Checklist for first-timers
Thank you for your registration at Invoicery.fi! Below you will find instructions and tips on how to proceed from here on out:
1. Personal information, tax card and YEL-pension insurance
After the registration, please fill in all personal information on our website for the upcoming salary payments. You can do it by logging in to your own Invoicery account and filling in all the fields at “Personal information” and “Bank information” at the left side under “Settings.”
You can download a copy of your tax card at ”Uploads” at the left side as well. Please keep an eye on your income limit, and, if needed, send us a copy of your new tax card if your tax percentage changes. Additionally, if you need a work permit for Finland, please make sure that it allows you to work as a light entrepreneur.
When invoicing via Invoicery you are a so-called light entrepreneur and might therefore be obligated to get a YEL-pension insurance if your work as a light entrepreneur fulfills certain criteria (https://www.etk.fi/en/finnish-pension-system/pension-security/pension-coverage-and-insurance/self-employed/). Please inform us to info@invoicery.fi if you have a valid YEL-insurance or if you get it later when using our services. In that case we will withdraw and account to the Finnish tax authorities a so-called ”employer’s health insurance contribution”, which is 1,34% from your salary (2022).
2. Preregistration and service agreement template.
Preregistration form, that can be found on the first page of your Invoicery account, must be filled in before the start of a future assignment, as the name implies. Please remember to do it well in advance so that we can verify and accept that the intended work assignment is suitable for invoicing through us. By filling in the preregistration form, we can also confirm whether the work you do is covered by our liability insurance and pay your salary within 5 banking days of creating the invoice *.
Service agreement template is a document that you can use to agree on a work assignment with your client. Invoicery is not a part of this agreement and the use of this agreement is entirely voluntary.
3. Work assignment
Now, let’s get to work!
4. Invoicing
Once the work assignment is completed it is time to create an invoice for your client. An invoice is created from the “Create Invoice” button on the front page of your Invoicery account. Please remember to fill in your customer information, billing amount and VAT amount correctly. Our customer service will be happy to help you if you are not sure what VAT rate you should use. If your customer is foreign and has a so-called VAT number, please fill in the VAT number instead of the business ID.
You should also add working days, working hours and job description to the invoice. Working days and hours are shown on the invoice only if you wish. The job description will appear on your client's invoice.
You can invoice expenses, daily allowances and kilometer allowances related to the assignment, if you have agreed on this with your client. Please note that only costs directly related to the assignment and used in full can be invoiced through Invoicery. These can be, for example, travel tickets and hotel nights related to a business trip, or, for example, the paints used in their entirety for an individual painting gig. However, you cannot add to the invoice as an expense, for example, a computer, a telephone bill, a camera, or a ladder used for a painting gig, which can be used for several assignments and where there is a risk of private use.
When invoicing expenses, please remember to check that the receipt shows all the necessary information (what was purchased, from whom, the business ID, date, the amount and what the tax rate was) and upload copies of the receipts to the “Uploads” section. If there is any ambiguity in the receipts or we are unable to accept the expense added to the invoice for one reason or another, the amount of the expense already invoiced will be paid to you as a regular salary and will be subject to a normal withholding tax.
Meals or representation expenses cannot be added to the invoice as an expense, but you can agree with your client on a daily allowance to cover food expenses incurred during the business trip. In 2021, the full-time daily allowance in Finland is 45 euros and the half-day allowance 20 euros. The amounts of daily allowances abroad can be checked on the Vero.fi page. The kilometer allowance in 2021 is 0.46 euros per km. More information can be found on the Vero.fi website.
After you have saved the invoice, Invoicery checks and approves it and the invoice is forwarded to your customer.
5. Salary payment
After having accepted your invoice, we will pay your salary within five banking days (If we have accepted your pre-registration and the invoice amount does not exceed 5000 euros). Otherwise we will pay within five banking days after your client has paid the invoice. The salary will be paid to the bank account you provided us in your Invoicery account. The withholding tax based on your tax card, Invoicery’s service fee (6%) and employer's health insurance fee (if you have a valid YEL insurance) will be deducted from the VAT-free invoice amount. No withholding tax will be applied on expenses, daily allowances and kilometer allowances.
Invoicery sends your salary information directly to the Income Register and you will find your salary statement in the “Uploads” section of your Invoicery account after the salary payment.
6. Get yourself a new work assignment, rinse and repeat!
As your personal information and your customer's billing information can already be found in the system, you don't have to fill in every single field if there have been no changes to either information!
GOOD TO KNOW!
A light entrepreneur is not an employee and is therefore not covered by the employee's pension insurance, so the social security of a light entrepreneur is based on the YEL insurance mentioned above. Thus, income earned as a light entrepreneur may affect your social security and it may be a good idea to find out in advance the potential impact of income on your own situation.
Using an invoicing service gives you the freedom and opportunity to do occasional or freelance work without a business ID. However, it is good for a light entrepreneur to be aware of the particular laws of light entrepreneurship that we are trying to clarify for you in this document. We hope that this helps you and you can get your activity up and rolling with these tips. However, if you still have questions, please contact our customer service which is open from Monday to Friday at. 10-17 at info@invoicery.fi and at +358 (0) 20 7300 320.