From January 1, 2026, a new Tax Code is in effect in Kazakhstan, and from March 12, 2026, violating the rules for registering employment contracts in the state system ESUTD will result in an administrative fine. Against this backdrop, electronic document management has ceased to be a 'project for the future': it has become a condition under which a business can normally operate with tax authorities, personnel, and counterparties. Invoices are issued only electronically, employment contracts are registered online within five working days, and a paper folder with contracts is increasingly legally weaker than a file with a digital signature.
In our practice at West Star Ltd, most requests for automation start right here — not with a beautiful website or a chatbot, but with the question 'how to stop manually shuffling documents between 1C, accounting, and government portals.' Therefore, let's examine electronic document management without marketing gloss: what it really changes by 2026, how to implement it without breaking existing processes, and where it has honest limitations that contractors usually keep quiet about.
Electronic Document Management in Kazakhstan: What Changed by 2026
Electronic document management (EDM) is the exchange of legally significant documents in digital form: they are created, agreed upon, signed with an electronic digital signature, and stored without paper. The technical basis is set by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan 'On Electronic Document and Electronic Digital Signature' (No. 370-II dated January 7, 2003): it equated electronic documents with paper ones in legal force. A document signed with an EDS in the electronic document management system has the same force as one signed with a pen on paper.
For a long time, this was a theory used at will. In 2026, the choice ended. Several processes became virtually mandatory simultaneously.
First — taxes. With the new Tax Code, the VAT rate increased from 12% to 16%, and the threshold for mandatory VAT registration was halved — from 20,000 to 10,000 MRP (about 43 million tenge per year). This means that there are more VAT payers, and each of them is obliged to work with electronic invoices (EIS): the recipient must now confirm or reject the EIS, and for services from non-residents, issuing an EIS has become mandatory. Plus, accompanying invoices for goods (AIT) and the virtual warehouse — all this is pure electronic document management, just within state information systems.
Second — personnel. Personnel electronic document management (PEDM) and the unified system for recording employment contracts (ESUTD) on the portal hr.enbek.kz have ceased to be voluntary. Information about a new employment contract must be entered no later than five working days from the date of signing, and from March 12, 2026, an administrative fine is provided for violating these requirements. Employment contracts, orders, leave applications — all this is moving to digital and is linked to state accounting.
Third — internal and intercorporate documents. The rules for documenting and using electronic document management systems in organizations are approved by an order of the relevant ministry (No. 236 dated August 25, 2023). That is, EDM now has not only 'can' but also 'how to do it right': the order of details, storage, exchange between organizations.
Separately, there is the tax block with goods. Accompanying invoice for goods, virtual warehouse, traceability — this is a chain where each step is formalized electronically and verified between the seller, buyer, and the state. For trade and distribution, this is the most sensitive area: an error in the AIT or a desynchronization of balances with the virtual warehouse turns into blocked shipments and additional charges. And here manual input is especially dangerous because documents flow in a stream, not one per day.
If you put it all together, the picture is simple: in 2026, a company in Kazakhstan conducts electronic document management on several levels at once — tax, personnel, and contractual. The question is no longer whether to transition, but how manageable it will be.
How to Implement Electronic Document Management Without Chaos
The main mistake is to think that EDM is 'one program that needs to be bought.' In practice, a business has at least three parallel contours: state systems (IS EIS, virtual warehouse, hr.enbek.kz), an accounting system (most often 1C), and internal document management (contracts, memos, approvals). Implementation is not a purchase, but stitching these contours together so that data is not entered manually a second and third time.
Where it makes sense to start.
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Inventory of documents. List the real flows: what documents you issue, who signs them, where they go. It usually turns out that 80% of the routine is 5–6 types of documents: invoices, acts, invoices, contracts, personnel orders, EIS.
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Electronic signature for all roles. Without electronic digital signature, electronic document management does not exist. You need to decide in advance who has an EDS, how remote employees sign, and what to do when the key is in NCALayer, and it 'does not see' the signature at the most crucial moment. This is not a trifle: it is on the signature that most implementations break.
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Integration with the accounting system. The biggest gain comes not from a separate EDM, but from integration with 1C: when an invoice or invoice created in accounting automatically goes to the EIS and exchange with the counterparty, and is not manually rewritten in someone else's personal account. Here, the link works through OData and API — documents and statuses move between systems without a human carrier.
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Internal approval routes. A contract that lies in someone's email for two weeks is not electronic document management, but electronic mail. Value appears when a document has a route: who approves, in what order, with what deadlines and notifications. This is the part of process automation that is easiest to underestimate and saves the most nerves.
