We link to the original sources below. Sections labelled “Sandycroft analysis” contain our interpretation and practical suggestions. Product and service links are commercial suggestions from Sandycroft, separate from the source reporting.
SOURCED NEWS SUMMARY
The news
The Office for National Statistics released its 2024 imports and exports of services dataset by country and mode of supply on 13 November. The release covers service values for imports and exports. Country tables contain total services data, while regional tables include broad Extended Balance of Payments Services categories. It describes recorded trade; it does not forecast demand for one small business.
ONS uses four modes. Mode 1 is a service supplied remotely across a border without people moving, such as advice delivered online. Mode 2 is consumed when the customer travels to the supplier’s country. Mode 3 is supplied through a foreign commercial presence, and Mode 4 involves people travelling temporarily to provide the service. Those categories help explain delivery, but they do not by themselves decide the VAT or customs treatment of a real sale.
SANDYCROFT ANALYSIS
Split the service from the physical product
Map the quote line by line. Logo creation, artwork cleanup, embroidery digitising and an online design consultation can be services. Blank garments, printed signs, embroidered workwear and promotional products are goods. Decoration may also be work carried out on goods, for which special place-of-supply rules can matter. Do not label the whole job a remote service merely because the proof travelled by email.
Record who owns the blank stock, where the physical work occurs, whether anything crosses a border, who receives each output and whether design rights are transferred or licensed. If the service and goods are genuinely distinct, price and describe them separately. If they form one combined supply, obtain competent VAT advice before splitting the invoice for convenience.
SANDYCROFT ANALYSIS
Build the evidence file before setting VAT
HMRC’s general rule says the place of supply for many business-to-business services is where the customer belongs, while for many business-to-consumer services it is where the supplier belongs. Exceptions apply, including rules for work carried out on goods. Confirm the customer’s status, country and business location and check the exact service against current guidance before issuing the invoice.
Keep the enquiry, contract, customer address, business evidence or tax number, service description, proof approvals, delivery method, invoice currency and written VAT basis together. A website country selector or foreign email address is not enough evidence on its own. Where the customer cannot show that it is in business, do not quietly apply the business-to-business rule.
SANDYCROFT ANALYSIS
Price remote delivery as real production work
A digital file may have no postage, but it still consumes skilled time. Cost the brief, file inspection, setup, first proof, included revisions, final formats, licence terms, payment charge, currency conversion and support after delivery. Define what counts as a revision and what becomes a new brief. State whether production-ready files, source files or only a finished export are included.
For embroidery digitising, test the file on an appropriate sample before promising that it will run identically on every fabric, backing and machine. For print artwork, confirm colour mode, dimensions, bleed, resolution and permitted use. Printed specification sheets and approval records can prevent disputes, but the digital master and version history should remain controlled.
SANDYCROFT ANALYSIS
Run one controlled overseas service job
Choose one customer, one service and one delivery route. Confirm identity, scope, VAT treatment, payment currency, revision limit, intellectual-property terms and acceptance criteria in writing. Take payment on agreed terms and keep the final delivery record. Compare quoted time with actual time, payment and conversion costs, rework and margin.
Only standardise the offer after that evidence works. The ONS dataset shows that services cross borders in different ways; the small-business lesson is to identify which way this particular service is delivered, then build the quote, tax record and workflow around the facts.
CHECK THE ORIGINAL REPORTING
Sources & dates
- Office for National Statistics — Imports and exports of services by country, by modes of supply, UK: 2024 Published 13 November 2026
- Office for National Statistics — UK Trade in services by modes of supply: 2020 Published 25 February 2022
- HM Revenue & Customs — Work out your place of supply of services for VAT rules (last updated 31 December 2020) Published 31 December 2020