If you invoice business customers in other countries, you may need to issue reverse charge invoices. In the EU, for example, a reverse charge invoice shows your VAT number and your customer's VAT number, doesn't charge VAT, and includes a statement that the customer is responsible for the VAT.
Avaza can print both tax numbers in the header of your invoices and hide all tax amounts, so you no longer need to type the numbers into your template notes by hand.
Note: This article explains how to set up the feature in Avaza. Please check with your accountant or tax adviser about the exact wording and information your invoices need.
What you'll set up
Your company's tax number and label (for example "VAT: DE123456789") in Invoice & Bill Settings.
Each customer's tax number and label on the customer's Financial Details.
A reverse charge invoice template that shows both tax numbers and hides all tax information.
Reverse charge wording in the template's notes.
The tax numbers appear as the last line of the From block (your company) and the To block (your customer) on the invoice web view and PDF.
Step 1: Add your company tax number
Go to Settings > Invoice & Bill Settings.
In Company Default Tax Number, enter your tax number (for example your VAT number).
In Company Default Tax Number Label, enter the label you want printed before the number, such as VAT or USt-IdNr. If you leave it blank, Avaza uses "Tax Number".
Click Save.
Tip: If you previously typed your tax number into the Display Address as a workaround, remove that line. Otherwise the number will show twice on your invoices.
Step 2: Add your customer's tax number and label
Go to Contacts and open the customer company.
On the Details tab, click Edit in the Financial Details section.
Enter the customer's Tax Number.
Optionally, enter a Tax Number Label that suits the customer's country, such as VAT No or USt-IdNr. Leave it blank to use the label set on the invoice template, or "Tax Number".
Optionally, set Invoice Template to your reverse charge template (see Step 3), so new invoices for this customer use it automatically.
Click Save changes.
You can also enter the Tax Number and Tax Number Label when you add a new external company.
Step 3: Set up your reverse charge invoice template
We recommend creating a separate invoice template, for example "Reverse Charge Invoice", so your other invoices aren't affected.
Open the template. You can do this from Edit next to the Invoice Template name on any invoice.
Go to the Layout tab.
Under Show/Hide, switch on Show Company Tax Number and Show Customer Tax Number. These are off by default.
Switch off Show Tax Column, so the line items don't show a tax column.
Set How are Tax Totals Displayed? to Don't display tax, so no tax totals appear on the invoice.
Optional: in Company Tax Number, enter a different number for this template only (for example, a separate EU VAT registration). Leave it blank to use the number from Invoice & Bill Settings.
Optional: change the labels for this template
On the same Layout tab, scroll to Override Invoice Labels and expand Header.
Company Tax Number sets the label for your number on this template (for example USt-IdNr).
Customer Tax Number sets a default label for customers who don't have their own Tax Number Label. A label saved on the customer always takes priority.
Click Save.
Step 4: Add the reverse charge statement
In the template, go to the General tab.
In Default Payment Instructions & Notes, add your reverse charge statement. For example: "Reverse charge: VAT to be accounted for by the recipient (Article 196, Council Directive 2006/112/EC)."
Click Save.
Step 5: Create the invoice and check it
Create the invoice for your customer and make sure it uses your reverse charge template.
Set the line items to No Tax, so no tax is added to the invoice total.
Click Web View or PDF to check the invoice.
Your tax number is shown as the last line of the From block and your customer's as the last line of the To block. The tax column and tax totals are hidden.
If a customer has no tax number saved, their tax number line is simply left out.
How Avaza chooses the number and label
Line | Number used | Label used (first one that's filled in) |
Your company | Template's Company Tax Number, otherwise the Company Default Tax Number | 1. Template's Company Tax Number label 2. Company Default Tax Number Label 3. "Tax Number" |
Your customer | Customer's Tax Number | 1. Customer's Tax Number Label 2. Template's Customer Tax Number label 3. "Tax Number" |
Using the API
GET /api/Invoice returns the tax number and label for both the Issuer (your company) and the Recipient (your customer), matching what's printed on the invoice. They're returned even if the Show switches are off.
GET /api/InvoiceTemplate returns the template's show settings, Company Tax Number and label overrides.
/api/Company (GET, POST, PUT) includes the customer's TaxNumberLabel. You can also import it with the Tax Number Label column when importing companies.
Frequently asked questions
I set up the numbers but they don't appear on my invoice.
Check that Show Company Tax Number and Show Customer Tax Number are on for the template the invoice uses. They are off by default.
Tax still shows on my invoice.
Check that Show Tax Column is off and How are Tax Totals Displayed? is set to Don't display tax on the invoice's template, and that the line items are set to No Tax.
My tax number appears twice.
Your Display Address (in Invoice & Bill Settings or on the template) probably still has the number typed in. Remove it from the address.
Are the tax numbers included when I email the invoice?
Yes. The invoice PDF attached to the email includes them.
Can I use different labels for customers in different countries?
Yes. Set the Tax Number Label on each customer's Financial Details, for example "VAT No" for one customer and "USt-IdNr" for another.
Is this the same as the tax IDs used for e-invoicing?
No. The tax identifiers used for e-invoices are set up separately and aren't changed by these settings.