Self-billing payout documents (Gutschrift / autofacturation / self-billing invoice)

This article is for program owners. If you're an affiliate partner, see Self-billing for partners instead.

What is self-billing?

With self-billing, you (the merchant / program owner) issue the tax document for an affiliate partner's commission instead of the affiliate partner invoicing you. It's standard practice in several countries, e.g., Germany ( Gutschrift / Gutschriftverfahren), France (autofacturation), the UK, Switzerland, and across the EU. Partnero can generate these documents automatically for every payout.

Self-billing is only valid where you and your partner have agreed to it in advance. Partnero does not create that agreement — you confirm one is in place when enabling the feature. These documents are an aid, not tax advice or a guarantee of VAT compliance.

How to enable self-billing (program owner)

To enable this feature:

1. Go to Program Settings → Payout settings.
2. Under Payout document, choose Self-billing document: 
3. Tick "We have a self-billing agreement in place with our partners."
4. Optional settings:
   • Commission amount basis: Net (VAT added on top of the payout) or Gross (the payout already includes VAT; the document total matches what the partner is paid).
   • Domestic VAT rate override (%): leave empty to use your country's standard rate, or set a reduced rate for domestic supplies.
5. In Bill to, complete your company details, including your VAT ID (required where your country collects one). 
6. Click Update to save changes.

Country formats currently supported: Germany (Gutschrift), France (autofacturation), United Kingdom (self-billing invoice), Switzerland (Gutschrift), plus a generic self-billing format for other EU countries.

Partner tax details 

When self-billing is enabled, partners see a Tax & billing section in their profile (Profile → Tax & billing) and must complete:

• Legal name, street address, city, postal code, country
• VAT status: VAT-registered / Small business (VAT-exempt) / Not VAT-registered
• VAT ID (required for VAT-registered partners)

Partners save these together with the profile Update button. Payout requests are blocked until the details are complete — the payout window shows a prompt with a link to fill them in, and a reminder to review them once completed.

How-to article for partners →

What the document contains

For each payout, Partnero generates a PDF that includes:

• The correct local title (e.g. Gutschrift / Autofacturation / Self-billing invoice)
• Supplier (partner) and recipient (your) details, with both VAT IDs where applicable
• The service period covered by the commissions
• Net amount, VAT line, and total
• The applicable legal note, based on the partner's situation:
  • Domestic partner → your country's VAT rate applied
  • Other EU, VAT-registered partner → reverse charge (0%, VAT accounted for by the recipient)
  • Small business / not VAT-registered → no VAT, with the relevant exemption note
  • Outside scope → 0% with an "outside VAT scope" note

The document is attached to the payout automatically. Payout amounts remain your net commission — enabling self-billing does not change how much a partner is paid.

FAQ

• Does this change payout amounts?
  No. Amounts stay net; the document only presents VAT.
• A partner is a small business; will VAT be added?
  No. Small-business partners get a 0% / VAT-exempt document.
• My country isn't listed.
  Non-supported jurisdictions won't generate a self-billing document; use the standard invoice modes instead.
• What if document generation fails?
  The payout still goes through; the document can be regenerated.