Why This Matters Right Now

The e-commerce market situation in Ukraine has changed dramatically over the past couple of years. Before, you could trade through an Instagram shop and "arrange" cash payments with customers. Now, the tax authorities have learned to monitor turnover. And the fines are not what they used to be in 2021.

"I know a guy who opened a sneaker store using a simple website builder. For the first six months, he worked under the table — money to his personal card, no receipts. When his monthly turnover exceeded 300,000 hryvnias, the tax authorities blocked his accounts. He had to pay an 85,000 fine and urgently register as an FOP. He could have just done everything right from the start and slept peacefully."

In this article, we'll walk you through step by step what you need to do to make your online store operate legally. Without the risk of blockades and without astronomical costs.

FOP Registration: Which Group to Choose

For an online store in Ukraine, the optimal choice is a single-tax FOP. However, there are nuances depending on your turnover and product range.

In practice, most online store owners choose Group 3 (5% without VAT). Why? Because the 7.8 million limit allows for comfortable growth, and the tax percentage is fixed and easy to understand.

Step-by-Step FOP Registration

Taxes and Reporting for an Online Store

Many people fear tax reporting, but in reality, for a single-tax FOP, it's quite simple. The key is choosing the right group.

Which Group Is Best for Trading

• Group 1 (1% of subsistence minimum — ≈ 300 UAH/month) — only for trading at markets and with individuals. Not suitable for an online store, as online trading is prohibited.
• Group 2 (20% of minimum wage — ≈ 1,420 UAH/month) — you can sell physical goods online, limit up to 1,557,000 UAH/year. Suitable for small stores with turnover up to 130,000 UAH/month. PRRO is mandatory.
• Group 3 (5% of income — the most popular option) — any goods and services online, limit up to 7,818,000 UAH/year. No restrictions on employees. Ideal for an online store at startup and during growth.

What Taxes Does an Online Store Pay?

• Single Tax — for Group 3, 5% of income received per quarter. Paid once a quarter by the 20th of the month after the reporting period.
• USC (Unified Social Contribution) — currently 22% of the minimum wage. In 2024, that's approximately 1,474 UAH per month. Paid quarterly or annually.
• VAT — if you work with VAT, the single tax rate is 3% + VAT 20%. A declaration is filed monthly.
• Military Levy — 1.5% on dividend payments (not applicable for single-tax FOPs).

PRRO — Software Register of Settlement Operations

Since January 1, 2022, all FOPs who accept payments from individuals (including card payments or through payment systems) are required to use PRRO — a software-based equivalent of a cash register. Classic cash registers are a thing of the past.

PRRO is a program that records every sale and sends the data to the tax authorities in real time. A receipt is generated and sent to the buyer (via email, SMS, or printed).

How to Choose a PRRO

For integrating PRRO with an online store, it's important that the platform supports data transfer via API. BooStore.pro supports order data transfer via webhooks — you can configure sending information about each sale to your PRRO service. You can also transfer order data using your own scripts, including through the order confirmation page, where complete purchase data is temporarily available. And if you use WayForPay, Monopay, PrivatBank, Liqpay, or Fondy — PRRO is already built into these payment systems (as well as in most connected on BooStore.pro): a receipt is automatically generated when an invoice for online payment is issued.

Payment Acceptance on the Website: Acquiring and Payment Systems

Once the legal foundation is ready, you need to set up payment acceptance. In Ukraine, several popular payment solutions are available for online stores.

Main Payment Methods

• Bank Acquiring (LiqPay, PrivatBank) — direct acceptance of Visa/MasterCard cards. The fee is typically 1.5–2.5% plus a fixed rate per transaction.
• Payment Gateways (WayForPay, Monopay/Monobank, Fondy, Liqpay, Hutko, Ipayua) — universal solutions that support cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay. Fees 1.5–3%.
• Stripe / PayPal — if you work with international customers. For Ukraine, PayPal is still limited in fund withdrawal, while Stripe works via Stripe Connect.
• Cash on Delivery (Nova Poshta) — payment upon receipt. Nova Poshta's fee is about 20 UAH + 2% of the order amount.

One common question: what to choose for a start? I recommend starting with WayForPay, Monopay/Monobank, Fondy, or Liqpay — they have the lowest entry thresholds, simple APIs, and integration with most CMS platforms and site builders.

Automatic Receipt Issuance Through the Website

This is a crucial point that many overlook. It's not enough to just connect PRRO — the receipt must be issued automatically with every payment on the site. If you issue receipts manually after an order, sooner or later you'll make a mistake or forget.

The correct workflow looks like this:

1. The customer pays for the order by card on the website
2. The payment system sends a successful payment status to the site
3. The website transfers the data to PRRO via API
4. PRRO fiscalizes the receipt and sends a copy to the customer via email/SMS

All of this takes mere seconds. The client receives a receipt immediately after payment. This is a legal requirement, but it's also a boost to trust — the customer sees that you're a serious company.

On the BooStore.pro platform, you can export complete order data (full list of items and total amount) for transfer to third-party PRRO services. You can also connect your own scripts, as the order confirmation page sends webhooks or temporarily provides full data when displaying the success message. When using the connected payment gateways, BooStore.pro transmits the necessary data for automatic receipt generation by the payment services themselves — this covers most scenarios without the need for additional integration.

Common Mistakes and Risks

Over years of working in e-commerce, I've seen all kinds of mistakes. Here are the most common ones:

• Operating on a personal bank card — the most common "money-saving" scheme. The tax authorities can request your card statements and charge taxes on all transactions. Fines + penalties + tax recalculation under the general system (18% personal income tax + 1.5% military levy).
• Wrong FOP group — trading online under Group 2 without PRRO. The law requires PRRO for all FOPs since 01.01.2022, regardless of group.
• No public offer — this document governs the relationship with the buyer. Without it, it's difficult to contest any customer complaint.
• Ignoring returns — under consumer protection law, the buyer can return goods within 14 days (except for a list of exceptions). A clear return policy is necessary.
• No return receipts — if you process a return, you must issue a "return receipt" through PRRO. Otherwise, the tax authorities will consider the return unrecorded and you'll pay tax on that amount.

How BooStore.pro Helps with Legalization

A good online store platform isn't just about great design and a shopping cart. It's also about legal security. BooStore.pro addresses the key challenges for legal e-commerce:

Ready to Launch a Legal Online Store?

Legalizing an online store in Ukraine isn't scary. FOP registration takes a day, PRRO is set up in an hour, and website integration is done once and works for years. You get:

• Peace of mind — the tax authorities won't come knocking due to missing receipts
• Customer trust — an official receipt via email after every purchase
• Scalability — working with legal entities, tenders, marketplaces
• Minimal taxes with the right tax system choice
• Full automation from order to receipt

Start with a free store on BooStore.pro — test all features without any investment.

No credit card required. Up to 300 products for free. Hosting and SEO tools included.