Invoicing for IT consultants — freelance, agencies, EU B2B
Freelance IT consultants, developers, and agencies are one of the fastest-growing segments in Slovak VAT bookkeeping. Hourly billing, recurring monthly invoicing to regular clients, and a high share of cross-border B2B deals — mostly to Czechia, Austria, Germany, and the US — are typical. Each category has its own VAT logic: domestic B2B at 23%, intra-EU B2B services with reverse charge (§ 15), exports outside the EU at 0% (§ 47). This guide breaks IT-consultant invoicing into concrete scenarios and shows when to apply which rate.
What you wrestle with daily.
Four concrete problems almost everyone in this industry hits. You'll find a fix for each below — or the full set in the 1FAKTURA cloud product.
01
Monthly recurring invoices to regular clients
A client pays €1,500/month for ongoing development. Issuing manually every month = 5 minutes wasted + risk of a typo in the VS or date. Templates and recurring invoices solve this.
02
Intra-EU B2B services (reverse charge § 15)
A client in Germany with a German VAT ID. You invoice without Slovak VAT (0% + § 15 notice). A misclassification risks a 23% VAT add-back from the tax office.
03
US / non-EU client — service export
A client in Texas pays USD to your Slovak account. The invoice is 0% VAT (§ 47 export), but only if you can show the export. For a service the proof is tricky — without proper documentation you face sanctions.
04
Hourly vs flat-fee invoicing
Some clients want a monthly hours statement (32.5 h × €65/h), others a flat €2,500. Accounting-wise both are the same, but on the invoice the line description must match the contract — otherwise the client objects.
Which VAT regime applies.
Reference: § 15(1) + § 47 of Slovak VAT Act 222/2004 Coll.
Full statute: slov-lex.sk.
For IT consultants, VAT splits into three worlds. First: domestic B2B (Slovak client, VAT payer) — a classic invoice at 23%, no exceptions. Second: intra-EU B2B (client in another EU country with a valid VAT ID) — § 15(1) of the VAT Act applies: place of supply is at the recipient, the invoice carries 0% VAT with the notice "Reverse charge — § 15(1) of the VAT Act. Tax declared by the recipient." The client records VAT in their country per local rules. Third: export outside the EU (US, UK post-Brexit, AU, AS, …) — § 47 of the VAT Act applies: 0% VAT with the notice "VAT exemption — export of services outside the EU." Proving export for a service is harder than for goods — we recommend a contract showing the client's non-EU address plus actual service location abroad. To check a specific case (especially an EU client without a VAT ID), use our free checker.
Monthly invoice for a German B2B client
Intra-EU reverse charge — § 15(1) — 0% VAT with notice.
| Item | Qty | Price | VAT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backend development — April 2026 (32 h) | 1 hr | €75.00 | 0 % | €75.00 |
| Code review and pair programming (4 h) | 1 hr | €75.00 | 0 % | €75.00 |
| Weekly status meetings (4 × 0.5 h) | 1 hr | €75.00 | 0 % | €75.00 |
| Net subtotal | €225.00 | |||
| VAT total | €0.00 | |||
| Amount due | €225.00 | |||
This is an indicative example. The actual line items and totals depend on the specific engagement and supply type.
Built for your industry.
For an instant start, try the free generator — no signup, no waiting for confirmation emails.
Open the generator →1FAKTURA for IT consultants works on four key points. Recurring monthly invoices — template a regular client once, future invoices generate in one click (or automatically on day 1 of the month). Per-invoice VAT regime — the "foreign invoice" type adds § 43 / § 47 / § 15 notices automatically per the chosen combination. Multi-currency — invoicing in USD for a US client runs alongside EUR invoices. UBL 2.1 XML for 2027 — ready for mandatory B2B e-invoicing between Slovak VAT payers (cross-border B2B follows Peppol BIS 3.0). And the whole workload in one source — no Excel timesheets, no CSV exports for the accountant.
Which 1FAKTURA plan to pick.
A solo IT freelancer with 1–5 monthly clients does fine on Plan Start (€0 forever). For developers with 5–15 clients and hourly statements we recommend Plan Lite — adding recurring invoices, hourly statements as a PDF attachment, and Pohoda / Money S3 exports. For IT agencies with a team of 5+ and an in-house accountant, Plan Pro with API integration to your time-tracking tool (Toggl, Harvest, Clockify) is the right fit.
Frequently asked
about invoicing in this industry.
Something missing? Email us — we answer within 4 hours on a business day.
info@1faktura.skClient in Germany has a VAT ID — do I invoice at 0% or 23%?+
Client in the US — do I invoice in USD or EUR?+
Client pays via Wise / Stripe — can I invoice to a Slovak IBAN?+
Hourly statements as an invoice attachment — mandatory?+
I'm a freelance developer not registered for VAT — can I invoice clients in Germany?+
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