Basics
Should I Add VAT to My Invoices?
The rule is quite simple and depends on the type of service your company offers and whether it is subject to VAT or not. Then, what if your company is subject to VAT (VAT liable)?. Let's see. IfPopularHow Do I Invoice My Customers?
If you’re starting your business in Estonia – or don’t have much experience invoicing customers – you may be wondering how to invoice your customers. What should I add? should you include VAT? In this article we explain which data you should include in your invoices.Few readersWhat Happens if the Date of Issue of the Invoice Does Not Coincide With the Date of Payment?
The invoice date of the sale and the payment do not have to be made at the same time. It can happen that after sending the invoice it may take a few days or even a week until you receive the payment. It is important that this term is reasonable (less than a month), and that you receive the payment on the same day or before creating the invoice. For customers who do not pay on time, our recommendation is that you take some precautions when issuing invoices, and also include a late paymentFew readersWhat Happens if I Have a Business Expense but Don’t Receive the Invoice Until Later?
It may happen that your company buys something and does not receive your invoice later. But what can you do if it's quite a long time, like a month or two? Ideally, this should not happen and you should avoid doing business or buying from these types of providers. A supplier must issue an invoice shortly after you make the payment. However, if it is something punctual, it is not a serious problem. The Estonian Tax Office says that if the expense document (which meets the requirements of § 37Few readersIn What Currencies Can I Issue and Send Invoices?
The Estonian e-Residency program allows you to have a company with real geographical independence. This means that you can do business with all kinds of companies, customers, and suppliers. The invoicing tool included in Companio allows you to automatically generate and send invoices to your customers in any currency, not just Euros.Few readersDo I Need a VAT Number to Invoice My Customers?
You do not need a VAT number to invoice your customers, even your European customers. From the moment your company enters the company registry, you can issue invoices, but remember that you’ll need a bank account or another payment method to be paid by them.Few readersWhen Can I Invoice My Customers for My Services?
Until your company has a bank account or a method to receive payments from your customers, it makes no sense to invoice your customers, as they won't be able to pay you.Few readersDo I Need to Justify All Bank Movements and Invoices?
In order to perform the accounting correctly, each and every bank movement in your corporate account must have documentation to support or justify it. The Estonian authorities are very strict in that regard. Each payment to suppliers needs a purchase invoice, and all earnings from customers need an income invoice. Salaries must be declared as such, as well as dividends. Everything else, you must inform us so that we know how to declare them. The golden rule is: each invoice must have a baFew readersCan a Customer Invoice in Crypto?
No, if the company is not dedicated to offering crypto services. You can bill in euros and your clients pay you in crypto if you use a platform like BitPay or similar.Few readers
Invoicing with Companio
How Do I Send My Invoices to Companio Through Email Automation?
Imagine 2 possible scenarios: Your company is paying a subscription for a service that sends you invoices every month by email. This means that every month you have to receive the email, download the invoice, access Companio and upload the invoice to the "Expenses" section. Your online store generates an email with a sales invoice every time a customer buys one of your products. Upon receiving this email, you must save the document on your computer and upload it later to Companio.Few readersHow to Add an Invoice in a Specific Currency?
To generate an invoice in a specific currency, follow these steps: Go to the “Sales” section on the Companio platform. Click the "New Invoice" button at the top right. Then select a contact to issue the invoice or add a new one, and click "Next". Now you can select the invoice items. Use the "Currency" field to choose the correct currency for the invoice. When you are finished the system will generate the invoice document in PDF, specifying the correct currency. Make sure you applyFew readersCan I Use My Current Invoicing Software With Companio?
As part of being our customer, you have access to Companio’s dashboard, allowing you to upload your sales and purchase invoices, as well as bank statements, every month, and forget about the rest. Our goal is to prevent you from having to deal with paperwork, bureaucracy, and spreadsheets and focus on growing your business. However, you can use invoicing program you want, but remember that we require you to upload invoices and bank statements to our platform before the 5th of the following moFew readersWhat Should I Do With My Invoices?
Every time you send an invoice to one of your clients, don't forget to upload it to our platform. These are the steps to follow: Log in here with your email and through the magic link or your e-resident card. Go to the “Sales” or “Purchases” section in Companio. Drag and drop the PDF of the invoice. We'll take care of the rest! You can also upload all the invoices for the month at the end of the month, but rememberFew readersHow to Match Bank Movements with Invoices?
Access the bank movements. Click on “link” to purchase invoice and link it to one of the corresponding invoices. Then you must go to purchases invoices and link the next invoice to the same movement. It will tell you that it is already linked and that if you are sure to link it too. You must say “yes”. After that, if you click on other documents, you will see the two invoices linked to the same movement and you can even link more invoices.Few readersWhat Happens if I Upload Invoices From Previous Accounting Periods Late?
Accounting in Estonia is done every month and the deadlines for submitting your report are very strict. We only have a couple of weeks to do the bookkeeping and generate the reports and invoices of thousands of customers. Even applying modern-day automation techniques, as in Companio, takes a little time. That's why we ask you to upload all the invoices from your previous month (sales invoices and purchase invoices) up to the 5th of the following month. If your bank account does nFew readersCan I Upload Multiple Invoices in a Single PDF?
Unfortunately, you can't, as we calculate your monthly fee in proportion to the number of invoices you've issued. Keep in mind that if you upload a PDF with several invoices, it will cause problems. There are two possible scenarios: If our accountants ignore the other invoices attached to the document, this can lead to errors in your accounting, incorrectly submitted reports to the authorities, and having to do the accounting again for the affected periods. Consequently, you will havFew readersWhat Is the Late Document Penalty, and How Does It Affect Me?
As we explain in this article, uploading documents late prevents us from being able to comply with our obligations and submit your TSD (taxes), and KMD (VAT) reports in time. This is a problematic situation. In the best-case scenario, we need to redo your accounting for those periods. In the worst-case scenario, your company will need to pay taxes for any invoice or moveFew readers
Payments
How Do I Pay Freelancers and Contractors for Their Services?
The first thing you have to be clear about is differentiating whether they are professionals or individuals. Freelancers and Professionals In that case, it’s as simple for them as issuing an invoice to your Estonian company. Our suggestion is, if they are Europeans, that they obtain a VAT number. Then, if your Estonian company has a VAT number too, their invoice will indicate VAT 0%. Individuals In this case, charging for services offered to your company, depending on the countrySome readersCan I Pay Bills With My Personal Finances?
Yes, you can! For example, imagine you forget your business card on a trip to San Francisco and need to pay for a business expense with it. What can you do? No problem! You can pay for this expense with your personal credit card, or even in cash, but remember to ask for an invoice for your company and then let us know that you paid it with a personal account. We'll report that expense as "out-of-pocket expenses," and you can get that money refunded to your personal bank account taxFew readersHow to deal with refunds and chargebacks?
Refunds of Company Expenses In these cases, what happens is that the company that offers you a product or service makes a refund to you, but there is no invoice to prove it. For example, imagine you buy flight tickets, and the airline cancels the flight one day later. In that case, they would not issue an invoice because they did not provide the service, even though they have made the refund. Therefore, you must mark this bank movement in Companio as "This is a refund." Refunds and ChFew readers