How to become EIS-ready in the Philippines: a step-by-step path
Becoming EIS-ready is a short, concrete project — especially for an agency that already runs computerized payroll and billing. Here is the sequence, from confirming you are covered to issuing structured invoices the BIR can accept, ahead of the December 31, 2026 deadline.
Key Takeaways
- The path: confirm coverage → adopt structured invoicing → prepare CAS documents → register as a CAS via ORUS → configure tax & numbering → issue and prepare to transmit.
- CAS registration issues an Acknowledgement Certificate within three working days of complete documents (RMC 5-2021) — no system demo.
- The immediate obligation is issuing structured invoices; EIS transmission (JWS + API) phases in later under a separate RR.
- For an agency on computerized payroll, most of this is setup, not a migration.
What are the steps to become EIS-ready?
Confirm you are in a covered group, move client billing to a system that issues structured invoices in the EIS format, prepare the CAS documentary requirements, register the system with the BIR through ORUS to obtain the Acknowledgement Certificate, configure VAT/EWT and controlled numbering, then issue structured invoices and prepare to transmit to the EIS when required.
- Confirm you are covered. Check whether you fall in a covered group under RR 11-2025 — most agencies do, because they issue client invoices from a computerized system. Micro taxpayers under ₱3M in gross sales are exempt.
- Move billing onto a system that issues structured invoices. Adopt software that outputs structured invoice data in the BIR's EIS format with system-controlled numbering — not manual booklets or static PDFs.
- Prepare the CAS documentary requirements. Assemble the sworn statement with system description, sample printouts of principal and supplementary invoices, sample books of accounts, and the audit trail — the documents the BIR requires to register a Computerized Accounting System.
- Register the system as a CAS via ORUS. Submit the documents through the BIR's Online Registration and Update System (ORUS). Under RMC 5-2021 the BIR issues an Acknowledgement Certificate within three working days of complete documents, with no system demo required.
- Configure VAT, EWT, admin fee, and numbering. Set the invoice template to compute 12% VAT and the 2% expanded withholding tax, reflect any mandatory administrative fee (20% for security agencies under RA 11917), and enforce sequential numbering.
- Issue structured invoices and prepare for EIS transmission. Begin issuing structured e-invoices. Be ready to transmit to the Electronic Sales Reporting System via JSON Web Signature and API once the BIR's receiving system is fully in place under a separate regulation.
How long does it take, and what does it cost?
The BIR issues the CAS Acknowledgement Certificate within three working days of complete documents, so the timeline is driven by document preparation and system setup rather than BIR processing. For an agency already on computerized payroll, the marginal cost is mostly configuration time.
See the full breakdown on what EIS compliance costs an agency, how registration relates to the platform on CAS vs EIS, and the technical output on the EIS JSON / JWS format.
Frequently asked questions
Confirm you are covered, move client billing to a system that issues structured invoices, prepare the CAS documentary requirements, register the system with the BIR through ORUS to get the Acknowledgement Certificate, configure VAT/EWT and controlled numbering, and be ready to transmit to the EIS when required.
Under RMC 5-2021 the BIR issues the Acknowledgement Certificate within three working days of receiving complete documents, and no system demonstration is required beforehand. The lead time is mostly in preparing the documentary requirements.
Typically a sworn statement with a system description, sample printouts of the principal and supplementary invoices, sample books of accounts, and a printed audit trail, submitted through ORUS. Confirm the exact current checklist with your RDO.
No. The immediate obligation is issuing structured e-invoices by December 31, 2026. Real-time transmission to the Electronic Sales Reporting System phases in once the BIR's receiving system is established under a separate Revenue Regulation.
Become EIS-ready as a setup, not a migration.
NexusWorkforce issues structured, EIS-format invoices and supports the CAS registration path — from the same platform that already runs your payroll and DTR.
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