Particle's invoice engine started where it had to start: certified for German VAT law. Stornorechnung, Kleinunternehmer, reverse charge, OSS — every Pflichtangabe on every invoice, audit-ready for a Finanzamt review. That work is done and it stays done.
But there's a problem with starting in Germany. About 1.5 million freelancers operate under German tax law. About 100 million don't. A founder in San Francisco who tracks her time in Particle and wants to send a clean PDF to her client doesn't need § 14 UStG. She needs hours, rate, total, "thank you for your business."
So Particle now ships in two tiers.
Tier 1 — Certified. German VAT users keep everything they had: the full UStG matrix, Stornorechnung, Mark-as-paid, audit export, the works. This is the Premium-Steuerberater-defensible path.
Tier 2 — Generic International. Pick "International" in your tax profile and Particle stops asking about your tax regime. The PDF goes out clean: header, addresses, line items, total. No VAT line, no German legal text. A clear disclaimer in the app reminds you that tax compliance in your jurisdiction is your responsibility — Particle is the tool, not the tax advisor.
We deliberately did not build US sales tax integration, UK VAT certification, or any other jurisdictional matrix. Those will come if real users ask for them. What we built today unlocks roughly 80% of the global freelancer market with the architecture we already had — without making any compliance claim we can't defend.
#What changed
- "International" tax regime — clean PDFs, no VAT logic, no manual-review block
- All currencies allowed in international mode (no EUR-lock)
- Stornorechnung still works in international mode (numbering and corrections are universal)
- Disclaimer surfaces in Settings + InvoiceTab so the responsibility transfer is explicit
- Mark-as-paid lifecycle — issued invoices flip to a green Paid pill once you record payment
- Two-row action bar with status pill, issue date, and a calmer button hierarchy
- Read-only detail view — clicking an issued invoice in the list shows its frozen values, not a re-editable form
The German cabinet is still locked. The international door is now open.