Business Customer Invoices on Amazon: VCS and Invoice by Amazon

In brief: when a business customer buys from you on Amazon, they expect a proper VAT invoice. Amazon's rule, set out on 22 September 2022, is that you have one working day after dispatch to upload it. The free VAT Calculation Service (VCS) removes the job: it generates business invoices automatically and shows VAT-exclusive prices to business buyers. On 2 November 2022 Amazon promoted Invoice by Amazon, which requires VCS: your offers can be bought and instantly resold by Amazon to business customers, with Amazon issuing the invoice as a "single supplier".

Invoice by Amazon versus uploading your own

Option	Who issues the invoice	What you do
Upload your own	You	Upload a VAT invoice within one working day of dispatch
VAT Calculation Service	Amazon, on your behalf	Turn on VCS; invoices are generated automatically
Invoice by Amazon	Amazon, as the seller to the business	Turn on VCS, then enrol; Amazon buys your item and resells it

Why Invoice by Amazon exists

Large companies prefer buying from one supplier because it simplifies their accounting. With it, a business buying from ten different sellers gets every invoice from Amazon.

A worked example

A seller of office supplies gets 200 business orders a month. Uploading invoices by hand at 3 minutes each takes 10 hours a month (200 × 3 ÷ 60). With VCS the invoices are generated automatically; with the programme switched on, the business buyer deals with Amazon as its supplier.

What it means for your bookkeeping

• VCS invoices are your sales records. When VCS invoices for you, the VAT on each sale is what VCS calculated — your books should match its reports, not a flat 20%.

• Invoice by Amazon changes who you sold to. If Amazon buys and resells the item, your sale is effectively to Amazon rather than to the business. Take the VAT treatment from Amazon's VCS documents and agree it with your accountant.

• Missing invoices are a compliance risk. Business buyers need them to reclaim VAT, and the one-day rule is Amazon's.

• Check the VAT codes. Business invoices can carry treatments your normal sales don't, so map them carefully — see Amazon VAT tax codes in Xero and zero-rated versus standard-rated sales.

How TrueBooks helps

TrueBooks posts every Amazon sale and refund to Xero with the right UK VAT and has a VAT audit view by HMRC box, so business sales with unusual VAT stand out. See the Amazon Xero integration.