The words that get in the way

A payment reversed by the buyer's bank rather than by you. Unlike a refund, it is disputed rather than agreed, and it usually arrives with a fee and a deadline for evidence.

A document that corrects or reverses an invoice already issued. Because an issued invoice must not be edited, the credit note is how a correction is recorded — referencing the original and adjusting the tax with it.

The sales level at which selling into a country obliges you to register for tax there. Thresholds differ per country and are usually measured over a rolling period, which is why crossing one is easy to miss.

The right a buyer has to something after paying — a file, a licence, a membership. Treating it as a record rather than an email means it can be revoked automatically when a payment is refunded.

A requirement in many jurisdictions that invoice numbers form an unbroken sequence with no missing values. It exists so that a removed invoice is detectable; it is also why invoice numbers cannot simply be reassigned.

"Know your customer" and "know your business" — the identity and business verification a regulated provider must perform before handling money on your behalf.

The legal seller in a transaction: the party that invoices the buyer, collects the tax and is accountable for reporting it. It is not always the person who made the product — and choosing who it is changes who carries the registrations.

An EU scheme that lets a seller report VAT for sales across all member states through a single return, instead of registering in each country separately.

A shareable URL that collects a payment. Its value depends on what it is attached to: a link that also produces the invoice removes the reconciliation step a bare link creates.

The transfer of collected money to your own bank account. Distinct from the payment itself — a sale can be complete while the payout is still scheduled.

A rule in which the buyer, not the seller, accounts for the VAT — common in cross-border business-to-business sales within the EU. The invoice still has to say so explicitly.

The document showing what you earned when someone else was the merchant of record. It is not the sales invoice — that one went to the buyer, from the merchant of record.

The country whose tax rules apply to you as a seller. It determines which registrations and returns are yours, and it is not the same thing as where your customers are.

Consumption taxes applied at the point of sale. The names and mechanics differ by country, but the practical question is the same: which rate applies to this buyer, for this thing, on this date?