When a business sale needs an invoice
In the EU, the seller makes sure an invoice is issued for "supplies of goods or services which he has made to another taxable person or to a non-taxable legal person" (Directive 2006/112/EC, art. 220(1), last verified 23 October 2026). A sale to a business is the plain case.
What the invoice shows
Article 226 of the Directive lists the details: the date, a sequential number, both parties' names and addresses, your VAT number, what you sold, the taxable amount, the rate and the VAT. When your customer pays the VAT (the reverse charge), add your customer's VAT number and the mention "Reverse charge". The whole list, point by point: EU VAT invoice requirements. The reverse charge: reverse charge invoice.
When to issue it
The Directive sets one time limit itself, for two cases only: supplies of goods "carried out in accordance with the conditions specified in Article 138" and "supplies of services for which VAT is payable by the customer pursuant to Article 196". For those, "an invoice shall be issued no later than on the fifteenth day of the month following that in which the chargeable event occurs" (art. 222, last verified 23 October 2026). Every other supply follows the deadline of the national law: "For other supplies of goods or services Member States may impose time limits on taxable persons for the issue of invoices." Spain, for example, sets its own in RD 1619/2012, art. 11: before the 16th of the next month for a business customer. Germany sets six months for a supply to another business in § 14 UStG.
E-invoicing is arriving
More countries now require structured e-invoices between businesses: Belgium since 2026, Germany and France in steps from 2025 to 2028, Spain from October 2027. The dates and sources are on e-invoicing.
Buyers want to add their own details
Online, a business buyer often pays first and needs the invoice later, with their company name and VAT number on it. InvoiceCow turns each Stripe payment into an invoice in your company's name and lets the buyer add or fix those details on your buyer page. The e-invoice files are planned, with their status shown under the title.