Checkout fields plugin (VAT, KvK)

The Checkout fields plugin (in WordPress it is called Teamdock Checkout) adds the business fields a Dutch or Belgian shop needs at checkout. It is meant for a WooCommerce shop on its own hosting.

Note

Does Teamdock host your shop? Then you don’t need this plugin: everything below is already in your shop. See Shop hosted by Teamdock. If you install it anyway, it does nothing and tells you that you can deactivate it.

What the plugin adds

• EU VAT number with a VIES check. A BTW / EU VAT number field for buyers in the EU. As soon as the buyer fills it in, the number is checked straight away in VIES, the EU’s VAT database. With a valid number the buyer sees the company name from VIES and can take over the company name and address with Apply company details.
• Reverse charge. A business buyer who bills in another EU country than your shop’s country, with a valid VAT number from that same country, pays no VAT. The cart totals update straight away. A buyer from your own country always pays VAT. When the order is placed, the shop checks the number again, so the final decision is never left to the buyer’s browser.
• KvK number. An optional KvK-nummer field (8 digits). Teamdock uses it to complete the official company details on the invoice.
• Phone required for shipping. If an order has to be shipped, the phone number is required. Not for pickup.
• Address from postcode and house number. For a Dutch address the buyer enters postcode and house number, and street and town are filled in. A street the buyer already typed is never overwritten.
• In wp-admin. On the order screen in WordPress, the VAT number and the KvK number are editable fields, with a Validate VIES button to check a number afterwards.

The plugin works with the new WooCommerce checkout (blocks) and with the classic one.

If VIES cannot be reached for a moment, or a visitor checks a great many numbers in a row, the buyer sees that the number will be checked when the order is placed. The order can still go through.

Installing

You need WordPress 6.6 or newer, PHP 8.1 or newer and an active WooCommerce.

1. In Teamdock, go to Settings → Integrations and choose WordPress plugins or All at the top.

2. Expand Checkout fields (VAT, KvK) and click Download .zip. You also see which version it is.

3. In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the .zip file, click Install Now and then Activate Plugin.

4. Done. There is nothing to set up: the fields are at checkout as soon as the plugin is active.

Put something in the cart and open the checkout to check it.

Updating

A plugin does not update by itself. When the version under Settings → Integrations is newer than the one in your shop, download it again and upload it the same way. WordPress replaces the old version.

Already have a VAT plugin?

Many shops already have a plugin for VAT numbers. Two VAT fields confuse buyers, and both plugins would decide whether VAT is taken off. That is why Teamdock Checkout switches its own VAT check off by itself when another VAT plugin is active. You don’t need to do anything for this.

• On the Plugins screen and in the WooCommerce settings you see a notice naming the plugin that already handles VAT.
• The KvK field, the phone rule and the address from postcode and house number keep working.
• If you deactivate the other VAT plugin, Teamdock’s VAT check comes back on by itself.

The plugin recognises well-known VAT plugins, such as EU/UK VAT Validation Manager for WooCommerce, WooCommerce EU VAT Number, EU VAT Assistant, EU VAT Compliance, VAT Number for WooCommerce and Germanized Pro, and also other active plugins with “vat” or “btw” in their folder name.

Switching the VAT check off yourself

1. In WordPress, go to WooCommerce → Teamdock checkout.

2. Untick VAT check (“Ask for an EU VAT number at checkout and check it with VIES”).

3. Click Save changes.

While another VAT plugin is active you cannot tick the box. The page then explains which plugin already does it.

Frequently asked questions

A Dutch business buyer enters a valid VAT number but still pays VAT. Is that right? Yes. Reverse charge only applies to another EU country than your shop’s country. The number is still kept with the order.

And a buyer from Northern Ireland (XI)? Those numbers are not treated as exempt: the buyer pays VAT. Whether a sale to Northern Ireland may be zero-rated depends on what you sell and on your own registrations. Correct such an order by hand if needed.

Where do I see an order’s VAT and KvK number? In WordPress on the order screen. Teamdock reads them from the order, among other things for the invoice. See Invoices.