Tax & law
Billing your members: what the law actually requires
Receipt, invoice, mandatory details: the legal minimum is lighter than you'd think, and stricter on one point.
Selling to an individual doesn't require issuing a strict-sense invoice in every country of the European Union. Selling to a professional, however, does — and that's where most creators get caught out.
The details that aren't negotiable
- Identity and address of the seller — you, not the platform.
- VAT number, if you have one.
- Date, sequential number with no gaps.
- Amount excluding tax, rate applied, VAT amount, total.
- The buyer's country, whenever VAT follows the buyer.
A professional member will ask for an invoice made out to their company, with its VAT number. If your platform can't produce that document, you'll have to do it by hand — and keeping the register will be up to you.