You're the Merchant of Record

On Makenot.work, you are the merchant of record for your sales. This page explains what that means, why we chose this model, and what it asks of you.

What “Merchant of Record” Means

When a fan buys your work, the transaction is between them and you. Stripe processes the payment into your connected account. We host the storefront and deliver the files, but legally and financially, you are the seller.

On platforms like Gumroad, the platform is the merchant of record. Fans pay Gumroad, and Gumroad pays you. On Makenot.work, fans pay you directly.

This is the same model used by Bandcamp, itch.io, and Shopify. It is the standard for platforms that don’t take a revenue cut.

Why We Chose This

Being the merchant of record means taking on financial risk: chargebacks, refund liability, fraud losses, tax obligations. Platforms that absorb those risks price them into their fees. Published rates range from Patreon’s 10% standard creator fee plus processing, to Apple’s and Google’s 15-30% commission on in-app purchases.

We chose the direct model because it keeps your revenue in your hands and your business decisions under your control. We think that’s worth the tradeoff, but it is a tradeoff, and you should understand it before signing up.

What You Control

As merchant of record, you make the decisions that would otherwise be made for you:

Pricing. You set prices, minimums, and pay-what-you-want ranges. No platform-imposed floors or ceilings.
Refunds. You decide your refund policy and process refunds yourself. No platform override.
Billing descriptor. Your Stripe account controls how charges appear on fan bank statements.
Payout schedule. You choose when money moves from Stripe to your bank: daily, weekly, monthly, or instant.
Tax configuration. You decide whether to enable Stripe’s automatic tax collection based on your obligations. See Tax Tools below.
Your Stripe account. It belongs to you. If you leave Makenot.work, it stays with you, with your full transaction history, payout records, and tax documents.

On a platform that is the merchant of record, the platform makes most of these decisions. That can be simpler, but it means the platform controls your relationship with your customers, your cash flow timing, and your pricing flexibility.

What You’re Responsible For

Chargebacks

If a fan disputes a charge with their bank, the disputed amount and Stripe’s ~$15 dispute fee come from your Stripe balance. You submit evidence through your Stripe dashboard. If you win, everything is returned. If you lose, you absorb the cost.

Chargebacks on digital content platforms are mostly preventable with clear product descriptions, visible refund policies, and prompt communication. A $5 refund is always cheaper than a disputed charge.

See Payments & Refunds for the full process.

Refunds

You process refunds through your Stripe dashboard. We don’t intervene. This means you can be as generous or as strict as you want, but it also means fans may dispute charges with their bank if they can’t resolve things with you directly.

We recommend stating a clear refund policy on your profile or project pages.

Taxes

Since fans are paying you (not us), you are responsible for your tax obligations:

Income tax. Report earnings from fan payments. Stripe issues 1099-K forms for US creators above IRS reporting thresholds.
Sales tax, VAT, and GST. If you sell digital goods to fans in jurisdictions that tax digital sales (EU, UK, Australia, Canada, and others), you may be required to collect and remit those taxes even if you are outside those jurisdictions.
Record-keeping. Your dashboard and Stripe both provide transaction history and CSV exports for tax preparation.

We do not collect, calculate, withhold, or remit taxes on your behalf. This is not tax advice. See Tax Tools below for what’s available to help.

Tax Tools Available to You

Tax complexity is the most common concern with the merchant-of-record model. These tools exist today to help:

Stripe Tax (Built In)

Your Makenot.work account includes a toggle to enable Stripe Tax, which automatically calculates and collects sales tax, VAT, and GST on your transactions based on the buyer’s location. Enable it from your payment settings.

Stripe Tax supports 100+ countries and all US states. It handles rate calculation, collection at checkout, and reporting. You are still responsible for registration and remittance in each jurisdiction, but Stripe handles the hardest part: knowing what rate to charge whom.

Transaction Exports

Export your full sales history as CSV from your dashboard at any time. Stripe also provides detailed tax reports, broken down by region, through the Stripe Tax dashboard.

Stripe 1099-K (US Creators)

Stripe automatically issues 1099-K forms if your gross payments exceed IRS reporting thresholds. These are delivered through your Stripe dashboard.

External Tax Services

If you sell across multiple jurisdictions and need help with registration, filing, and remittance, services like Quaderno, TaxJar, and Lemon Squeezy specialize in digital goods tax compliance. These are third-party services; we have no affiliation with them.

When to Pay Attention

Most small creators selling domestically don’t need to think about VAT or GST. The complexity scales with your business:

Selling only in your home country: Standard income tax rules apply. Stripe Tax can handle local sales tax if needed.
Selling internationally under your country’s threshold: Monitor your cross-border sales volume. Stripe Tax reports help with this.
Selling internationally above threshold: You likely need to register for VAT OSS (EU), or equivalent programs in other regions. A tax professional or automated service is worth the cost at this point.

Your dashboard’s transaction history and Stripe’s tax reports give you the data to know where you stand.

Comparison

	You are MOR (Makenot.work, Bandcamp, itch.io, Shopify)	Platform is MOR (Gumroad, Patreon)
Who fans pay	You (via Stripe)	The platform
Platform fee	0% (Makenot.work)	5-20% typically
Refund decisions	Yours	Platform’s (may override you)
Chargeback liability	Yours	Platform’s (priced into fees)
Tax collection	Your responsibility (Stripe Tax available)	Platform collects; remittance varies
Pricing control	Full	May have restrictions
Payout timing	You choose	Platform schedule
Stripe account ownership	Yours permanently	Platform-controlled
Portability	Take your payment history and go	Start over elsewhere

Neither model is universally better. The merchant-of-record model gives you more control and more revenue at the cost of more responsibility. Platforms that act as merchant of record offer more convenience at the cost of higher fees and less autonomy.

The Short Version

You run a small business. We provide the storefront, hosting, and delivery. Stripe provides the payment infrastructure. You are the seller, and your customers are your customers.

That means you make the decisions about pricing, refunds, and how you handle your taxes. It also means you keep your revenue, your Stripe account, your transaction history, and your customer relationships whether you stay on Makenot.work or not.