Acts of completed work, delivery notes, invoices — primary accounting documents consume more paper, time and nerves than anything else in a finance team. The good news: Ukrainian law has long allowed keeping primary documents fully electronic, with the same legal force as paper ones. Let's look at how this works and how to make the switch without stress.
Are electronic primary documents legal
Yes, and the law says so explicitly. The Law of Ukraine "On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine" allows primary documents to be drawn up in either paper or electronic form. And the Law of Ukraine "On Electronic Documents and Electronic Document Management" establishes that an electronic document cannot be denied legal force merely because it is electronic.
The key condition is that the document must be signed with a qualified electronic signature (QES), which by law is equal to a handwritten one. An electronic act signed with QES is an original, not a "copy pending printout". Courts and regulators accept such documents — see the article on the legal force of an electronic signature for details.
Mandatory details: what the document must contain
The content requirements for a primary document are the same on paper and on screen. For the document to have evidentiary force, it must include:
| Detail | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Document (form) title | "Act of completed work", "Delivery note", etc. |
| Date of preparation | When the document was drawn up |
| Name of the business on whose behalf it is drawn up | Your company or sole proprietorship |
| Content, volume and unit of measure of the business transaction | What exactly was done/delivered, how much, and in what units |
| Positions of the responsible persons | Who authorized and who carried out the transaction |
| Signatures or other data identifying the persons | For an electronic document — a QES |
In an electronic document the QES replaces the handwritten signature, and a stamp becomes unnecessary. If documents are generated from templates in a system, the details are filled in automatically — fewer mistakes and fewer "forgotten" fields.
How to get signatures from both sides
A primary document is usually bilateral: both the contractor and the customer sign it. Electronically, the cycle looks like this:
- Draw up the document. In eObig you can create an act or an invoice in the built-in Word/Excel editor, from a template, or even from a text description using AI.
- Sign with your QES. Signing happens right in the browser, without plugins — the private key and password never leave your device.
- Send it to the counterparty. Through in-system exchange; if the counterparty has no account, they can sign the document without registering.
- Receive the second signature. The counterparty applies their QES, and the document becomes a fully executed original.
- The original goes to the archive. Both parties keep an identical signed copy in a searchable electronic archive.
The status of every signature is visible on the document — and you can always verify it additionally if needed.
How to present documents to inspectors
A common fear: "an audit comes — and we have no papers". In reality, the law obliges you to provide documents to inspectors, but it does not oblige you to keep them on paper. An electronic original can be:
- shown on screen, together with the signature status and the verification report;
- provided as files — the document itself plus the applied signatures;
- printed as a copy marked as a copy of an electronic original, if the inspector asks for one.
It is important to respect the document retention periods: for electronic primary documents they are the same as for paper ones. And a searchable archive beats cabinets full of folders by seconds, not hours.
What the business gains
- Faster period closing. An act gets signed in minutes rather than "once the courier delivers it and the director is back". Accounting no longer waits weeks for originals.
- No more lost originals. A document does not get lost in the mail or sit unsigned in a pile — the status of each one is visible in the system, as we covered in detail in the article on e-document management for accountants.
- Direct cost savings. Paper, printing, delivery, storing boxes — all of it disappears.
- Order and control. The approval and signing history is kept automatically; finding a two-year-old act is a matter of one search query.
How to switch step by step
You do not have to move everything at once. A working scenario:
- Start with one document type — for example, acts of completed work with your regular counterparties.
- Agree with key counterparties. Most already have a QES; to those without an e-document system, send documents for signing without an account.
- Set up templates and approval routes so documents are created and move without manual routine.
- Expand gradually to delivery notes, invoices and contracts. The parallel "paper duplicate" can safely be dropped: the electronic document is the original.
Key Takeaways
- Electronic acts, delivery notes and invoices are legal and equal to paper ones — provided they contain the mandatory details and are signed with QES.
- An electronic document signed with QES is the original; duplicating it on paper is unnecessary.
- Electronic primary documents can be shown to inspectors on screen, provided as files, or printed as marked copies.
- The main gains are fast period closing, zero lost originals, and an orderly archive.
- The best way to switch is step by step: one document type, key counterparties, then everything else.
Try moving your first batch of acts to electronic form this month: start for free at portal.eobig.com or book a demo — we will walk you through the full cycle on your own documents.