Invoicing a sponsorship without surprises: VAT, withholding and clients abroad

The details that cannot be missing

Issuer and recipient with name, tax ID and address; a sequential number; issue date; service description; net amount; tax rate and amount; total; and payment terms. If you invoice from Spain as a sole trader, also add the applicable VAT scheme and, where relevant, the income-tax withholding.

The invoice number must be unique and sequential by series and year. Keep the link to the accepted quote: that document is your proof that the price and scope were agreed before you produced anything.

VAT and the reverse charge

If you invoice a company in another EU country with a valid VAT number, the reverse charge normally applies: the invoice goes without VAT and with the corresponding wording. If the client is outside the EU, the service usually falls outside Spanish VAT, with localisation rules that depend on the service.

Before charging, verify the client's VAT number in VIES and save the result. An invalid number can turn an exempt invoice into one with VAT you have to pay out of your own pocket.

Currency and exchange rate

You can quote in USD and invoice in EUR, but the document has to be coherent: amount in the invoice currency, exchange rate applied and date. If payment arrives weeks later, decide who absorbs the difference and write it in the terms.

For quotes with US brands it is usually better to invoice in USD and receive by transfer or Stripe Invoicing. Check the fees: an international transfer can cost USD 15–40, and that should be in your price.

Contracts and payment terms

Attach the invoice to a contract or an email acceptance referencing the quote. Include delivery date, number of revisions, usage rights and a late-payment penalty. If the brand imposes 60 or 90 days, consider a 30–50% deposit or raise the price to cover the financing.

If you are not paid, claim in writing with the invoice number and due date, and move to a formal reminder after 15 days. Most delays are solved with an orderly email, not with a lawsuit.

Credit notes and corrections

If you get an amount wrong, if the brand cancels part of the order or if you refund a deposit, the right document is a credit note, not an edited PDF. The credit note references the original invoice number, carries its own sequential number and details the base and the tax it corrects; the original invoice is neither deleted nor replaced.

Correct it as well when the client wants different tax details after issue: cancel with a credit note for the full amount and issue a new invoice with the next number. Keep both versions. In an audit, an invoice edited without a trail is worth less than a documented correction, and an unapplied credit note is the first thing that throws a quarter out of balance.

The link between quote and invoice

The invoice must be traceable to the accepted quote: same reference, same deliverables, same amount. If the brand pays against a purchase order, that number goes on the invoice. Without the link, any claim starts by arguing what was bought, and by then you have lost time and credibility.

If the amount changes mid-project, invoice what was delivered and correct it with a credit note; do not rewrite the original document. A clean record is worth more in an audit than any verbal explanation, and it tells you what you are owed without opening five emails.

• Reference to the quote or the purchase order.
• One line per deliverable, with a publication date.
• Corrections by credit note, never by editing the PDF.

Series, numbering and filing

Use one series per year and a consecutive number with no gaps. If you void an invoice, the series keeps that number and the credit note references it; a gap with no trail is the first thing an auditor notices and the first thing a client takes time to argue about.

File every invoice with its proof of sending and, where it exists, the brand's acknowledgement. On a late payment, that acknowledgement is the proof the clock started, and it turns a friendly reminder into a dated claim.

• Annual series, numbering with no gaps.
• Copy of the sending and the acknowledgement.
• Credit note referencing the original number.

Deposits and staged payments

On campaigns longer than two weeks, ask for 50% on signature and the rest on publication. The deposit is not distrust: it is the cost of producing before being paid, and it sets the calendar for both sides.

If the brand only pays thirty days after the final invoice, you are financing that term. Reflect it in the price or shorten it in writing; what does not work is discovering it once the work is delivered.

• 50% on signature, 50% on publication.
• The payment term is reflected in the price.

Currency and exchange rate

If you invoice in another currency, state the rate applied and the date on the invoice. An amount converted by eye throws the brand's books out of balance and forces you to justify the difference weeks later, when nobody remembers that day's rate.