entitle a taxpayer to apply this exception.

Under subparagraph 69.28, a taxpayer submits a free-form notice to the controlling authority about the loss and/or inability to remove primary documents. The provision requires the signatures of the enterprise’s director and chief accountant. The notice must state the circumstances, tax reporting periods, and a general list of the documents, including their details where possible. Reporting figures for those periods may not be questioned solely because primary documents are absent; the notice is also grounds for retaining the expenses, negative amounts, and value added tax credit specified in the provision.

After a notice that documents cannot be removed because they are located in the relevant territories, a moratorium applies to documentary audits for the specified periods. If it later becomes known that these documents were lost, a separate notice of loss describing the circumstances must be submitted. Taxpayers that reported the loss under subparagraph 69.28 are not subject to an audit concerning the specified periods, including after martial law ends.

The controlling authority bears the burden of proving that the grounds for applying the special rules are absent. It must issue a reasoned refusal stating its grounds and evidence no later than one month from receiving the notice. The taxpayer may challenge the refusal administratively or in court; until a final decision is made, the authority may not question the reporting figures or initiate audits for the periods specified in the notice.

At the same time, subparagraph 69.28 prohibits increasing, for those periods, the declared tax liabilities, the negative value of the corporate income tax base, or the claimed budget refund of value added tax. Unfounded use of this procedure entails liability under the law. Before submitting a notice, agree with your accountant and lawyer on the grounds, list of documents, and reporting periods.

Official legal sources

• Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Documents and Electronic Document Management” dated 22 May 2003 No. 851-IV: Articles 5–8—document, signature, original, and copies; Articles 10–13—transmission, receipt, integrity, and storage; Articles 14–15—organizing exchange and access.
• Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Identification and Electronic Trust Services” dated 5 October 2017 No. 2155-VIII: Article 1—signature types; Article 12—private key protection; Article 15—trust levels; Articles 17, 17-1, and 18—use and validation of signatures; Articles 26–28—timestamps, delivery, and storage.
• Law of Ukraine “On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine” dated 16 July 1999 No. 996-XIV: Article 2—scope; Article 8—organization of accounting; Parts 1–2 and 5–9 of Article 9—primary documents, details, accounting period, paper copies, record protection, and storage.
• Tax Code of Ukraine dated 2 December 2010 No. 2755-VI: Section 44.1—documentary support for accounting; Subsections 44.3.1–44.3.4—minimum retention periods and calculation rules; Section 44.4—storage during audits and appeals and special extensions; Section 44.5—loss and restoration of documents; Section 102.3—suspension of the limitation period; subparagraph 69.28 of paragraph 69 of subsection 10 of Section XX—special rules for lost primary documents or inability to remove them.