1. Important disclaimer

This guide explains, in general terms, how EU sales and purchases can be handled in BrightBooks.

This is guidance only.
The correct VAT treatment, choice of VAT codes, and reporting obligations for EU transactions must be checked and confirmed with your accountant or tax adviser. BrightBooks support cannot provide tax advice or confirm what is correct for your specific business.

2. Start with where your business is based

How you treat EU transactions depends on your location:

• Irish businesses (IE VAT)
  Typically deal with:
  • EU acquisitions and dispatches
  • VIES
  • Intrastat
  • Possibly OSS (One Stop Shop) for cross‑border e‑commerce
• UK businesses (UK VAT, post‑Brexit)
  Typically deal with:
  • Imports and exports
  • Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA)
  • Possibly OSS if registered in the EU for consumer sales

Your country and VAT registration are set in VAT settings and drive how BrightBooks handles EU transactions in VAT returns and reports.

3. The key setup: VAT and VAT codes

You don’t manually calculate EU VAT from scratch each time. Instead, you:

3.1 Configure VAT settings

• Set:
  • Your country
  • Your VAT registration number
  • Any schemes you use (e.g., OSS, Postponed VAT Accounting)
• This tells BrightBooks how to treat EU transactions in your VAT return.

3.2 Use appropriate VAT codes

• For EU sales and purchases, use specific VAT codes, such as:
  • EU zero‑rated / intra‑EU supply codes
  • Reverse‑charge codes
  • OSS codes for cross‑border B2C sales
  • Import/PVA codes for Postponed VAT Accounting
• Once the correct codes are set up and selected on each transaction, BrightBooks can:
  • Place them into the correct boxes on your VAT return
  • Include them in any relevant EU reports (OSS, VIES, Intrastat)

Check with your accountant which VAT codes and schemes you should use for your particular business and transactions.

4. Accounting for EU sales

4.1 B2B EU sales (to VAT‑registered businesses)

Typical pattern:

• Customer is in another EU country and has a valid VAT number.
• The sale may be treated as an intra‑EU supply (often zero‑rated in your country, with reverse charge in the customer’s country).

In BrightBooks:

• Set the customer’s:

  • Country
  • VAT number
   
• Use the appropriate EU VAT code on the sales invoice (e.g., intra‑EU supply / reverse‑charge code).

These transactions then feed into:

• Your VAT return (correct boxes for EU supplies).
• Any required EU reporting (such as VIES or Intrastat, if applicable).

4.2 B2C EU sales / e‑commerce

If you sell to EU consumers (no VAT number) across borders:

• You may need to use OSS rules.
• In BrightBooks:
  • Use OSS VAT codes on those sales invoices.
  • Run the OSS Sales VAT report to see VAT due per EU country.

Whether a sale is treated as B2B or B2C, and whether OSS applies, must be confirmed with your accountant.

5. Accounting for EU purchases

For purchases from EU suppliers, you may be dealing with EU acquisitions (IE) or imports (UK post‑Brexit), often with reverse charge or Postponed VAT Accounting.

In BrightBooks:

5.1 Supplier setup

• Enter the supplier’s:
  • Country
  • VAT number

5.2 VAT code on the purchase invoice

• Choose the appropriate EU acquisition/import / reverse‑charge / PVA VAT code.
• This ensures:
  • VAT is reported correctly on your VAT return (output and input where required).
  • Any PVA entries are handled correctly.

5.3 Intrastat and VIES (if required)

• If you exceed thresholds, you may need Intrastat or VIES reporting.
• BrightBooks can produce these reports based on how you’ve coded your EU transactions.

The exact VAT code and treatment for each type of EU purchase must be agreed with your accountant.

6. VAT returns and EU reports

Once EU sales and purchases are posted with the correct VAT codes:

• VAT returns
  • BrightBooks uses your VAT settings and codes to place transactions into the correct boxes on your VAT return (IE or UK).
• OSS reports
  • If you use OSS, BrightBooks can produce an OSS Sales VAT report summarising VAT due per EU country.
• VIES / Intrastat
  • For IE businesses, BrightBooks can help generate VIES and Intrastat outputs based on your EU transactions.

You are responsible for reviewing these returns and reports and confirming they are correct.

7. How “manual” is it?

In practice:

• You do not manually calculate all EU VAT outside the system for every transaction.
• You do:
  • Configure VAT settings correctly for your country and schemes.
  • Choose the correct VAT code for each EU sale or purchase.
  • Ensure customers and suppliers have accurate country and VAT number information.

BrightBooks then:

• Handles the VAT return calculations.
• Produces OSS, VIES, and Intrastat reports where applicable.

8. Final reminder

This guide explains how BrightBooks can be used to account for EU sales and purchases, but:

• It does not replace professional tax advice.
• The correct VAT treatment, VAT codes, and reporting obligations for your EU transactions must be checked and confirmed with your accountant or tax adviser before you set up or change anything in BrightBooks.