Printful, Printify and Gelato Invoices in UK Bookkeeping

Every Printful, Printify or Gelato charge is the cost of making and posting one customer order, so it belongs in cost of sales against that order. Wallet top-ups are prepayments, not costs. Refunds and reprints adjust the original order's cost. Whether the VAT on those charges can be reclaimed depends on your VAT registration, where the item was produced and whether you hold a valid VAT invoice in your business name.

This article is part of our dropshipping and print-on-demand accounting guide. It covers the records each supplier gives you, how to post them and how the VAT works for UK sellers.

How Each Supplier Bills You

The three main print-on-demand suppliers charge in slightly different ways, and the difference decides which document you match to each sale.

• Printful charges your saved card or Printful Wallet for production and shipping when an order is placed, then sends it to production. Refunds go back to the Wallet by default. Invoices can be downloaded from the Wallet area as PDF or CSV, individually or in bulk.
• Printify charges when an order is sent to production, taking any Printify Balance first and the rest from your card. Invoices are in the Wallet area as PDF or CSV.
• Gelato issues a receipt for every order by default. You can switch to one monthly invoice that groups all orders by billing entity, tax rate and currency, though the change only covers orders placed after you make it.

Because the charge often lands before the marketplace or Shopify pays you, the cost can show in your bank a few days ahead of the sale cash. On accruals, match the cost to the sale in the same period instead of following the bank dates.

Posting Supplier Charges as Cost of Sales

Treat each supplier charge as the cost of goods sold for one order. Production and shipping both belong there, because both are part of getting the item to the customer. Match each charge to the store order using the order number your supplier carries over from Shopify or Etsy, and check a sample at least monthly so mismatches do not build up.

Hundreds of small charges are where bookkeeping goes wrong. An import or connector can post them in bulk, but test it on a month of real orders first, especially for currency, refunds and duplicates. Our guide to ecommerce accounting software covers what to check before relying on one.

VAT When You Are Not VAT Registered

If you are below the registration threshold and not registered, you cannot reclaim the VAT your supplier charges. Record the full amount, VAT included, as cost of sales and price your products with that in mind. Gelato's own guidance makes the same point to non-registered merchants.

The supplier VAT does not count towards the £90,000 threshold. That test looks at your own taxable sales over the last 12 months, which GOV.UK's VAT registration guidance sets out. Once you register, you can usually reclaim VAT on goods you still hold, but print-on-demand items are sold as they are made, so earlier order VAT normally stays a cost.

VAT When You Are VAT Registered

Once you are registered, the treatment turns on where the item was produced and the size of the consignment.

• Made and posted within the UK: Printful states that it is registered for UK VAT and charges 20% on all orders fulfilled and shipped within the UK. Gelato also charges 20% on UK-produced orders. You reclaim it as input tax, provided you hold a valid VAT invoice.
• Made abroad and posted to a UK customer, £135 or less per consignment: if your UK VAT number is saved in the supplier's dashboard, the supplier should not charge UK VAT and you account for it yourself under the reverse charge. Printful's UK page says it does not charge VAT on product orders fulfilled overseas for VAT-registered sellers and that you handle it in your VAT returns.
• Made abroad, over £135 per consignment: normal import VAT and customs rules apply at the border. Printful warns that the recipient may face VAT or customs charges, which means your customer could receive a bill on delivery.

Under the reverse charge you put the VAT on the supplier charge in your return as output tax and claim the same amount as input tax. For a fully taxable business the two cancel out, but both figures still need to appear. Without your VAT number on file, the supplier may charge 20% on these orders instead, and that VAT is not a reverse charge you can simply net off.

Your own sales are separate from all of this. As a registered seller you charge VAT on the full price the customer pays, including any shipping charge, whatever your supplier charged you.

The Records HMRC Expects

To reclaim input tax, you need a valid VAT invoice. A card statement or order confirmation email is not enough. HMRC's VAT record keeping notice lists what a full invoice must show, including the supplier's VAT number, the date, a description, the VAT rate and the VAT in sterling. Keep VAT records for at least six years.

• Download supplier invoices for each VAT period in one batch, or switch Gelato to monthly invoices, so each quarter has one complete set.
• Check that invoices show your business name and address, not a personal name.
• Keep the store order export and the payout reports alongside the supplier invoices, so any order can be traced from sale to cost to cash.

Changes Coming for Overseas-Made Orders

At the Autumn Budget 2025 the government announced the end of customs duty relief on imports worth £135 or less. Its response, updated on 13 July 2026, says sellers, or marketplaces where they facilitate the sale, will become responsible for customs duty on these low-value imports, with the new arrangements in place by October 2028 at the latest. An extra fee on low-value imports is also planned, though the amount has not been set. The VAT treatment of £135 consignments has not changed.

If a large share of your orders are produced in the US or the EU and posted to UK customers, that duty will feed into your landed cost. It is worth knowing which of your products could be made in the UK instead. For goods coming from further afield, our article on VAT on dropshipping from China covers the wider import rules.

If you would like us to set up your supplier charges and VAT coding properly, see our Shopify accountants service.

Questions Sellers Ask About Print-on-Demand Bookkeeping

Does Printful charge VAT in the UK?

Printful says it charges 20% VAT on orders fulfilled and shipped within the UK. For orders made abroad, it charges 20% up to £135 and nothing above that, and for VAT-registered sellers with a UK VAT number on file it leaves overseas-fulfilled orders for you to account for.

Can I claim back VAT on print-on-demand orders?

Only if you are VAT registered and hold a valid VAT invoice in your business name for each charge. Unregistered sellers record the VAT as part of the cost.

Is a Printful Wallet top-up an expense?

No. It is money paid in advance. The expense is the order charge that later draws from the Wallet.

How should I record a reprint?

If the supplier covers it, there is nothing to record. If you pay for it, add the charge to the cost of the original order.