Looking for a recommendation for a small ecommerce accountant who knows their way around cross-border VAT.
My situation:
UK-registered D2C brand, selling via Shopify
Launching into UK, Germany and France
Have UK VAT number, German VAT application in progress, EU OSS to follow
Stock in two locations: 3PL in UK and warehouse in Germany
Year 1 revenue under £25k
Needing help with UK VAT, German VAT return, EU OSS filings, and basic quarterly bookkeeping. Not looking for a full-service firm — just someone who genuinely knows post-Brexit ecommerce VAT and won’t charge enterprise rates for a startup.
Anyone had a good experience with someone they’d recommend?
Your setup is quite nuanced and getting the right adviser matters here.
The German warehouse is the detail that does change things. Because you hold stock in Germany, you already have a VAT presence there regardless of your registration status, which is why the German number is needed. But the upside is that once you have it, you can register for the EU Union OSS scheme through Germany and use that single return to cover your B2C distance sales into France and every other EU member state. That is the right structure for your situation and it keeps compliance manageable.
A couple of things worth confirming with whoever you work with: first, that they understand the split between OSS-reportable sales and domestic German sales, because those are reported separately and the line between them can confusde. Second, that they are comfortable with the UK VAT treatment on your export flows post-Brexit, particularly around the evidence chain for zero-rating goods leaving the UK for your German warehouse.
At your revenue level you do not need a large firm. What you need is someone who works with ecommerce clients regularly, has live experience with OSS filings and will not bill you for time spent getting up to speed on basics.
We work with exactly this profile of client at Antravia Advisory, https://antraviaadvisory.com/ Happy to have a conversation if you want a second opinion on your structure before you commit to anyone. No obligation. We have firms in both the US and UK, and work with clients throughout Europe.
Hi, Are fulfilling the EU orders only from the German warehouse? If not, then you “need” IOSS as well for the UK → EU orders. It simplifies the process for orders below 150€