Frequently asked questions
Short answers on EU VAT invoicing for Shopify merchants. Longer treatments live in our compliance guides.
Does Shopify create legally valid VAT invoices automatically?
No. Shopify sends order confirmations, but these are not VAT invoices — they lack a legal sequential invoice number, the seller's VAT ID, and a per-rate VAT breakdown. EU merchants need an invoicing app or an external accounting tool to issue compliant invoices.
Can I use Shopify order numbers as invoice numbers?
It is risky. Order numbers are assigned before payment and develop gaps from cancelled, unpaid, and test orders. Tax authorities — most explicitly Germany under GoBD — expect gapless sequential invoice numbering, and unexplained gaps are read as possible unrecorded revenue. Invoice numbers should come from a dedicated counter assigned when the invoice is issued.
What is GoBD and does it apply to my shop?
GoBD is the German standard for the proper keeping of digital records. For invoicing it means gapless sequential numbers, immutable documents (corrections via credit note, never edits), and retention of invoices for the statutory period. It applies to businesses taxable in Germany — including foreign sellers with German VAT registrations.
Do I have to send an invoice for every B2C order?
Rules differ by country: B2B invoices are mandatory across the EU, while B2C obligations vary. The pragmatic approach for cross-border sellers is to issue a compliant invoice for every order automatically — it satisfies every member state at once and customers ask for them anyway.
What is the reverse charge and when does it apply?
For cross-border B2B sales inside the EU, VAT liability shifts to the business customer: you invoice at 0% VAT with the legally required wording, and the buyer accounts for VAT in their own country. It requires the customer's VAT ID, validated against the EU VIES register — and you should store proof of that validation for audits.
When do the e-invoicing mandates affect Shopify merchants?
Germany: businesses must be able to receive structured e-invoices since January 2025, with issuing obligations phasing in through 2028. France follows from September 2026, and Spain's Verifactu regime starts in 2027. Structured formats such as XRechnung and Factur-X replace plain PDFs for B2B invoices.
How does Facturely work?
Install it, enter your business details once, and invoices are created automatically the moment an order is paid — gapless numbering, correct VAT breakdown, the buyer's language, and automatic email delivery. Refunds generate proper credit notes. There is nothing to click per order.
Does Facturely validate my customers' VAT IDs?
Yes. VAT IDs on orders are checked live against the EU's official VIES register, the consultation proof is stored for audits, and qualifying B2B invoices automatically apply reverse charge with the correct legal wording in six languages.
How is Facturely priced?
By invoices generated per month — never by your store's total order count. Plans start at $19/month with a 14-day free trial, and every compliance feature is included in every plan.
What happens to my data?
Invoices are stored immutably for statutory retention, hosted in the EU (Frankfurt), encrypted at rest and in transit, and never used for anything except generating your documents. On uninstall, all shop data is deleted after Shopify's 48-hour redaction window.
Something unanswered? support@facturely.app