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What Is a Merchant of Record?

Umut Güncan
Freelancing
Illustration of freelancers using a Merchant of Record platform, showcasing global invoicing, payment processing, and tax compliance benefits.

Merchant of Record (MoR) is a third party service for managing financial and legal responsibilities for businesses. It provides processing transactions, management of payment, tax compliances, refunds, disputes and many more legal aspects solutions for those specially working online.

It is responsible for handling payments, sales transactions and all other financial related aspects to be done with legal requirements.

Specially for freelancers, startups or small businesses, it is extremely important to partner up with a MoR like Ruul to simplify all the sale, finance and legal related processes. 

What Does a Merchant of Record Do?

MoR offers services that are critically important or operating internationally. The key responsibilities of an MoR include:

  1. Payment Processing: The MoR manages the technical aspects of processing payments, ensuring smooth transactions between businesses and customers. This includes accepting various payment methods, such as credit cards, bank transfers.
  2. Tax Compliance: The MoR ensures that all taxes related to transactions are handled in accordance with the relevant laws. For freelancers working in multiple countries, understanding tax liabilities can be complex. Ruul, for example, handles sales tax compliance for freelancers, so you don’t have to worry about the complexity of international tax laws.
  3. Invoicing: The MoR is responsible for generating and sending invoices to customers. This ensures that your business remains compliant with accounting standards and that clients receive professional invoices. Ruul offers tools to generate invoices, simplifying the invoicing process for freelancers.
  4. Managing Payment Collection: An MoR handles payment collection, ensuring that freelancers or businesses are paid on time. Ruul allows freelancers to streamline their payment collection methods, offering options for clients to pay via credit cards, bank transfers, and ensures funds are received.
  5. Risk Management: MoR supports businesses to handle refunds, chargebacks, any kind of legal or sale related disputes. So we can simply say MoR is eliminating these headaches for businesses while they are focusing on their job.  MoR is making sure the business is protected from legal risks that might come up from financial or invoice related reasons.

Why Do Freelancers Need an MoR?

Freelancers, especially those working internationally or offering digital services, can greatly benefit from having a Merchant of Record handle their transactions. Here are several reasons why an MoR is important for freelancers:

  1. Simplified Tax Management: Managing taxes is not an easy job for those who work internationally and need to know each country’s own tax regulations.  Freelancers are responsible for understanding their tax liabilities, and different countries have different rules regarding taxes, sales tax, and VAT. With an MoR, you don’t have to worry about managing these taxes yourself. For example, Ruul simplifies the process by handling tax compliance on behalf of freelancers. This can save you a perfect amount of time and effort since freelancer's tax in different regions can be challenging.
  2. Global Invoicing: Freelancers who work with international clients need to send invoices that comply with the laws of each country. This can be a struggle for freelancers to understand the rules for each country they are working with. Good news is, using a service like Ruul allows you to invoice globally without any hassle. Ruul handles all the legal aspects of global invoicing, ensuring you stay compliant while offering a seamless invoicing experience for your clients.
  3. Streamlined Payment Collection: Getting paid on time is one of the most important parts for freelancers and businesses. With MoR it is way easier. With MoR, you don't have to chase payments, remind your client the payment days and you don't need to worry about handling refunds or chargebacks which can be a challenging process. With Ruul, you can automate your payment collection methods, making sure that clients can pay easily and efficiently, and you get paid easily and securely. Ruul offers various payment options, making it convenient for clients to pay you from anywhere in the world.
  4. Time-Saving: As a freelancer, your time is valuable. Handling invoicing, payment collection, and tax compliance on your own can be time-consuming, taking your focus away from your core work. With an MoR like Ruul, you can automate these tasks and reduce the administrative burden, freeing up more time to work on your projects.
  5. Access to Payment Methods: Different clients have different preferences when it comes to payment methods. Some might prefer credit card payments, while others might want to pay via bank transfer. With Ruul’s integrated system, you can offer a variety of payment options, making the payment process easier for everyone. This is especially valuable in the modern freelance world where payment flexibility is key.

Advantages of Using Ruul as Your MoR

Ruul is designed to support specifically to freelancers, offering features that simplify business operations:

  • Global Reach: With Ruul, you can expand your freelance business internationally without worrying about currency conversions or tax regulations. Ruul ensures that you can invoice globally and work with clients from anywhere in the world.
  • Payment Flexibility: Ruul provides various payment options, allowing you to collect payments through credit cards, bank transfers, making it easier for clients to pay you in their preferred method.
  • Compliance and Security: Ruul takes care of all the legal and compliance issues, allowing you to focus on your work. Whether it's sales tax, invoicing requirements, or managing refunds, Ruul makes sure your business stays compliant in over 190 countries.
  • Fast Payment: Freelancers can receive their payments quickly, with payouts processed within 1 business day, ensuring cash flow is never an issue.

Partnering with a Merchant of Record (MoR) like Ruul can simplify your freelance business. From handling invoicing to managing payment collection and ensuring tax compliance, an MoR provides the tools you need to run a smooth, professional freelance operation. 

With Ruul, you can invoice globally, manage payments easily, and focus on growing your freelance career while leaving the administrative tasks to experts. By handling critical financial and legal responsibilities, Ruul ensures that freelancers can operate confidently in a global marketplace.

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