Receipts and Invoices for Flower Orders: Documents, VAT and Expense Reports
Every week someone calls the shop after their order has already been delivered and asks whether we can send a document they can hand to their accountant or attach to an expense claim. The answer is yes — but the type of document depends on whether you ordered as a private person or on behalf of a company, and whether you asked for the right paperwork before the order was processed. Getting this wrong costs time, so here is exactly what is available, when to ask, and what details you need to have ready.
What a Standard Receipt Looks Like After a Flower Order
When you place an order through the Five Flowers website or by phone, a fiscal receipt is generated automatically at the moment of payment. In Russia this is called a kassovy chek, and since 2017 all retail sellers are required by law to issue it in electronic form. You will receive it by email or SMS depending on the contact details you provide at checkout. The receipt shows the date and time of the transaction, the total amount paid, the seller's tax identification number, and a QR code that links to the Federal Tax Service register where the receipt can be verified independently. It does not list individual stems or varieties by default — it records the order as a single line item described as a floral arrangement or bouquet. If you need a breakdown showing, for example, that the bouquet contained garden roses, lisianthus and eucalyptus rather than just a generic product description, you should mention this when placing the order and we can add a more detailed product name to the receipt before it is issued. The fiscal receipt is legally sufficient for personal expense tracking and for most corporate reimbursement policies that simply require proof that a purchase was made. Keep the email rather than a screenshot, because the QR code must remain scannable for the document to be considered valid by an auditor or tax inspector.
Bouquets we can deliver
When You Need a Full VAT Invoice Instead of a Receipt
A VAT invoice — called a schet-faktura in Russian — is a separate document from a fiscal receipt and is only relevant when both the buyer and the seller are registered VAT payers. Five Flowers operates as a legal entity and is registered for VAT, so issuing a schet-faktura is possible. However, you must request it before the order is finalized, not after delivery. The reason is that the invoice must carry the correct date of the transaction and be signed within the reporting period in which the sale occurred. Russian tax law sets a five-calendar-day window from the date of shipment or service delivery within which the seller must issue a VAT invoice if the buyer is entitled to one. If your company's accountant contacts us a week after the bouquet was delivered, we can still prepare the document but it will be dated within that five-day window, which occasionally causes complications during quarterly VAT reconciliation. To avoid this, provide your company's full legal name, registered address, INN (tax identification number) and KPP (reason-for-registration code) at the time of ordering. These details go directly onto the invoice and any error in them means the document cannot be used to reclaim input VAT. Schet-faktury are issued in electronic form and can be sent as a PDF or, if your company uses an electronic document management system, through an EDO operator — ask us which platforms we currently support when you call.
The Delivery Note and What It Confirms
Alongside the fiscal receipt, Five Flowers can issue a delivery note — a tovarny chek or tovarnaya nakladnaya — which serves as confirmation that specific goods were transferred to the recipient at a specific address and time. This document becomes important when the flowers are being sent as a corporate gift to a client, a business partner, or an employee, and the company needs to record the transaction in its accounting system as a goods transfer rather than simply a payment. The delivery note lists the contents of the order with more granularity than the fiscal receipt: it can specify the type of arrangement, the approximate stem count, and the delivery address. It does not include the recipient's personal data beyond what is needed for delivery confirmation, so there is no conflict with privacy requirements. For orders that include a branded ribbon, a gift card printed with a company logo, or any additional packaging requested by a corporate client, these items can also appear as separate lines on the delivery note. One practical point worth knowing: the delivery note on its own is not a substitute for a fiscal receipt or a schet-faktura. It is a supplementary document. Some corporate accounting departments ask for all three — the fiscal receipt, the delivery note, and the VAT invoice — and we can prepare all of them, but again, the request must come before or at the time of ordering rather than after the courier has already left.
Ordering as a Company: What Details You Must Provide Upfront
Corporate orders at Five Flowers follow the same flower selection and delivery process as any other order, but the documentation side requires a short additional step. Before we can issue a schet-faktura or a full delivery note addressed to a legal entity, we need four pieces of information: the full legal name of the company exactly as it appears in the state register, the INN, the KPP if applicable, and the registered legal address. If your company pays by bank transfer rather than card, we also need the bank account number, BIC, and the name of the bank. Payment by bank transfer typically requires us to issue a schet — a payment invoice — in advance, which your finance team approves and then processes. This adds one to two business days to the order timeline, so it is not compatible with same-day delivery unless the transfer is confirmed by 10 a.m. and we can verify it quickly. Card payment from a corporate card remains the fastest route if same-day or next-day delivery is needed. After payment, we issue the full package of documents: fiscal receipt, schet-faktura, and delivery note. We send them by email as PDFs. If your company requires originals with a wet stamp and signature, please tell us when ordering — we can prepare physical copies, but courier delivery of documents to your office is arranged separately and adds time. Most accountants now accept electronic documents with an enhanced qualified electronic signature, which carries the same legal weight as a physical stamp under Russian law.
