Selling soundware - legal aspects

[fluffy_little_something]

So, I was thinking of making and selling a sound set, but living in the EU, how does it even work regarding the law? Is it an official business I have to register with the tax authorities? I heard VAT is a huge mess across the EU and beyond. For a small sound designer, is it worth the trouble?
Some sound designers go the PayPal 'donation' path, is that a legal way to get around those challenges?

[blortblort]

So, I was thinking of making and selling a sound set, but living in the EU, how does it even work regarding the law? Is it an official business I have to register with the tax authorities? I heard VAT is a huge mess across the EU and beyond. For a small sound designer, is it worth the trouble?
Some sound designers go the PayPal 'donation' path, is that a legal way to get around those challenges?

I am based in the US, so I do not know the ins/outs of EU business registration rules, etc... but I DO know that the site I am currently using to sell from (sellfy.com) allows you to set up how tax is applied ...including the ability to add VAT when appropriate (I suppose they can identify/confirm the location of the buyer and seller from IP address, etc) In any case, for ME, that aspect of the selling is transparent as the site automatically sorts tax application according to how i've set it up initially. Worth looking into sellfy.com for that reason alone (hopefully there is not too much red tape to navigate regarding EU business registration, etc!)

[fluffy_little_something]

Thanks, that looks interesting. Will investigate that site, never heard of it before...

[Ridan]

So, I was thinking of making and selling a sound set

Look forward to hearing what you make if you decide to go through with it.

Assume it's for Sylenth1?

[resynthesis]

Using services such as the one mentioned certainly make things easier as far as VAT is concerned. The EU rule since 2015 is that VAT in business to customer sales is charged at the buyer country rate so this can be pretty complicated if you directly manage your own sales. There's a bit of info here:

https://theaccountancycloud.co.uk/news/ ... businesses

[fluffy_little_something]

Indeed, it would be Sylenth1 patches. The problem is, that sellfy site starts at $9 a month, not sure I would even sell a single set each month to compensate for that fee. I mean Sylenth1 is old and there are zillions of patches already...

[elassi]

Obviously there's no other way than providing some presets for free and thus find out if the market asks and is waiting for you.

[stardustmedia]

No expert at all, and it seems you neither. No offense.

My recommendation: Why don't you help from experts? I know it might be costly, but at least you won't do illegal business. What about all those e-commerce pages, that a lot of developers use to sell their stuff. Maybe they can support you building your online store, and give you the security of having legal transparent money flows. And I assume good e-commerce pages will handle the VATs automatically as it has to be.

And my other general tip: Do not go any "grey" route. Not illegal, maybe legal. Of course I'm not implying you would ever consider such a thing, since you ask here.

I hope you get it done. Wish you much success, and a lot of fun with it. Let us know when your store is done, so we can help our GAS with your products

BTW: What kind of sound sets, if I may ask?

[fluffy_little_something]

No no, of course I do want to do it all legally. But that can be a challenge...

Well, it will be classic patches, nothing fancy and bombastic, basically for people who make 80's and other old-skool music That is why I assume there would not be many customers, anyway

Pads like this for instance:
https://app.box.com/s/ax9xx4ewa2vvh67s50pugnfskpocola3

[blortblort]

my kind of 80's pad, fls! very nice indeed!
I would buy a set with that sort of flavor certainly.

[sjm]

Check out the Portuguese equivalent of the Chamber of Commerce and/or organisations who offer free advice for small businesses and start-ups. Chances are high you will be able to schedule a meeting with a professional who can answer all your questions about the legal aspects as they apply to Portuguese businesses.

They will also be able to tell you whether what you need to do to register your business, and how to handle VAT. You will almost certainly want to use a payment processor who will handle the VAT aspect of things. Be aware, that they tend to charge quite a bit of commission, and will gouge your customers with currency exchange rates.

KVR isn't the really place to ask about the legal nitty-gritty, as what you need to do will depend entirely on the laws of the country you are based in. Knowing the legal framework for, say, Canadians, will not help you.

[fluffy_little_something]

my kind of 80's pad, fls! very nice indeed!
I would buy a set with that sort of flavor certainly.

Thank you for the encouragement

[fluffy_little_something]

Check out the Portuguese equivalent of the Chamber of Commerce and/or organisations who offer free advice for small businesses and start-ups. Chances are high you will be able to schedule a meeting with a professional who can answer all your questions about the legal aspects as they apply to Portuguese businesses.

They will also be able to tell you whether what you need to do to register your business, and how to handle VAT. You will almost certainly want to use a payment processor who will handle the VAT aspect of things. Be aware, that they tend to charge quite a bit of commission, and will gouge your customers with currency exchange rates.

KVR isn't the really place to ask about the legal nitty-gritty, as what you need to do will depend entirely on the laws of the country you are based in. Knowing the legal framework for, say, Canadians, will not help you.

Sure, I know it works differently from country to country. But at least within the EU I suppose it works similarly in member countries.
"Small business" and "start-up" both sound way too big for what I would be doing. I will never make patches professionally the way Joseph Hollo does, it would be a single set for only one synth, a one-time thing.

I would probably earn so little that it would not be worth it transferring the money from PP to my bank account. Maybe 100 dollars per year.

So, what happens if one does the donation thing? Do people actually donate something or do they just consider it free?

[Zombie Queen]

For a one time thing, get it into someone else's store, like Sampleism. They take a cut, but you don't need to worry about VAT, business etc.

[brick]

Im in Ireland . Its not that complicated . Im pretty sure that if you are selling digital goods in the EU , you are required to register and pay VAT for your European customers...

https://quaderno.io/blog/what-you-must- ... in-europe/

Registering for VAT is pretty straightforward . Every 2 months I log into the Irish revenue site , select the VAT MOSS system , and pay VAT to whichever countries are due . Wordpress offers some pretty extensive accounting / reporting plugins , so its dead simple to see which customers have purchased from the different countries.

As Zombie Queen says , if you're selling one or two products , its probably easier to use a 3rd party site .