What is an e-invoice, and why do I need one?
An e-invoice is a structured, machine-readable invoice (the EU standard is called EN 16931) that tax authorities and business buyers can process automatically. EU countries are making them mandatory for B2B sales - a PDF alone no longer counts. Invocourier creates and delivers them for you, automatically, from your normal Shopify orders.
Which countries does Invocourier support today?
Belgium: B2B invoices are delivered over the Peppol network, as the Belgian mandate requires. Germany: invoices are delivered by email as XRechnung XML together with a Factur-X hybrid PDF, the formats German business buyers expect. Support for France is planned ahead of the French mandate, with more countries on the roadmap.
Do I need a Peppol account or a separate provider?
No. Peppol access is built into Invocourier. You fill in your company details in Settings, complete a one-time identity check, and the app registers your company on the network for you. You never deal with the network directly.
Do my buyers need to install or set up anything?
No. German buyers receive the invoice by email. Belgian business buyers receive it through the Peppol setup their business already has - receiving requires nothing new on their side.
How does the app know my buyer's VAT number?
The app reads the VAT number from your order's attributes - for example a VAT field in your cart, or an order note attribute such as "VAT number". Every captured number is validated live against VIES, the EU's official register. A B2B e-invoice legally requires a valid VAT number; orders without one follow your consumer-order setting instead of failing silently.
What happens with consumer (B2C) orders?
Your choice, in Settings: record them without issuing an e-invoice (the default - consumer sales are outside the B2B mandates), or email the consumer a regular PDF invoice with the structured XML attached.
What about refunds?
Refunds automatically become credit notes that reference the original invoice, in the same delivery format, with the same gapless numbering. Partial refunds are supported, and the amounts always reconcile with the original invoice.
Can I invoice orders from before I installed the app?
Yes. The "Import past orders" page finds orders that never received an invoice - up to 60 days back, which is how far Shopify lets apps read - and issues their documents through the normal pipeline. Imported documents are issued with today's date; invoices are never backdated.
Where are my invoices stored, and can I get them out?
Every document is archived unchanged, with its exact XML - that archive is your legal audit trail. You can export the complete archive (XML, PDFs and a CSV index) as a ZIP at any time, and you can have every issued document automatically emailed to your bookkeeping address as it is created.
What happens if I uninstall?
You immediately receive an email with a download link for your complete archive, valid for 30 days - no login needed. Reinstalling within those 30 days restores your archive and numbering exactly as they were. After 30 days the archive is permanently deleted.
How much does it cost?
Starter is $19/month for 100 documents in one country. Growth is $39/month for 300 documents in all supported countries. Beyond your quota, documents cost $0.20 each - delivery is never blocked over billing. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial.
Is my data safe?
The service runs on EU infrastructure, customer data is encrypted at rest and in transit, and a data processing agreement applies automatically when you install. The details - what we process, why, and for how long - are in the privacy policy.