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# Are Stripe Receipts Valid Invoices for Accounting and VAT Purposes?

No. **Stripe receipts are not valid legal invoices** and cannot be used for accounting, VAT reporting, or tax compliance in the European Union.

Stripe receipts only confirm that a payment was made. They do not replace a legally compliant invoice.

### Why Stripe Receipts Are Not Valid Invoices

Stripe receipts typically **do not include the mandatory elements required by EU invoicing regulations**, such as:
* A unique and sequential invoice number
* Full legal details of the seller and the buyer
* Indication of whether the customer is a private individual or a business
* VAT numbers (yours and/or your customer’s)
* Correct VAT breakdown per country and tax rate
* Legal description of the goods or services sold
* OSS (One Stop Shop) compliance information

In other words, **Stripe proves a payment happened, but it does not prove that you invoiced correctly.**


### What Should I Use Instead of Stripe Receipts?

To stay compliant, you must issue proper legal invoices using one of the following:
* Dedicated invoicing software (e.g., Sufio, Zoho, QuickBooks, WooCommerce or Shopify invoicing plugins).
* Custom invoicing modules built into your SaaS or e-commerce platform.
* Companio’s dashboard invoicing feature (only recommended if your volume is very low, e.g. fewer than 20 invoices per month).
* Companio’s Invoice Dropbox to submit legally issued invoices to your accounting.


### Is This Really Important for Online Businesses?

Yes. If you sell digital products, services, or subscriptions—especially through automated payment gateways like Stripe—your business likely falls under the **OSS VAT scheme**. This means:
* You must charge the correct VAT rate based on the customer’s location.
* You must issue compliant invoices.
* You must submit correct OSS VAT reports.

Failure to do so can lead to audits, fines, penalties, or rejected tax filings.


### How Can I Send Invoices to Companio?

You have several options:
* If you issue very few invoices (e.g. under 20 per month), you can use Companio’s invoicing tool.
* For most online businesses, we strongly recommend using dedicated invoicing software integrated with your e-commerce platform.
* In all cases, you can automatically forward your invoices to your company’s unique invoice inbox email (available in the dashboard under **Settings > Automation**).

Make sure you send **full legal invoices**, not Stripe receipts.


### Can I Still Use Stripe to Collect Payments?

Yes. Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, and similar gateways are perfectly fine for collecting payments.

However, **you must still issue a valid legal invoice for each transaction**. Stripe will not generate compliant invoices for you automatically.