Two buyers. Two different questions.
A private buyer wants a document they already have — it is on the order, in the account, as a PDF. A business buyer wants a tax treatment, and that is decided when the order is placed rather than when the invoice is asked for. Pick which one you are and the page answers only that.
The one that is not fixable afterwards is the business one, and it is two minutes of work before you order. What can and cannot change
You already have it
Every order is invoiced the moment it is paid and the PDF is on the order in your account, in the currency you paid in, with VAT shown at your country's rate. Nothing has to be requested.
A corrected invoice keeps its original number. That is what a correction is, and your accountant will thank you for it.
Do this before you order
Everything else on this page can be fixed afterwards. This one cannot, and it is two minutes of work.
Company name, billing address, and the VAT ID. Two minutes, once.
The order is created as a business purchase and the invoice comes out as one. Nothing to request afterwards.
The sale has already been made — and reported — as a private one. We can print your company and your VAT number on a reissued document, but printing a number does not undo the tax that was charged. The exact position differs by member state and we will put yours in writing.
Set the company up
- The VAT ID against VIES, before anything is confirmed.
- That the billing country and the shipping country agree with each other.
- That the order has not already been placed on a private basis.
If one of those does not hold we say so before you order, not after. That is the entire value of doing it in this order.
What can and cannot be changed
| Change | Possible | Applies to | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name or billing address on the document | Yes | Both | Reissued with the same number and the same total. |
| Company name printed on the document | Yes | Company | The document changes. Whether the tax does is the next row. |
| VAT handled as a business purchase | Only before | Company | Decided at the point of sale on the VAT ID given then. The exact position differs by member state. |
| The total | No | Both | An invoice records what was paid. A different total is a refund and a new order. |
| The invoice number | No | Both | A correction keeps its number. A new number is a new document, and that is what an accountant will query. |