Two things decide the content of your invoice: where the client is established, and what they are. Everything else follows from that.
The three situations to distinguish
They have neither the same statements nor the same treatment.
The client is a company established in another European Union country, with a valid identification number. That is the most common and best-mapped case.
The client is a company established outside the European Union. The rules differ, and the question of where the service is deemed supplied becomes central.
The client is a private individual, wherever they are. That is the least frequent situation in this trade and the one that surprises the most creators.
The treatment applicable to each, the mandatory statements and any returns depend on your regime and your situation: they are checked with an accountant, before the first invoice, and rechecked if your volume changes.
The conditions to set before starting
Four lines, written in the quote.
The invoicing and payment currency. Invoicing in a currency you do not spend transfers the risk to you.
Who bears the bank charges. An international transfer crosses several institutions, and each can take its share.
The calendar: deposit on order, balance on delivery, with dates rather than periods.
And the exact name of the paying entity, which is not always the one writing to you. A large brand can talk to you from one country and pay you from another, and it is the paying entity that determines the regime.
What justifies a higher rate
Three concrete elements, and none of them is the client's prestige.
The extra administrative work, which is real: checks, statements, payment follow-up, sometimes registration on a supplier portal.
The time difference, which lengthens every approval and occupies your schedule longer than an equivalent local job.
And the rights: an international client almost always buys a wider territory, sometimes worldwide. That is a line in the quote, not a courtesy.
Add the payment terms, longer internationally. An identical rate paid sixty days later is not the same rate.
The reflex that avoids half the problems
Send a test invoice.
Before the large order, invoice a small job, get it paid, and watch what happens: is the document accepted by their accounts department, does the transfer arrive in full, how many days actually, what information was missing.
You will learn in a week what you would otherwise discover at the worst moment, on a large invoice, with a client waiting for their video and payment terms stretching out.
What each way of getting paid costs
| Route | What you lose | Typical delay |
|---|---|---|
| Classic international transfer | Fixed fees plus the exchange | Two to five days |
| Payment platform | A percentage of the amount | Immediate to two days |
| Collection through the marketplace | The commission, known in advance | On validation |
What goes on an invoice to a client abroad
The client's identifier, the chosen currency, the mention of the applicable regime and the account to credit, written without abbreviation.
What to ask the accountant before the first invoice
The tax treatment, the rate to apply depending on the client's country and the records to keep, to be confirmed with an accountant.
The document itself
It must be readable by somebody who does not speak your language.
An invoice going abroad benefits from being bilingual, with explicit wording: what is delivered, the number of files, the duration of the rights, the territory.
Add the order reference provided by the client. That is the line deciding whether your invoice enters their payment circuit or waits in an inbox.
Sources
- Urssaf, official auto-entrepreneur portal
- Service Public, how to become a micro-entrepreneur
- Service Public, crossing the micro-entrepreneur turnover thresholds
Checked on 4 September 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
