Quotes and invoices in French, Arabic or English: choosing the language and staying consistent

An Algerian auto-entrepreneur works with clients who do not all share the same working language: an accounting department that keeps its records in Arabic, a company that corresponds in French, a client abroad who reads English. This guide explains how to choose the language of a quote or an invoice, how to keep the document consistent from start to finish, and what an invoice in Arabic or English looks like, statement by statement.

Choosing the language according to the client

This guide sets no legal rule on the language of an invoice: it sticks to practice. The useful criterion is simple: the document must be read, understood and filed effortlessly by the person who will pay or record it. So ask which language is expected before issuing, especially for a first document.

Changing language from one client to another does not justify a separate numbering series. Your invoices keep a single chronological sequence, for example FAC-2026-0030 in French, FAC-2026-0031 in Arabic, FAC-2026-0032 in English: the language is only a presentation of the same type of document. The expected statements are detailed in the guide on the statements to include on an invoice.

One language per document

The choice is made document by document, and it applies to the whole document. An invoice whose header is in French, line items in Arabic and amount in words in French is tiresome to read and fragile in the event of a check: nobody knows which version prevails.

In practice, the chosen language applies to:

• the title ("Invoice" or "Quote") and the field labels (number, date, client, due date);
• the line item descriptions;
• the statement of the auto-entrepreneur regime (Law No. 22-23);
• the amount in words, written in the same language as the rest;
• the payment method and due date.

A genuinely bilingual invoice is possible, but it duplicates every statement, amount in words included, and quickly becomes cumbersome. The simplest solution remains one language per document; if a client needs the other language, give them a second copy of the same document, with the same number and the same total. The identical number and amount guarantee that it is one and the same invoice.

The statements and their equivalents

The table below lists the usual statements on an auto-entrepreneur's invoice in the three languages. The Arabic terms are those in common commercial use.

The regime statement in Arabic

In French, the statement reads: "TVA non applicable — régime de l'auto-entrepreneur, impôt forfaitaire libératoire (loi n° 22-23)". To our knowledge, it has no officially published translation; the following wording is offered as an example, to be used as is or adjusted:

الرسم على القيمة المضافة غير قابل للتطبيق — نظام المقاول الذاتي، الضريبة الجزافية الوحيدة المحرِّرة (القانون رقم 22-23)

In English: "VAT not applicable — auto-entrepreneur regime, final flat tax (Law No. 22-23)". In all three cases, the law number stays written in digits, unchanged.

The amount in words

This is the statement most sensitive to a change of language, because it follows writing rules specific to each language. For 120,000 DZD:

• in French: "Arrêtée la présente facture à la somme de : cent vingt mille dinars algériens";
• in Arabic: "حُصرت هذه الفاتورة في مبلغ : مائة وعشرون ألف دينار جزائري";
• in English: "This invoice is set at the sum of: one hundred and twenty thousand Algerian dinars".

The agreement rules in French and the declension of the currency in Arabic are detailed in the guide on the amount in words. The number in words and the currency are written in the language of the document, never in another.

Right-to-left layout

An invoice in Arabic is read from right to left, and that changes the position of every element, not just the direction of the text.

• The column order is reversed. The first column, the description, sits on the right; then come the quantity, the unit price, and the amount, on the left. An Arabic-speaking reader expects the amount at the far left of the line.
• Amounts stay aligned with each other, in the same column, with the same format throughout the page: 90 000,00 then 30 000,00 then 120 000,00, not a mix of "90000" and "30 000,00".
• Numbers are written in Western Arabic digits (0-9), as on your official documents and statements: 120 000,00, 16-00123-24, 05/10/2026. This is the safest form to make sure the client, their bank and their accountant all read the same thing.
• Identifiers stay left to right. Card number, NIF, e-mail address, bank account number: place them on their own line, after their Arabic label, so that the reading direction does not flip them.

Here, for guidance, are the header and body of an invoice in Arabic. The rendering below is plain text; on the PDF, each block is right-aligned and the columns follow the order described above.

