ZATCA Wave 24 and Salla: Send Invoice PDFs via WhatsApp Before June 30

ZATCA Wave 24 Is Here — and Salla Merchants Are in the Crosshairs

If your Salla store generated over SAR 375,000 in annual revenue during 2022, 2023, or 2024, you are now in scope for ZATCA Wave 24 — described by ZATCA itself as the most expansive phase of mandatory e-invoicing in Saudi Arabia's history. The hard deadline is June 30, 2026. The same date also marks the end of the penalty-free compliance waiver that ZATCA extended, making it a double-deadline for any business that has delayed. Miss it, and you face legal penalties and potential suspension of your VAT registration.

The smartest Salla merchants are asking a sharper question: can compliance and commerce work together? The same digital pipeline that delivers compliant ZATCA invoices to customers can also send instant order confirmations, track shipping, and recover abandoned carts — all via WhatsApp, Saudi Arabia's dominant messaging channel with over 33 million active users.

Who Falls Under ZATCA Wave 24?

ZATCA announced Wave 24 on September 26, 2025. It targets VAT-registered businesses with annual taxable revenue exceeding SAR 375,000 in any of the tax years 2022, 2023, or 2024. Wave 24 is the first time Phase 2 integration requirements have reached this tier of Saudi SMBs — bringing a significant portion of Salla's 70,000+ active merchants under mandatory Fatoora platform integration for the first time.

What mandatory integration means for Salla store owners:

• Every tax invoice must be generated in ZATCA-compliant XML format and submitted electronically to the Fatoora portal for real-time clearance.
• Each invoice must carry an approved QR code that customers and auditors can scan to verify authenticity.
• The compliance window opened April 1, 2026. The penalty waiver ZATCA extended also expires June 30, 2026 — making this a double-deadline for businesses that have delayed compliance.
• Non-compliance risks fines and suspension of VAT registration, affecting the merchant's legal ability to operate.

Why WhatsApp Is the Right Channel for ZATCA Invoice Delivery

With 68,000+ active merchants and 365% quarter-over-quarter growth recorded in early 2026, Salla has become the backbone of Saudi Arabia's SMB e-commerce market. Yet most Salla merchants still deliver invoices by email — a channel where open rates hover around 20%.

WhatsApp changes the equation entirely:

• Message open rates above 95% within minutes of delivery — far outperforming email's 20%.
• Customers receive their ZATCA-compliant invoice PDF in the same conversation where they tracked their order, creating a seamless post-purchase experience.
• Reduces support load: 60%+ of post-purchase inquiries are about order status or invoice delivery — automating both eliminates most support tickets.
• Creates a documented, auditable communication trail that supports ZATCA compliance reviews.

Three WhatsApp Automation Flows Every Salla Merchant Needs Before June 30

Here are the three flows to activate before the deadline:

1. Order Confirmation Alert: The moment a purchase completes on your Salla store, an automated WhatsApp message reaches the customer with their order number, items purchased, total amount, and estimated delivery window. No manual action required from your team.

2. ZATCA-Compliant Invoice PDF Delivery: After the order is processed, the system automatically generates and sends the ZATCA-approved PDF invoice — complete with QR code — directly to the customer's registered mobile number via WhatsApp. The invoice is simultaneously logged for Fatoora submission, closing the compliance loop automatically.

3. Abandoned Cart Recovery: When a customer adds items to their Salla cart but leaves without completing the purchase, an automated WhatsApp message is triggered after a set interval — typically 60 minutes — reminding them of what they left behind. Saudi SMBs using cart-recovery WhatsApp flows consistently report recapturing 15% to 30% of abandoned purchases.

How Watily Solves This

Watily Hub's WhatsApp Business platform connects directly to your Salla store through a dedicated integration app. Setup takes under 15 minutes and requires no coding skills. Once linked, you unlock:

• Automated order and invoice flows: Watily Hub triggers WhatsApp messages for order confirmations, ZATCA invoice PDF delivery, and shipping updates the moment each event occurs in your Salla backend — fully hands-free.
• Abandoned cart recovery messages: Fully automated, timed recovery messages sent via WhatsApp bring customers back to complete their purchase without any manual outreach from your team.
• Meta-approved message templates: All invoice and order notification templates are pre-approved by Meta, ensuring maximum deliverability and no spam flags from WhatsApp's systems.
• Arabic-first design: Templates are crafted for Saudi Arabic messaging conventions — formal tone for invoice communications, conversational tone available for marketing and recovery messages.
• Analytics dashboard: Track open rates, click-throughs, and cart-recovery conversion for every automated flow so you can measure ROI and optimize continuously.

The result: a single 15-minute integration that solves two problems at once — ZATCA Wave 24 compliance via automated invoice delivery, and higher conversion via order alerts and cart recovery. Get started with Watily Hub today and turn a compliance requirement into a competitive advantage before the June 30 deadline.

Step-by-Step: Connect Salla to WhatsApp via Watily Hub

1. Create a Watily Hub account and select the plan that matches your monthly order volume.
2. Go to Integrations and select Salla from the list of supported platforms.
3. Copy your Salla API key from your store's Settings → Developer section and paste it into Watily Hub.
4. Activate the automation flows you need: order confirmation, ZATCA invoice PDF delivery, and abandoned cart recovery.
5. Select your message templates — pre-approved by Meta — and customize them with your brand name and preferred tone.
6. Run a test order to confirm WhatsApp messages fire correctly and the invoice PDF arrives properly formatted with the QR code.

With June 30, 2026 just days away, turning this compliance requirement into a customer-experience upgrade is the smartest move available to Salla merchants right now. Every ZATCA invoice delivered via WhatsApp is a receipt customers will actually read — and a transaction ZATCA can audit without issue.

Don't wait for the deadline to force your hand. Register on Watily today and have your Salla store sending ZATCA-compliant invoice PDFs via WhatsApp automatically before June 30, 2026.