Your first FBR digital invoice — a step-by-step walkthrough from Iris portal to live submission

Your first FBR digital invoice — a step-by-step walkthrough from Iris portal to live submission

You have just confirmed that your business needs to submit digital invoices to FBR. You have your NTN. You have downloaded invoicing software. Now what?

This is the guide nobody gave you — a complete, jargon-free walkthrough from the Iris portal to the moment your first invoice gets an FBR number. It takes most businesses between two hours and two days to complete. Here is every step.

Before you start — what you need

• Your NTN (National Tax Number) and sales tax registration number
• Access to your Iris portal account at iris.fbr.gov.pk
• A Windows 10 or 11 computer (64-bit) that will be dedicated to invoicing
• A stable internet connection (only needed at submission time, not for building invoices)
• Your FBR API credentials — these come from Iris (details below)
• Your seller details: business name exactly as registered, address, NTN, and bank account details

Step 1 — Get your FBR API credentials from Iris

Log into your Iris portal account at iris.fbr.gov.pk. Navigate to:

Sales Tax → Digital Invoicing → API Integration

You will find an option to generate your API credentials — a token (a long alphanumeric string) and a seller ID. These are unique to your NTN and cannot be shared. Copy them exactly as shown — a single character error will cause every subsequent connection attempt to fail.

If you cannot find the digital invoicing section in Iris, your account may not be activated for digital invoicing. Contact FBR's helpdesk at 051-111-772-772 and request activation of digital invoicing on your account. This may require a visit to your local RTO (Regional Tax Office).

Step 2 — Install and configure your invoicing software

Download and install Panther FBR Enterprise on your dedicated Windows machine. During setup:

1. Enter your NTN exactly as registered with FBR (format: XXXXXXX-X)
2. Enter your seller name exactly as it appears in FBR's system
3. Enter your API token and seller ID from Step 1
4. Enter your registered address
5. Save settings

At this stage, do not connect to the live gateway yet. Switch to Sandbox mode first.

Step 3 — Test on FBR's sandbox

The sandbox is a test environment that mirrors FBR's live system exactly — but no real records are created. Everything you do in sandbox mode is discarded after testing. This is where you learn, make mistakes, and fix them without any consequences.

In Panther FBR Enterprise, toggle to Sandbox mode in Settings. You will see the connection endpoint change to FBR's sandbox gateway URL.

Now create a test invoice:

1. Select the appropriate scenario (SN001 for a standard B2C sale, SN006 for B2B)
2. Add a buyer (for B2C, you can use a placeholder; for B2B, enter a real NTN to test validation)
3. Add a product line — select an HS code for one of your actual products. The UoM will auto-fill.
4. Enter quantity and price
5. Review the calculated tax — check it matches your expectation
6. Click Validate

If the validation passes, you will see a success response from FBR's sandbox. This means your credentials are working, your invoice structure is correct, and you are ready for the next test.

"I expected this to take weeks. It took one afternoon. The sandbox is exactly like the live system — once I got three consecutive successful validations, I was confident to go live."
— First-time FBR digital invoicing user, Rawalpindi

Step 4 — Run at least 5 successful sandbox validations

Do not go live after one successful test. Run at least five different invoice scenarios in sandbox mode:

• A standard B2C sale with your most common product
• A B2B sale to a registered buyer (use a real NTN — your own supplier's NTN is fine for testing)
• An invoice with multiple line items
• A high-value invoice to test tax calculation accuracy
• If applicable, an exempt sale or zero-rated sale

For each one, verify the FBR response is a success and note the sandbox FBR number returned. Consistency in the sandbox means consistency on live.

Step 5 — Switch to production and submit your first live invoice

In Settings, switch from Sandbox to Production mode. The connection endpoint changes to FBR's live gateway. From this moment, every invoice you submit creates a permanent, real FBR record.

Create your first live invoice exactly as you did in the sandbox. Submit it. Within seconds, FBR's system will respond with a real FBR invoice number. Write it down — or print the invoice, which will show the FBR number and a QR code that can be verified via the FBR Tax Asaan app.

You are now compliant.

Step 6 — Tell your customers and your accountant

Your customers should receive an invoice that shows the FBR number and the "FBR Digital Invoicing System" stamp at the bottom. Explain to them that this is now the official format and the QR code can be used to verify the transaction.

Your accountant needs to know you are now generating FBR digital invoices so they can reconcile your sales tax return correctly. Every invoice submitted digitally to FBR creates a record that FBR will expect to see reflected in your return.

Download Panther FBR Enterprise free trial at fbr.pecsglobal.com. If you get stuck at any step, WhatsApp us at +92 307 3812493 — we will walk you through it.