July 31 is the deadline for the Q2 VAT return in the Netherlands. For Shopify store owners who manage their bookkeeping in Moneybird, there are a few specific things to verify before you submit. Use this checklist to make sure everything is in order and you are neither missing VAT nor overpaying.
1. Verify all Shopify orders from April through June
Start with the basics: are all Shopify orders from April 1 through June 30 present in Moneybird as invoices? Open Moneybird, filter sales invoices for the period April through June, and compare the total with your Shopify order overview for the same period.
Any discrepancy means orders are missing. This can happen due to a brief outage in the connection, a Shopify platform update, or orders that failed to sync for other reasons. With Schakel you can run a manual resync to fill the gaps. Also check that test orders are excluded or processed as zero-amount entries, as they will otherwise distort your VAT base.
2. Process all returns as credit notes
Every refund or return that took place in Q2 must be recorded in Moneybird as a credit note. Go through your Shopify refunds from April through June and verify that each one has a matching credit note. Missing credit notes inflate your revenue and cause you to remit more VAT than you owe.
This is one of the most common mistakes at the quarterly filing: the return is in Shopify but not in the bookkeeping. An automated connection solves this by creating credit notes the moment a refund is processed. More on how this works in our article on credit notes and returns in Shopify.
3. Check VAT rates per transaction
Not all products carry the same VAT rate. In the Netherlands the standard rate is 21%, but certain categories such as some foods, medicines, and books qualify for the reduced 9% rate. Check that all invoices in Moneybird have the correct rate applied, especially if you sell across both categories.
Shopify applies VAT rates based on the product category you have configured, but errors in product setup lead to incorrect VAT codes in Moneybird. Pay extra attention to products with an unusual or mixed categorisation. For more on setting up VAT rates correctly in the Shopify-Moneybird connection, see our article on VAT in Moneybird and Shopify.
4. Handle EU sales via the OSS scheme
If you sell to consumers in other EU countries, that revenue must be reported through the OSS return, not your regular Dutch VAT return. Check in Moneybird that all EU transactions carry the correct OSS code and are kept separate from your Dutch domestic revenue.
The OSS threshold is 10,000 euros per year in cross-border B2C sales to other EU countries. If you have crossed that threshold in the past period, OSS applies for the rest of the year. Check your cumulative EU revenue in Moneybird to determine whether this affects you. More on this in our article on OSS and EU sales via Shopify.
5. Reconcile your bank account in Moneybird
Before submitting your return, reconcile your bank account in Moneybird against your actual bank statement. Import all statements from April through June if you have not done so and match any open lines to their corresponding invoices.
Keep in mind that Shopify Payments pays out your gross revenue minus transaction fees, so the amount on your bank statement will be lower than your total invoices. In Moneybird you book the transaction fees as a separate expense line so the balance adds up. How to do this correctly is explained in our article on Shopify payouts and transaction fees in Moneybird.
6. Generate the VAT report in Moneybird
Go to Reports in Moneybird and generate the VAT report for the period April 1 through June 30, 2026. This report gives you a breakdown of all VAT payable and deductible, split by rate. Verify that the figures match what you would expect based on your revenue and purchases.
Any discrepancy in the report is a signal to investigate, not to ignore. A figure that seems too high or too low almost always points to a booking that is not quite right. Fix it before you file, because submitting a corrected return later takes more time and attention than getting it right the first time.
7. File the return via the Dutch Tax Authority
Once your Moneybird administration is clean, file your VAT return via Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk. The deadline is July 31, 2026. File on time even if you expect a refund: a late filing always results in a penalty, regardless of whether you owe money or are owed money.
If you work with an accountant, make sure you provide the Moneybird data well before July 31 so there is time for review and processing. An exportable VAT report from Moneybird makes this straightforward.
Automate your quarterly routine
Most steps in this checklist become significantly easier when Shopify and Moneybird stay in sync automatically. Schakel ensures that every order appears as an invoice in Moneybird immediately and every refund is converted to a credit note without manual input. That means you start the quarterly check with a bookkeeping that is already largely up to date, rather than catching up on a backlog first.
For a complete overview of all tasks at the quarterly close, see our article on the Shopify quarterly closing checklist for Moneybird.
Want this handled automatically? Pick your connector.
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