The accounts team at a mid-sized consulting firm in Amsterdam spent three days chasing a VAT invoice for a €140 airport transfer. The receipt had arrived automatically. The driver had been excellent. The ride was completed without a hitch. But without the VAT invoice, their finance department couldn't process the expense, and the employee was out of pocket until it was resolved. Three days for a document that should have taken three minutes.This is a more common problem than it should be — and almost always avoidable.
Receipt vs. VAT Invoice
Most people use these terms interchangeably. Legally, they're distinct, and confusing them is where most invoicing friction starts.A receipt confirms payment happened. It shows the date, amount, and payer name. That's enough for many internal expense reports, but it doesn't satisfy VAT-reclaim requirements.A VAT invoice is the formal document: supplier's VAT registration number, a breakdown of the amount and the VAT component, an invoice number. If your company is VAT-registered and wants to reclaim the tax on a transfer, you need the VAT invoice. A receipt won't do it.Most platforms issue receipts automatically. VAT invoices are usually available through the billing section of your account — but they often won't be sent unless you request them. Worth checking your account settings before your next trip rather than after.
When Does the Invoice Actually Arrive?
For prepaid bookings — which is how most private transfer platforms work — the receipt or invoice is typically generated within 30 minutes of the journey completing. The trigger is the driver marking the ride as done in their app. The document then gets emailed to the address used at booking.If nothing arrives within an hour:First, check spam. Automated invoice emails from new senders land there with frustrating regularity. Second, log into your platform account and check the bookings or receipts section — the document is usually available there before the email catches up. If neither works, contact support with your booking reference. That single piece of information is what resolves these situations quickly. Without it, the process is slower.
Corporate Accounts Work Differently
Companies with a corporate account don't get individual receipts per ride. Instead, a consolidated invoice covers all rides made by all employees on the account during the billing period — typically issued on the 1st to 5th of the following month, itemised by date, passenger, route, and amount.The most common source of discrepancies in corporate travel invoicing: a booking made under a personal account instead of the corporate one. It's an easy mistake and a genuinely annoying one to unpick after the fact. If a specific trip isn't showing on the monthly invoice, that's usually why.
International Transfers: Whose VAT Applies?
A UK company booking a transfer in Germany pays German VAT. The rule is where the service was performed, not where the company is based. Some platforms invoice in the local currency of the transfer; others use the payment currency. If your finance team needs a specific currency for reconciliation, check the platform's invoicing settings before travel — not after, when you're already arguing with a spreadsheet.
When the Invoice Just Doesn't Show Up
Persistent non-delivery beyond the spam-folder check is almost always one of three things: the email address on the booking is wrong, the booking was made as a guest without an account and the automation failed, or there's a system delay.Contact support with four pieces of information: booking reference, travel date, route, and the email address the invoice should go to. With those, any platform can reissue within minutes.
