How a Colombian startup invoices and collects from a client in Spain

A founder in Bogotá lands a first client in Madrid, and the questions arrive in a chain. What does the contract say, how is the invoice issued, which currency lands in the account, at what rate is it booked, and how much cash is left at month end? Each link has its own rule, and a mistake in one contaminates the next.

At Soulbit Academy we present this as an illustrative, composite case. The company, the client and every figure, rate and term are assumptions, not real data and not Soulbit prices. The general Spanish framework (VAT, tax treaty, presence) is in selling to Europe from Latin America through Spain. Here we follow only the operations.

The case: Andes Data Labs, a Colombian analytics startup with a client in Madrid (illustrative profile)

In this illustrative case, every day between invoice and conversion is an open currency position for the startup. Andes Data Labs S.A.S. is a fictional startup from Bogotá with nine people who build reporting dashboards for companies. It wins a six-month contract with a Madrid retail group that has no subsidiary, branch or activity in Colombia. The assumed fee is 6,500 EUR per month, invoiced on day 1 with payment due in 45 days.

Its costs are almost all in pesos: an assumed 29,000,000 COP of payroll and fixed expenses each month. That mismatch is the point of the case. It collects in euros and spends in pesos, so every day between invoice and conversion is an open position.

Table 1 summarises the six steps and who is responsible for each.

Step	What is decided	Who handles it
Contract	Currency, payment term, payment method, fees and governing law	Startup and client, with legal counsel
Invoice	Export of services at 0% VAT and supporting documents	Startup and accountant
Collection	How the euros arrive and who pays the fees	Startup and client
Conversion	When and at what rate euros become pesos	Startup treasury
Bookkeeping	Rate applied to the income and exchange difference	Accountant
Cash flow	Days between paying costs and receiving the money	Finance lead

Step 1: the contract that lets you invoice a Spanish client from Colombia

The contract with a Spanish client should fix the invoice currency, payment method, payment term and fee allocation in a single clause. That clause prevents most later disputes and also serves as supporting evidence of the export before the Colombian tax authority.

Andes Data Labs agrees to invoice in euros, with an international bank transfer to an account the startup designates and a 45-day term. It adds an optional second route: a payment link, in case the client decides to pay in a stablecoin. The contract describes the service, the deliverable and the place of use: the Madrid group's own reporting.

That description matters. Article 481 of the Colombian Tax Statute requires that the service be used exclusively abroad. If the deliverable also served a Colombian affiliate of the client, the exemption could be lost, as the guide to Colombian service exports and the VAT exemption explains. A sister case with pounds instead of euros is in the Peruvian consultancy invoicing a UK client in GBP.

Why fix the currency in the contract rather than at invoicing?

Because the currency decides who bears the euro's movement against the peso during the 45 days. Once the invoice is issued, the client has no reason to accept changes. Agreeing it earlier lets both sides negotiate the risk with full information.

Step 2: the Colombian export of services invoice

The export of services invoice is an electronic sales invoice issued to the foreign client, with a 0% VAT rate, by a supplier whose RUT lists the exporter-of-services responsibility. It is the document that proves the transaction to the DIAN, and it must match the contract and the payment.

DIAN Oficio 8660 of 2024 recalls that the supplier must be registered in the RUT with that responsibility, and Andes Data Labs checks it before invoicing. With the RUT in order, the invoice names the Madrid group with its corporate name and Spanish tax ID, describes the service and shows the amount in euros.

Three operating details prevent trouble. First, the client's name on the invoice should match the payer. Second, keep the file: contract, invoice, deliverables and proof of payment. Third, confirm with the accountant how the electronic format expresses the currency and its peso equivalent, because it has its own fields.

On the Spanish side there is no VAT for the supplier to charge. Under article 69.Uno.1º of the Spanish VAT Law 37/1992, the supply is located in Spain, and under article 84.Uno.2º the client is the taxable person and self-assesses the tax under the reverse charge. Andes Data Labs does not register in Spain for this invoice.

Step 3: collecting euros, from the bank transfer to the payment link

A Colombian startup can collect euros through two routes, and in both it receives a currency it does not use to pay its costs. The first is an international transfer to the company's own account at a financial institution. The second is a stablecoin payment through a payment link, if the client can and wants to pay that way.

