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For my SaaS (https://www.wisecashhq.com https://www.wisecashhq.com) I plan to handle it as well as I can (I'm based in France). The plan is first to get to full

For my SaaS (https://www.wisecashhq.com https://www.wisecashhq.com) I plan to handle it as well as I can (I'm based in France). The plan is first to get to fully understand what needs to be done from my country, then try to sign for a "MOSS" (mini one stop shop). I agree this looks like a major PITA, but luckily Recurly (which I picked for my billing code) seems to have this supported (did not test yet, though). That said I do feel your pain. I feel a bit of fatigue with regards to the increasing challenges that bootstrappers (amongst others) face (eg: cookie law, vat).

adwf 12y ago
Yeah, I don't know whether France has a similar exemption, but in the UK currently I do not have to track or even charge VAT until the company has £81k in revenue. I don't even have to register for it. This is really handy for turning a side-project into a small company, as I can just try out various revenue streams without too much bureaucracy. Once I hit £81k of course, I can probably afford to throw money at accountants to take care of it for me! But that critical first bootstrapping stage has become just that little bit more difficult. It's either block the rest of the EU, or get ready to do some paperwork. Or I guess I could become a zero-revenue startup! ;)
- thibaut_barrere 12y ago
  We have a similar threshold (I believe it is when you reach 15k€ of VAT, to be verified). The bad thing is that I will already roughly reach the threshold because of my main income which is coming from consulting. So bootstrapping based on consulting is becoming a bit harder, paperwork-wise :P
- phillc73 12y ago
  You need to take a view regarding the type of expenses your company will have too. I run a small, one man, UK Limited company and was for a time VAT registered. This is because when I first started the company I spent a few thousand Pounds on equipment. All the VAT I paid on this equipment was able to be offset against any VAT I collected through invoicing. For a while I was ahead and it helped my cash flow, even factoring in the accountancy bills each quarter (which weren't really all that much). I made this move on advice from my accountant, and at the appropriate time, when I was no longer "ahead" on VAT, I was advised to de-register for VAT. My revenues still aren't £81k.

adwf 12y ago

Yeah, I don't know whether France has a similar exemption, but in the UK currently I do not have to track or even charge VAT until the company has £81k in revenue. I don't even have to register for it. This is really handy for turning a side-project into a small company, as I can just try out various revenue streams without too much bureaucracy. Once I hit £81k of course, I can probably afford to throw money at accountants to take care of it for me! But that critical first bootstrapping stage has become just that little bit more difficult. It's either block the rest of the EU, or get ready to do some paperwork. Or I guess I could become a zero-revenue startup! ;)

thibaut_barrere 12y ago
We have a similar threshold (I believe it is when you reach 15k€ of VAT, to be verified). The bad thing is that I will already roughly reach the threshold because of my main income which is coming from consulting. So bootstrapping based on consulting is becoming a bit harder, paperwork-wise :P
phillc73 12y ago
You need to take a view regarding the type of expenses your company will have too. I run a small, one man, UK Limited company and was for a time VAT registered. This is because when I first started the company I spent a few thousand Pounds on equipment. All the VAT I paid on this equipment was able to be offset against any VAT I collected through invoicing. For a while I was ahead and it helped my cash flow, even factoring in the accountancy bills each quarter (which weren't really all that much). I made this move on advice from my accountant, and at the appropriate time, when I was no longer "ahead" on VAT, I was advised to de-register for VAT. My revenues still aren't £81k.