Estonian OÜs billing clients worldwide: collecting euros, dollars and pounds in full

A three-person Tallinn development studio has no Estonian clients. It bills a fintech in Berlin, an agency in London and a startup in San Francisco. Berlin pays euros by SEPA within a day. London pays euros by international transfer after converting pounds at its bank. San Francisco wires dollars, which a euro account converts on arrival, minus an intermediary fee.

The invoice

For most services to businesses abroad, an Estonian OÜ charges no Estonian VAT:

• EU business clients account for VAT under the reverse charge. The invoice shows their VAT number and, if you are registered, yours, plus the reverse charge wording.
• Clients outside the EU, such as in the UK or US, are outside the scope of Estonian VAT. The invoice states this.

Small OÜs below the VAT registration threshold may not be registered at all. Check how foreign services count towards the threshold with the Tax and Customs Board.

Invoice in their currency

A London agency budgets in pounds and a San Francisco startup in dollars. Invoicing them in euros makes them convert and slows approval. Invoice in their currency, record it in euros at a documented rate, and let them pay the way they pay everyone else.

Collect on their rails

• Euro area: a euro IBAN, paid by SEPA, often instantly.
• UK: sterling details, paid by Faster Payments in seconds.
• US: US account details, paid by ACH in one to two business days.

Each arrives in full, in the invoiced currency, without intermediary deductions or a bank conversion on arrival.

The W-8BEN-E

US clients will ask for Form W-8BEN-E before paying. It confirms the OÜ is foreign. For services performed outside the US, payments are generally made without withholding; the Estonia-US tax treaty covers other income.

Spend before you convert

Small studios often pay for tools, hosting and subcontractors in dollars, and sometimes for freelancers in pounds. Paying those from the matching balance means less revenue needs converting. Convert the surplus to euros when you need it, at a rate you see first.

Paying into Estonia: the local rail

Source: European Payments Council: SEPA Instant Credit Transfer. Checked when this guide was last updated; the scheme's own page has the current figures.

Where Rivet fits

A Rivet business account gives an Estonian OÜ US account details in its own name on every plan and, from the Growth plan, euro details with an IBAN and sterling details for Faster Payments. Payments are matched to invoices, balances can be held or converted at a rate shown before you confirm, and Visa company cards spend from any balance. Rivet is not a bank; regulated partner institutions hold the funds.