Selling internationally means applying the right rule for each market.
As soon as you leave your country, each market has its rules: its currency, its language, its VAT, its delivery fees. E-commerces that receive their first foreign customer discover it quickly: you display the wrong price, you bill the wrong VAT, you offer delivery methods that don't exist there.
Our approach is simple: instead of forcing your customer to adapt to your store, it's the store that adapts to them. We set up an international e-commerce where the price, the language, the VAT and the delivery adjust automatically according to the customer's location, with compliant invoicing in each country where you sell.
The telltale signs
An e-commerce that isn't international shows from the first foreign customer
These aren't extreme cases: they're the situations that recur at most clients who sell, or want to sell, in other countries.
Prices displayed in the wrong currency
A Swiss or British customer sees your prices in euros, while they pay in Swiss francs or pounds sterling. A price isn't translated: it's thought out for the market, with its currency and its tiers.
The wrong VAT applied to the invoice
An intra-community B2B sale that should be VAT-exempt, billed with 20% French VAT. Conversely, a delivery to an individual abroad, on which you apply your rate instead of the local rate.
Inconsistent delivery fees depending on the country
Shipping fees are calculated for a single territory and apply as is internationally: too high on some markets, too low on others, with delivery methods that don't cover the zone.
Language confused with country
A customer based in Germany who wants to browse in French is forced to display everything in German. Conversely, a French-speaking customer based in Switzerland can't view Swiss prices and conditions.
B2B VAT numbers checked by hand
Every business customer asks for tax-exempt invoicing, and you're the one checking their intra-community VAT number, on an official site, by copy-pasting. It's long, it's fragile, and it blocks the order.
What we put in place
A store that adapts to the market, not the other way around
We don't settle for a "multilingual" site: we build the mechanics that make each customer, wherever they are, see the right prices, the right language and the right conditions.
The right price and the right delivery, depending on the customer
Prices and delivery methods adapt to the customer's location. A customer in Berlin sees prices in euros and German carriers, a customer in Paris sees the French configuration. The customer has nothing to configure: everything is automatic.
Language and country, separated
Translating the site isn't enough. We manage country and language as two independent selectors: each page can be translated without being tied to a country, and a country's prices can apply without imposing its language.
B2B VAT validated automatically
For each business customer, the intra-community VAT number is verified via the official VIES API of the European Commission. If it's valid, the invoice goes out exempt; otherwise, VAT applies and the customer is notified before ordering.
Compliant invoicing in each country
The right VAT is calculated on each invoice, for each country where you sell: local rate for B2C, intra-community exemption for B2B, territoriality rules applied. You sell abroad without worrying about compliance.
Frequently asked questions
What clients ask us about VAT and international
The questions that come up before setting up an international e-commerce, and our answers.
