Receipt, quote and nota fiscal in Brazil: what each does
What a quote, a receipt and a nota fiscal each do for a Brazilian MEI, what QuoteBill makes and cannot make, and the new national NFS-e date.
Three documents, three jobs
People who work for themselves in Brazil use three documents that are often confused. The orçamento (quote) is the proposal: what you will do, what it costs and on what terms, so the customer can decide. The recibo (receipt) shows that you received a payment. The nota fiscal is the tax document of the sale or service, issued through the municipality’s system or the national issuer, and no document generator replaces it.
This guide helps you prepare documents and is not legal or tax advice. For your own case, check with the Receita Federal, your municipality or an accountant.
What QuoteBill does
QuoteBill is a free document generator: you build a quote, a receipt or another business document, save it as PDF, Word or Excel and send it to the customer. It also has e-contracts, a simple electronic signature with an audit trail, which is not an advanced or qualified signature. Use the quote to settle price and scope before the work, and the receipt to record the payment afterwards.
What QuoteBill does not do: the nota fiscal
QuoteBill issues no nota fiscal (neither NFS-e nor NF-e), is registered with no system of the tax authority or the municipality and sends nothing to the government. A document made in it is a copy to print or send, not a nota fiscal. To issue an NFS-e, use the national issuer (nfse.gov.br/EmissorNacional), which the official portal offers to MEIs and other businesses, or your municipality’s system.
Does a MEI have to issue a nota fiscal?
According to the Receita Federal’s official questions and answers on the MEI, the MEI is exempt from issuing a nota fiscal to a consumer who is a private person. It must issue one when the recipient of the goods or service is registered with a CNPJ, unless that recipient issues an entry nota fiscal itself (art. 106 of CGSN Resolution 140 of 2018). The MEI is also exempt from issuing the electronic invoice (NF-e).
In practice: if your customer is a company, the rule asks for the nota fiscal and a receipt or a quote does not replace it. If the customer is a private person, the nota is not required. Confirm your case with your municipality or an accountant.
The national NFS-e date moved
The official NFS-e portal reports that CGSN Resolution 191 of 4 August 2026 changed the deadline for the compulsory use of the national NFS-e issuer by Simples Nacional businesses (micro and small enterprises): the requirement, which would have applied from 1 September 2026, was postponed to 1 November 2026.
Dates like this move. If you saw the old date on another site, check the portal’s page, which is the source of this information, before you plan around it.
Before sending
Check these on the finished PDF.
- Is the document a quote or a receipt? If the customer is a company, has the nota fiscal been (or will it be) issued in the official system?
- Does the quote say what will be done, the price, how long the proposal is valid and what is left out?
- Does the receipt show the amount, the date, who paid, who received and which service or sale it refers to?
- Did you keep a copy of every document you sent, together with the proof of payment?
Sources
253 Free Invoice, Quote & Receipt Templates
Modelo de fatura online
Invoice template in Portuguese (modelo de fatura), set up for Brazil, with sample lines for an online store setup, product listing and training. Excel or Word.
Receipt template
Free receipt template for a payment you received: date, payment method, the invoice it settles and the amount. Download Excel or Word, or make a PDF online.
Free quotation generator
Download the quotation as Excel or Word with the formulas working (free for QuoteBill members), or edit it online and turn an accepted quote into an invoice.