Self-billing: invoicing on behalf of your subcontractors
What is self-billing and when is it allowed? How to create invoices in stipt on behalf of subcontractors and freelancers, who then approve them online.
In this guide
- What is self‑billing?
- Is self‑billing allowed in the Netherlands?
- How does self‑billing work in stipt?
- How do you turn on self‑billing and who can use it?
- How do you set who gets paid what?
- When does stipt create a self‑bill?
- How do you send a self‑bill and how does the recipient approve it?
- How do self‑bills get into your bookkeeping?
- Frequently asked questions
Short answer
Self‑billing means that you, as the client, draw up the invoice on behalf of your subcontractor or freelancer instead of waiting for them to bill you. It is allowed when you agree on it in advance and the recipient can accept every invoice. In stipt, the Self‑billing module creates those invoices from your own rates, for example once a record reaches a certain status, and the recipient approves or objects online.
By the makers of stiptUpdated October 5, 20269 min read
What is self‑billing?
Self‑billing means the customer issues the invoice on behalf of whoever did the work. Normally a subcontractor or freelancer sends you an invoice. With self‑billing you turn that around: you create the invoice, send it to the supplier, and they check it and approve it.
It is useful when you work with many people who are paid per job, per unit or per lead. Think of an installation company with a regular crew of self‑employed technicians, a sales company that pays lead sources a fee per record, or a business that pays internal staff as an external service. After all, you already know what work was done and what the agreed rate is.
The benefit: you do not have to wait for everyone to bill you, you do not get a pile of invoices in different formats to check, and numbering, VAT treatment and billing details are consistent across the board.
Is self‑billing allowed in the Netherlands?
Yes, invoicing by the customer is allowed in the Netherlands, but not without conditions. The main one is that you and the supplier agree on it in advance. Preferably put that agreement in writing, for example in the contract with your subcontractor, including that they check and accept every invoice.
The invoice itself has to meet the same requirements as any other invoice: among other things a unique number, the date, the details and VAT numbers of both parties, a description of the work, the amounts and the VAT. It also states that the invoice was issued by the customer. Self‑billing changes who draws up the invoice, not who reports which VAT.
Whether VAT is charged or reverse‑charged depends on your situation, for example on the type of work. This is not tax advice: have your accountant or tax adviser check the agreement and the VAT treatment per supplier.
How does self‑billing work in stipt?
In stipt, self‑billing is a module. You set up once who you pay (the recipients) and what someone in a role gets for a type of record (the rates). A recipient can be an external partner, an internal contact such as a self‑employed technician, or a lead source.
As soon as a record reaches the moment you chose for the rate, stipt prepares a draft with the right amounts. That moment is a status of the record, for example “ready for invoicing”, or the approved form of the appointment. You can also set a rate to Manual only; then you create the draft yourself.
You check the draft and send it. The invoice only gets its number when you send it. The recipient gets an email with a link, approves or objects, and you see where things stand on the Self‑billing page: Draft, Sent, Approved or Objected.
How do you turn on self‑billing and who can use it?
Self‑billing is off by default. An admin installs the module in the Module center, under Settings > Modules. The Guide tab on the module page then walks you through the setup step by step, from your own company details to sending your first drafts.
Start with your own details, because your company appears as the customer on every self‑bill. Under Settings > Company details, fill in the legal details (legal name, Chamber of Commerce number, VAT number and invoice email) and the office address. If they are missing, stipt refuses to send, so no invoice number is spent on an invoice that is not valid.
The Self‑billing page in the menu is available to admins and to Users with the Self‑billing add‑on. You enable that add‑on per member in member management. It costs € 20 per User per month on annual billing, or € 24 on monthly billing, excluding VAT. For admins it is included.
How do you set who gets paid what?
On the Recipients tab you turn on self‑billing per person or organisation and fill in the billing details: legal name, Chamber of Commerce number, VAT number, address and IBAN. This is also where you choose the recipient's VAT treatment: Reverse charge, or Standard VAT with a rate. If a technician works under a team lead's company, one click copies the team lead's details.
The Rates tab shows a matrix: per role, such as Surveyor or Installer, and per record type, such as Solar panels or Heat pump, the rate most people get. If someone gets something different, you make an exception. You create a rate with New rate as a single sentence, for example: a Surveyor gets € 45 per completed survey once the record reaches a certain status.