On the first route, the intermediary institutions set the timing and fees, so Andes Data Labs should ask its institution how long it takes and what it charges. The case assumes two to five extra business days, a working assumption that has not been verified.

On the second route, Soulbit V1 lets a company that has passed KYB collect through a payment link or collection QR code and hold the balance in USDC or USDT under institutional MPC custody. Soulbit does not receive SEPA transfers or offer IBANs, so this route only works if the client has a treasury able to pay in stablecoins. Many Spanish companies do not yet, and the case assumes so.

Table 2 compares both routes, with terms that are assumptions of this case.

Aspect	International transfer in euros	Payment link paid in stablecoin
Who must be ready	The client, with its usual institution	The client, with access to stablecoins
Where the money sits	In the startup's own account	USDC or USDT balance under Soulbit custody
Extra time after payment (assumed)	2 to 5 business days	Same or next day, if the client pays
Costs	Institution fees; confirm with the institution	No public tariff: request a quotation
Conversion to pesos	Decided by the institution or the startup	OTC quotation and exit over the Colombian bank rail

Step 4: converting euros to pesos and deciding what to do with the rate

Converting euros to pesos is a treasury decision with two options: convert everything on receipt, or keep part of the balance in euros until the startup needs it. Converting on receipt removes the risk from that day. Holding keeps the exposure but avoids converting at a poor rate.

Andes Data Labs needs 29,000,000 COP a month. At an assumed EUR/COP rate of 4,600, those costs equal about 6,304 EUR, nearly the whole payment. Its assumed policy is to convert each payment in full and hold no euros, because it has no expenses in that currency.

If the client transfers euros to the startup's own bank account, the receiving institution handles conversion. If the client pays in stablecoins and the balance reaches Soulbit, the company can request an OTC quote and disburse pesos through the Colombian bank rail, subject to service availability. Soulbit has no public tariff, so the case does not claim it costs less than any other channel, only that the price is visible before confirming.

When does it make sense to hedge the euro exposure?

It makes sense when the contract is long, the margin is thin and the costs are in pesos; here the margin is thin and costs are in pesos, but the term is short. The options are in FX hedging for companies with foreign-currency revenue. For a six-month contract, a simple policy of converting on receipt already reduces most of the risk.

Steps 5 and 6: bookkeeping with the TRM and cash flow

Euro income is booked in pesos at a reference rate, and the gap between the invoice rate and the collection rate is a financial result. The DIAN's TRM expresses only the peso and dollar relationship, so euro income needs a EUR/COP rate, direct or crossed, fixed with the accountant.

The dollar case is covered in how to book a dollar collection with the DIAN's TRM. For the euro, the criterion should be set once and applied the same way every time.

With assumed rates, the example runs like this. On day 1 the 6,500 EUR invoice is booked at 4,600 COP per euro: 29,900,000 COP. Forty-five days later the euro trades at 4,500 and the payment is worth 29,250,000 COP. The 650,000 COP gap is an exchange loss, which the accountant books under the company's accounting framework.

If the rate had risen, the difference would be a gain. Neither rate is real: they only show the mechanism. Foreign currency received for services is also subject to the Banco de la República exchange regime, which the startup should review with its adviser.

After booking the income, the cash flow shows how many days pass between paying costs and having the money. With invoicing on day 1, a 45-day term and two to five business days of transfer, cash arrives around day 48 to 52, while payroll is paid on day 30 of each month.

That gap forces the startup to fund several weeks of costs. A payment link, if the client accepts, shortens the last leg to zero or one day. Three measures help. Ask the client for a 30-day term, keep a peso reserve equal to two weeks of costs, and track each invoice's due date.

What Soulbit V1 solves in this case, and what it does not

Soulbit does not issue invoices, calculate VAT, keep the books or certify that a service is an export. Those tasks remain with Andes Data Labs and its accountant. It also does not receive SEPA transfers or offer IBANs.

What V1 does offer is the collection and treasury layer: KYB, USDC and USDT balances under institutional custody, fiat in USD, EUR and GBP, payment links, collection QR codes, OTC conversion by quotation, a local bank rail in Colombia and AML/KYT monitoring. Colombia is the only local rail; there is none in Spain.

Soulbit does not promise yield or its own token. Check official channels before describing the card or mobile apps as available. No figure in this case is a Soulbit price.