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PEDM as a separate project. The personnel block should be implemented as an independent flow tied to the ESUTD: hiring, transfer, leave, dismissal — with automatic uploading of information to the state system on time. Mixing personnel with accounting in one 'pot' at the start is a sure way to delay everything.
To make this not sound abstract, a simple calculation from a typical project. A medium-sized trading company issues several hundred invoices, acts, and invoices per month. If each document is first created in 1C, then manually transferred to the EIS cabinet and separately sent to the counterparty, the accountant spends hours on this daily, and each typo is a potential discrepancy with the tax authorities. After integration, the same flow goes automatically: the document is formed once, goes to the EIS and partner, the status returns back to accounting. Not abstract 'time' is freed up, but specific man-hours that were previously spent on retyping.
The practical principle we derive from projects: first, digitize what is already required to be electronic (EIS, AIT, employment contracts), and only then — internal approvals. This way, the business gets a quick measurable result and removes regulatory risks, rather than drowning in half a year of setting up an 'ideal' system that no one uses. It is also useful to look in advance at related changes in digital sphere regulation — for example, in business materials on our website — because document management is increasingly linked to the state's unified digital field.
Where Electronic Document Management Stalls
An honest conversation about limitations is more important than a list of advantages — because it is on limitations that projects fail. Here's what you should know in advance.
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Electronic signature is the weakest link. NCALayer, browser extensions, expired keys, signing from mobile — there are the most failures here. If a company has dozens of signatories, managing keys itself becomes a separate task.
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State systems live their own lives. IS EIS, virtual warehouse, and hr.enbek.kz are periodically unavailable, change formats and rules without convenient notice. Integration has to be maintained, not 'set up once.'
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Counterparties are not always ready. EDM between companies works only when both parties are in it. Some partners still want paper or PDF by mail, and the business has to maintain a hybrid mode longer than planned.
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Migration of archive and storage. Electronic documents need to be stored for the entire period established by law and be able to be presented during an audit. These are requirements for backup and archive structure that almost no one thinks about at the start.
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Resistance from people. An accountant and HR specialist who have been signing paper for twenty years do not transition to digital by order. Without training and a clear benefit for the employee himself, the system remains half-empty.
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Illusion of 'bought means implemented.' A license for EDM is not equal to a working document management system. Without described routes, access rights, and integration with accounting, it's just an expensive file storage.
None of these points cancel the transition — by 2026, there is essentially no choice. But they explain why two projects with the same budget give different results: one becomes a working tool, the other — a formal checkbox.
What follows from this in practice. A specialist — accountant, HR, office manager — should understand EDS and state system formats before the deadline approaches: most rushes arise precisely because of signatures and ESUTD deadlines. A department head would benefit from starting with an inventory of flows and choosing two or three documents with the most routine — the effect is most quickly visible there. For the owner, a strategic view is more important: electronic document management pays off not by saving on paper, but by removing penalty risks, speeding up settlements with counterparties, and transparency, where it is clear where the document got stuck. It makes sense to start not with the most expensive system, but with the most painful process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is electronic document management mandatory for small businesses in 2026?
Partially — yes, and it no longer depends on the size of the company. If you are a VAT payer, you are obliged to work with EIS, and the registration threshold in 2026 has decreased, so more small businesses fall under VAT. Employment contracts of all employees must be registered in ESUTD regardless of turnover. However, internal document management (contract approvals, memos) remains at the company's discretion for now.
Does an electronic document have the same force as a paper one?
Yes. According to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan 'On Electronic Document and Electronic Digital Signature,' a document signed with a valid EDS is legally equivalent to a paper one with a handwritten signature. The key condition is a correct signature and compliance with the rules of execution and storage. Therefore, the question of trust in EDM today is technical, not legal.
Can electronic document management be conducted directly in 1C?
Largely yes, and this is the most practical way. Invoices, acts, invoices, and EIS are logically formed in the accounting system and sent from there for exchange, rather than manually duplicated in third-party cabinets. Through OData and API, 1C connects with state systems and counterparties, so the document and its status move between systems automatically. A separate EDM is needed rather for complex internal approval routes.
Where to start the transition to EDM without disrupting current work?
With inventory: list the real document flows and find the 5–6 most frequent ones. Then close what is already required to be electronic — EIS, AIT, employment contracts in ESUTD. And only after that move on to internal approvals. This order gives a quick result and removes regulatory risks, without turning the implementation into an endless project.