Invoicing software with copyright royalties: new in Billnado

An assignment can involve more than the service itself. If you also agree a fee with your customer for the use of your work, you want that breakdown to appear clearly on the invoice.

Billnado’s invoicing software now supports copyright royalties on sales invoices. The new Copyright royalties feature lets you indicate which part of each invoice line is copyright remuneration. You keep using your familiar invoicing workflow, with a clear statement on the documents your customer receives.

At launch, one arrangement is available: your own organisation handles the withholding tax declaration and payment. Your customer pays the full invoice amount without withholding any tax.

One amount, a clear breakdown

You choose which lines include copyright royalties and the share you have agreed. When you enable the option on a line, Billnado suggests 30%. You can reduce that share; the permitted percentage is greater than 0% and no more than 30% for remuneration combined with a service.

A simple example: for a line amount of €1,000 excluding VAT after discount and a 30% share, Billnado shows €300 in copyright remuneration and €700 for the service. Together, they still total €1,000. The breakdown adds no extra charge and does not change the invoice total.

The feature is available on lines with 21% VAT, 6% VAT or VAT exemption. The selected VAT treatment continues to apply.

Visible on your documents too

The standard PDF generated by Billnado shows the service and copyright remuneration with their percentages and amounts. The generated electronic invoice in UBL also includes the breakdown as a note on the line.

For a Belgian administration, Billnado additionally states that your organisation handles the withholding tax and that the customer pays the full amount. Your customer therefore receives an explanation of the chosen arrangement with the invoice.

Your organisation handles the tax

Billnado helps you make the agreed remuneration visible. The feature does not calculate withholding tax or submit a tax declaration. Your organisation handles the declaration and payment outside Billnado. The copyright royalty percentage is the share of the remuneration, not the tax rate.

The tax regime has its own conditions. Discuss with your accountant whether they apply to your situation and whether this arrangement matches your agreements. VLAIO provides an overview of the regime for copyright and related rights (in Dutch).

Invoice copyright royalties in Billnado

With an active Billnado licence, you can enable the feature under Settings → Company settings, in the Copyright royalties card. You then choose the share on the relevant sales invoice lines.

For the full explanation, a calculation example and points to check on your documents, read the Copyright royalties on sales invoices guide.