Gift Orders and Expense Reporting: What the Document Shows
A common situation is an employee who buys flowers as a gift for a colleague or client and then wants to claim the cost back from their employer. The fiscal receipt alone is usually enough for internal reimbursement if the company's expense policy allows it, but some finance departments want to see what was purchased, not just how much was spent. In that case, we can issue the receipt with a more descriptive product name — for example, a bouquet of white garden roses and blue hydrangea in a kraft wrap — rather than the default entry of floral arrangement. This does not change the legal content of the fiscal receipt but makes it much easier for an approver to understand what the expense was for. If the flowers were part of a corporate event — a team celebration, a client meeting, an office opening — and the company wants to classify the expense under a specific budget line, the delivery note can include a brief description of the purpose if you provide it at the time of ordering. We cannot add retrospective descriptions to already-issued documents, so this must be agreed in advance. One thing to be clear about: the documents we issue confirm what was sold and delivered. They do not include photographs of the finished bouquet or the recipient's signature. If you need photographic confirmation of delivery — which some corporate gift programs require — ask for it at the time of ordering and the courier will photograph the handover.
Electronic Documents and How We Send Them
All documents issued by Five Flowers are available in electronic form. The fiscal receipt is sent automatically to the email or phone number provided at checkout, and this happens within minutes of payment being confirmed. The schet-faktura, delivery note, and payment invoice are prepared by our team and sent as PDF files, typically within one business day of the order being completed. For companies that use EDO — electronic document management systems such as SBIS, Kontur.Diadok, or similar platforms — we can route documents through an operator rather than by email, provided the request is made before the order is placed. This is particularly useful for large companies that process dozens of supplier invoices each month and need everything to arrive through a single verified channel rather than scattered across inboxes. If you receive a PDF and the document looks different from what you expected — for example, the company name is abbreviated differently from your official registration — contact us immediately. Corrections to a schet-faktura after it has been issued require a corrective invoice, which is a separate document and creates additional work for both sides. Checking the details before confirming the order takes thirty seconds and prevents that problem entirely. For private customers who simply want a copy of their fiscal receipt because the original email was lost or went to spam, we can resend it using the order number and the phone number or email address used at checkout. Receipts are stored in our system and can be retrieved for up to three years.
What to Check Before Confirming Your Order
Before you press confirm or tell us to go ahead on the phone, run through a short checklist if documentation matters to you. First, confirm that the email address in your order is correct — this is where the fiscal receipt goes, and a typo means you will not receive it automatically. Second, if you need a schet-faktura, read out your INN and KPP to the person taking your order so they can repeat it back; transposed digits are the most common error and they invalidate the document. Third, decide whether you need a delivery note and, if so, whether it should list specific flower varieties or just a general description. Fourth, if your company pays by bank transfer, confirm the order early in the day because same-day processing depends on payment arriving and being verified within our cut-off window. Fifth, if you need a physical copy of any document with a wet stamp, say so upfront — we do not send physical documents by default and arranging this takes additional time. Sixth, if you want a photograph of the delivery as part of your expense documentation, request it when ordering rather than after the fact. None of these steps are complicated, but each one requires action before the order is confirmed rather than after the bouquet has been delivered. Flowers move quickly from our cold storage at four degrees Celsius to the courier's hands and then to the recipient, and the paperwork should move just as deliberately on your side before that process starts.
Getting the right document after a flower order is straightforward once you know what to ask for and when to ask. A fiscal receipt is issued automatically for every order. A VAT invoice requires your company's registration details before the order is placed. A delivery note adds specificity about what was transferred and where. None of these documents are difficult to obtain, but all of them depend on information you provide at the time of ordering rather than after delivery. If you are placing a corporate order or need paperwork for an expense claim, have your company details ready before you call or check out online, and the rest takes care of itself. We deliver bouquets across Russia in 1–2 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a receipt if I paid by card over the phone?
Yes. A fiscal receipt is issued for every payment regardless of method — card, online transfer, or cash on delivery. If you paid by card over the phone, the receipt is sent to the email or phone number you provided during the call. If you did not receive it, contact us with your order number and we will resend it.
Is a VAT invoice available for individual private customers, not companies?
A schet-faktura is a document exchanged between VAT-registered legal entities. Private individuals are not VAT payers in the Russian system, so a schet-faktura cannot be issued to a person ordering in a personal capacity. The fiscal receipt is the correct and legally sufficient document for private purchases.
How long does it take to receive the full set of corporate documents?
The fiscal receipt arrives within minutes of payment. The schet-faktura and delivery note are prepared by our team and sent as PDFs within one business day of the order being completed. If you need documents routed through an EDO platform, allow an additional day and confirm the platform name when ordering.
Can the receipt show the specific flowers in the bouquet rather than just a general description?
Yes, if you request it before the order is confirmed. We can include a more descriptive product name on the fiscal receipt — listing the main varieties rather than a generic label. This does not change the legal validity of the receipt but makes expense approval easier. The request must be made at the time of ordering.
What happens if there is an error in the company name or INN on the invoice?
An error in the INN or legal name means the schet-faktura cannot be used to reclaim input VAT and will need to be corrected with a corrective invoice. This is additional work for both sides. Always read your INN back to us digit by digit when ordering to avoid this — it is the single most common documentation mistake we see.
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