A rate can be more than a fixed amount. You combine parts: a fixed amount, a percentage, an amount per unit (for example per solar panel) or tiers. Each part can carry conditions, and you can set a minimum and a maximum on the total. Below every formula you run a preview, so you see what will end up on the invoice.
When does stipt create a self‑bill?
Per role and record type you choose the moment. Usually that is a status of the record: when the record reaches it, stipt creates a draft for whoever holds the role at that moment. If the role is tied to an appointment, you also pick which appointment types are paid out. stipt then looks at the completed appointments of that type, and the agenda lane that completed the appointment gets the self‑bill. You can also pay out as soon as the appointment's form is approved, such as the technician's work order.
The amount is calculated over the record's products as the products module shows them: the quote lines plus manually added extra work. The amount is fixed at the moment the draft is created. If something changes afterwards, click Recalculate in the draft.
A role on a record always holds exactly one person, so a record produces at most one self‑bill per role and double payouts cannot happen. If no self‑bill was created when one should have been, for example because the recipient's billing details are missing or there is no rate, stipt lists the record under Not paid out on the Self‑billing page, with the reason. From there you create the draft after all or dismiss the notice.
How do you send a self‑bill and how does the recipient approve it?
Open a draft on the Self‑billing page, check the lines and click Send. You can also tick several drafts and send them in one go; each one gets the next number from a single continuous sequence. Under Regarding you find the customer name, the record type, the job address and the stipt ID, so the recipient sees which job the amount belongs to. To explain something, write a note to the recipient; it appears in the email and on the web page, not on the PDF.
The recipient gets an email with a link to a page where, without logging in, they view the invoice and download the PDF. There they approve by entering their name, or object with a reason. The invoice shows a payment term, by default 14 days after the invoice date, provided they accept within that term.
After an objection, click Edit and reissue: the invoice becomes a draft again, you adjust the lines and send it again under the same number. You can also withdraw a sent invoice and later reopen it as a draft. If the email did not arrive, the status reads Not delivered and you send it again.
How do self‑bills get into your bookkeeping?
Every sent self‑bill comes with a UBL file next to the PDF: the same invoice, but machine‑readable. Accounting packages and scan‑and‑recognise services read the number, date, lines, amounts and VAT scheme straight from it. For your supplier it is their sales invoice, for you a purchase invoice. The file is marked as issued by the customer, and with reverse‑charge VAT it carries the VAT numbers of both parties.
If you would rather not book them yourself, turn on Process in your own bookkeeping in the Self‑billing settings and enter a processing address: your Basecone or Yuki address, your Moneybird inbox, Exact scan and recognise, or simply your bookkeeper. As soon as the supplier approves, the invoice goes there with the PDF and UBL attached.
The trigger is the approval, not the sending. A self‑bill can only be approved once, so the same invoice never enters your books twice. An invoice with an objection does not enter them until you have corrected and reissued it.
Frequently asked questions
Does my subcontractor need a stipt account?
No. The link in the email opens a page where they approve or object without logging in. If you turn on the partner page, they also get a page of their own with all their self‑bills and the work behind them, which they open through the email link or with a code sent by email.
What does self‑billing cost in stipt?
You install the module in the Module center. Anyone who uses the Self‑billing page needs the add‑on: € 20 per User per month on annual billing or € 24 on monthly billing, excluding VAT. For admins it is included.
Can I pay someone per unit or with tiers?
Yes. A rate combines parts: fixed amount, percentage, amount per unit and tiers, with conditions per part. Each part becomes its own line on the invoice, so the recipient sees where their amount comes from.
Can a job accidentally be paid out twice?
Not through the same role. A role on a record holds exactly one person, so each role produces at most one self‑bill. To pay two technicians on one job, you create two roles, each with its own rate.
Which VAT goes on a self‑bill?
You set that per recipient: Reverse charge, or Standard VAT with a rate. A recipient without their own choice is on reverse charge. Which treatment is right depends on your situation, so check it with your accountant.
Can a rate depend on how well someone works?
Yes, with the stipt level module. You then vary a rate per level, for example a higher amount per job for technicians on the top level. The self‑bill uses the level on the day of the appointment and fixes it.
Keep reading. More guides on related topics.
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