Bolivian Spanish word
boleta / factura
Meaning: payment slip (boleta) / official tax invoice (factura)
Where it is said: In other countries the word boleta has other uses: Wiktionary lists it as a bill or receipt in Chile and Peru, and the Diccionario de americanismos records it in Mexico, Honduras and Panama as an official document that serves as proof of something.
Start with lesson 1
Greeting at any hour and saying your nameLesson 1, level A0
Start lesson 1How it is used in Bolivia
The factura is the official tax invoice: it is electronic and is issued to the client's NIT and razón social. At the till you may be asked '¿a nombre de quién?' and for a NIT; a foreigner card or passport number is often accepted.
How to use it
The factura is the official tax invoice. It is electronic and relies on two details about the client: the NIT, the tax number issued by Impuestos Nacionales (SIN), and the razón social, the registered name.
At the till, for a factura you are often asked '¿a nombre de quién?' and for a NIT. Without one, a foreigner card or passport number is often accepted: just ask.
In the scenes on this page, a boleta is a payment slip: the boleta de depósito you fill in at a bank to pay for a trámite, or the boleta de pago an office gives you, with the amount printed on it, to pay at the Caja.
Examples
¿Me puede dar factura? Es para la empresa.
Can you give me a factura? It's for the company.
Perfecto, ya le emito la factura con ese NIT.
Perfect, I'll issue the factura with that NIT.
A waiter, once you have given your NIT.
Ya pagué por QR y me llevo la factura con mi NIT.
I've paid by QR and I'm keeping the factura with my NIT.
A real exchange
At the Caja window of a university in Sucre
Cashier
¿Me pasa su boleta, por favor?
Can you give me your slip, please?
You
Buenos días. Vengo a pagar la matrícula de mi semestre de intercambio. Aquí tiene mi boleta.
Good morning. I've come to pay the enrolment fee for my exchange semester. Here's my slip.
Cashier
Es el monto que figura en su boleta. ¿Cómo va a pagar?
It's the amount shown on your slip. How will you pay?
You
Voy a pagar con QR. ¿Dónde está el código para escanear?
I'll pay by QR. Where is the code to scan?
The amount is printed on the boleta, and the cashier charges exactly that.
What to avoid
- 'Deme factura ya.' sounds like an order. Ask '¿Me puede dar factura?' and, if it fits, say what it is for.
Good to know
- Not to be confused with
- la cuenta: the restaurant bill you ask for when you want to pay. The factura is the tax invoice, a different document.
Sources
What this page says beyond the chapters of the course comes from these sources.
- Wiktionary: boletaaccessed 21 October 2026
- ASALE, Diccionario de americanismos: boletaaccessed 21 October 2026
Learn it in a real situation
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