Monetizing side projects as an EU citizen. Accepting payments without worrying about taxes.
You got a new idea for your side project. You spend few weeks on the implementation working in your free time after work. Right now you want to integrate a payment system but you realize about this mysterious topic: taxes. You start reading about it and you find out about VAT, GST, different rates depending on multiple conditions. What's more, you're a European Union citizen - VAT MOSS and your country's regulations don't make things simpler... But you wanted to focus on the product, not on taxes!
I've been in that place. That's why I abandoned one of the recent projects. If I had known about handling taxes in the EU a bit earlier, probably I would have chosen a different idea.
Defining a monetization strategy is a crucial step when you plan your next side business. Being able to earn money while not spending a ton of time on taxes and bureaucracy is invaluable. Dealing with all the paperwork can kill your inspiration.
A merchant of record is an entity that sells goods or services on your behalf. It handles all the various taxes for you. You don't need to worry about different VAT taxes, rates, and so on. If you earn money, it pays you out on regular basis (i.e. once per week) and you only need to handle income tax on your own.
