sales-merchant-of-record

name	sales-merchant-of-record
description	Merchant of Record (MoR) and payments-provider selection for SaaS and digital products — when to let a MoR (Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, FastSpring, Polar, Creem, Gumroad) handle global sales tax/VAT for you vs running a self-managed processor (Stripe + Stripe Tax), and which provider fits. Use when deciding how to bill global customers, unsure whether a Merchant of Record should own tax compliance or you should manage it yourself, comparing Paddle vs Lemon Squeezy vs Polar vs Creem vs Stripe on fees and tax coverage, worried about EU VAT / US sales tax / GST nexus, picking a billing provider for a new SaaS, the ~5% MoR fee feeling high, or weighing a costly switch between providers. Do NOT use for Paddle-specific API/config (use /sales-paddle), Lemon Squeezy-specific setup (use /sales-lemonsqueezy), checkout-conversion optimization (use /sales-checkout), subscription churn/dunning tactics (use /sales-membership), or two-sided marketplace seller payouts (use /sales-marketplace-payouts).
argument-hint	[describe your billing/tax situation — e.g., 'MoR vs Stripe for a global SaaS' or 'Paddle vs Lemon Squeezy for B2B']
license	MIT
version	1.0.0
tags	["sales","payments","merchant-of-record","strategy"]

Merchant of Record & Payments-Provider Selection

Helps choose how to bill global customers for SaaS/digital products: whether to use a Merchant of Record (which absorbs global sales-tax/VAT liability for a higher fee) or a self-managed processor like Stripe (lower fee, but you own tax registration + remittance), and which specific provider fits.

Step 1 — Gather context

If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated knowledge.

Ask the user (lead with a best-effort answer if they've already told you most of this):

1. What's the decision?

   • A) MoR vs self-managed (Stripe) — the strategic call
   • B) Which MoR — Paddle vs Lemon Squeezy vs FastSpring vs Dodo vs Polar vs Creem vs Gumroad
   • C) Switching providers — is it worth it / how painful
   • D) Tax-compliance worry — VAT/GST/sales-tax nexus and who's liable

2. What are you selling? Self-serve SaaS subscriptions · B2B SaaS (invoices/POs/net terms) · one-off digital products · usage-based · mobile-app purchases.

3. Where are your customers? Mostly domestic (one tax jurisdiction) · global (many) — this is the single biggest factor in the MoR-vs-DIY call.

4. Stage / team? Solo/indie · small team (no finance/tax ops) · scaling with finance ops · enterprise.

5. Fee sensitivity? Lowest possible fee · willing to pay ~5% to never touch tax.

Skip-ahead rule: if the prompt already provides most of this, go straight to Step 4 with stated assumptions, then ask 1–2 critical clarifiers.

Step 2 — Route or answer directly

If the question is about...	Route to...
Paddle-specific API, webhooks, Billing-vs-Classic, or config	/sales-paddle {question}
Lemon Squeezy-specific setup/API	/sales-lemonsqueezy {question}
Gumroad-specific setup/API	/sales-gumroad {question}
Checkout-conversion optimization (order bumps, upsells, cart recovery)	/sales-checkout {question}
Subscription churn / dunning / retention tactics	/sales-membership {question}