فاتورة                                        الرقم : FAC-2026-0031
                                              التاريخ : 05/10/2026

المُصدِر                                      العميل
أمين قاسي                                     Hydra Services SARL
مقاول ذاتي                                    حيدرة، الجزائر
رقم بطاقة المقاول الذاتي : 16-00123-24        السجل التجاري / NIF : (إن قُدِّما)
رقم التعريف الجبائي : 0000 0000 0000 000

المبلغ          سعر الوحدة      الكمية     البيان
90 000,00       90 000,00       1          موقع تعريفي، 5 صفحات
30 000,00       30 000,00       1          الاستضافة والنشر

المجموع المستحق : 120 000,00 دج
الرسم على القيمة المضافة غير قابل للتطبيق — نظام المقاول الذاتي (القانون رقم 22-23)
حُصرت هذه الفاتورة في مبلغ : مائة وعشرون ألف دينار جزائري.

طريقة الدفع : تحويل بنكي، عند الاستلام.

Two details of the model deserve attention: the client company's name stays written as it is registered ("Hydra Services SARL" is not translated), and the card number is identical to the one on the French version. The annotated invoice template shows the same document in French.

The case of English for a foreign client

A quote or an invoice can be written in English when it is the common language with the client. Three points of method:

1. Identity does not change. Legal name as it appears on the card, the word "Auto-entrepreneur", card number, NIF if assigned. The word "Auto-entrepreneur" designates an Algerian status: keep it as is, possibly followed by a short clarification in brackets, rather than replacing it with an approximate term.
2. The regime statement is translated: "VAT not applicable — auto-entrepreneur regime, final flat tax (Law No. 22-23)".
3. The amount stays in Algerian dinars, in digits and in words alike, unless otherwise agreed with the client, the terms of which are to be checked with your bank before issuing. This guide covers neither export rules nor foreign currencies: ask your bank and your tax office if your situation involves them.

Example: Sara Benali, a designer in Oran, invoices a service of 150,000 DZD to an English-speaking client. The document bears "Invoice", her contact details and card number, the regime statement in English, a total of "150,000.00 DZD" and the sentence "This invoice is set at the sum of: one hundred and fifty thousand Algerian dinars".

What never changes

Whatever the language of the document, some elements are strictly identical from one version to another:

• Your legal name, spelled as on your official documents: in Latin characters as it appears on the card, in Arabic characters as it appears on your Arabic-language identity documents. A trade name does not replace the legal name.
• The auto-entrepreneur card number and the NIF, copied identically, digit by digit.
• The invoice number, date and total, which identify the document.
• The client's name, as registered: a company name is not translated.

If you prepare the same document in two languages, compare these elements before sending: the slightest difference in number or total would suggest two separate invoices.

Before issuing: five checks

1. The language has been agreed with the client, or inferred from their documents (purchase order, contract, correspondence).
2. The title, labels, line items, regime statement and amount in words are all in that single language.
3. The amount in words matches the total in digits exactly, currency included.
4. Legal name, card number and NIF are identical to those on your other documents.
5. For an invoice in Arabic, the columns run from the description (on the right) to the amount (on the left), and the digits are 0-9.

In MyHissab, the PDF of a quote or an invoice is generated in French, in Arabic with a right-to-left layout, or in English; the amount in words is produced in the language of the document, which avoids the most common mistake. The steps are described in the guide to your first invoice.

Common mistakes

1. Mixing languages: header in Arabic, line items in French, amount in words in Arabic. The document loses its readability and consistency.
2. Forgetting the amount in words after a change of language, or leaving it in the previous language. Accounting departments often ask for it.
3. Misaligning the figures in the Arabic version: amounts sometimes on the right, sometimes on the left, formats differing from one line to the next.
4. Translating a name: yours, the client's or a company name. They are copied, not translated.
5. Converting the total into another currency on an invoice in English without prior agreement or checking with your bank.

Frequently asked questions

Can I draw up the quote in French and the corresponding invoice in Arabic? Yes: they are two documents, each in a single language. Make sure the invoice bears the quote reference, the same line items and the same total, so that the client can match the two without hesitation. The most comfortable option, however, is still to keep the same language from quote to invoice.

Should the word "Auto-entrepreneur" be translated on an invoice in Arabic or English? In Arabic, the usual equivalent is "مقاول ذاتي", the term used by the ANAE. In English, keep "Auto-entrepreneur" with your card number: it is the name of the status, and a free translation might designate something else.

Can an invoice in English be denominated in euros or dollars? This guide takes no position on this point. In practice, the amount stays in Algerian dinars unless otherwise agreed, the terms of which you check with your bank. Whatever the presentation, your reference turnover for the cap and the IFU is tracked in dinars.