Invoices on Etsy and International Marketplaces

There are many small businesses selling handmade products on Etsy, opening stores on Amazon, or shipping internationally via eBay.

The common question is: the platform already generates a document, do I still need to issue an invoice?

The platform document is not your invoice

The order summaries, receipts, or documents titled "invoice" generated by marketplaces are outputs from their own systems. In terms of Turkish tax legislation, they are not documents issued by you.

Since you are the one making the sale, you also issue the invoice. The platform is merely an intermediary.

As for the invoice issued to you by the platform, that is a different matter: it is the invoice for the commission and advertising services it receives, and it is an expense for you.

In other words, there are two separate documents and both must be recorded.

The export side

If the buyer is abroad, the transaction you are making is an export. For small shipments, the Micro Export Customs Declaration (ETGB) process is used and is usually handled by the shipping company.

It is possible to benefit from the export VAT exemption for shipments made within the scope of ETGB. However, this requires the declaration to be closed and the document to be in your possession.

It is not enough for the shipping company to have processed the transaction; make sure to archive the ETGB number and the document. Your financial advisor bases the exemption on this document.

Check out the article on how to issue an export invoice for the document type and scenario.

Where and when does the money come from?

The payout system on international marketplaces works differently than in Turkey and can be confusing in terms of bookkeeping.

The platform deducts its commission, transaction fee, advertising expenses, and refund amounts, if any, from the sales amount, and sends the remainder to your account at certain periods.

Therefore, the amount deposited into your account is never the same as your sales amount. Issuing the invoice over the gross sales and recording deductions as separate expenses is the correct approach.

If you record the net amount as revenue, you both understate your turnover and lose your expenses.

The exchange rate on the day the payment arrives will also be different from the exchange rate on the invoice date; check out the article on what an exchange difference invoice is.

Difference from domestic marketplaces

On domestic marketplaces like Trendyol or Hepsiburada, since the buyer is in Turkey, the transaction is a regular domestic sale: VAT is calculated, and an e-archive or e-invoice is issued.

On international marketplaces, however, export rules apply. If you use both channels together, you need to track your sales separately.

We covered converting domestic marketplace orders into invoices in this article.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to be a taxpayer to sell on Etsy?

If you make continuous sales, yes. If you are selling products you produce yourself, artisan exemption might come into play; check out the article on tax exemption.

The platform is asking for my tax ID, should I provide it?

If you are a taxpayer, it is normal to provide it. This information is requested due to the reporting obligations of platforms in their own countries.

Should I issue a separate invoice for each order?

Since each sale is a separate transaction, as a rule, yes. For high-volume sales, doing this manually is impossible; automated record creation becomes important.

I sell digital products, does it count as an export?

Since there is no physical shipment, service export rules come into play; check out the article on service exports.

International marketplaces make the sales side easier, not the documentation side. Once you establish the gross-net distinction correctly, the rest falls into place.

You can open a free account on Qolay.App and track your domestic and international sales separately.