The VAT4U Travel App is your travel companion for reclaiming the VAT (Value Added Tax) your company pays on business travel expenses. When you travel for work, the app helps you do two things that make VAT recovery possible — and it does them right at the moment that matters: while you're standing at the counter.

This article explains what the app is for, who it's for, how you get access to it, and how to use it on the road.

When your company pays VAT on travel expenses, a large part of that tax can often be reclaimed. But VAT authorities are strict: they only refund VAT when the supporting paperwork is correct. A normal till receipt is frequently not enough — many countries require a full, compliant invoice that shows your company's legal name, address, and VAT/TAX numbers.

In practice, two things go wrong:

The VAT4U Travel App is built to solve both problems at the source — in the traveler's hands, in the moment of the purchase. Every recovered euro starts with a compliant invoice and a captured receipt, and this app is designed to make both effortless.

The app is designed for traveling employees — the people actually out in the field paying for hotels, meals, transport, conferences, and other business expenses.

It is not an admin or accounting tool. The configuration, company setup, and the actual VAT recovery processing all happen in the VAT4U web platform, managed by your company's finance team or VAT4U VAT Recovery service team. The mobile app is the traveler's side of that system: simple, fast, and focused on the two things you do on the move.

You don't sign yourself up for the app on your own. Access comes from your company.

If your company already uses VAT4U, your company's VAT4U administrator (usually someone in finance or tax) invites you to the VAT4U application with the Traveler role. You'll receive your login credentials — these are the same email and password you'd use for the VAT4U web application.

If your company is new to VAT4U and doesn't have an account yet, that's an organization-level decision. A company account is created at app.vat4u.com, and once it's set up, the administrator can begin inviting travelers.

So the typical chain is:

Don't have an account yet? Reach out to your company's VAT4U administrator and ask to be invited as a Traveler. The app itself can't create accounts.

When you open the app for the first time, you'll see a short introduction, then the login screen. Sign in with your VAT4U email and password you have set-up during the account activation step.

For security, your company may require two-factor authentication (2FA). If so, after entering your password you'll be asked for a verification code (sent to you or generated by an authenticator). Enter the code to finish signing in.

In some cases the app may tell you that you need to set up 2FA first — if that happens, open the VAT4U web application to enroll, then return to the app and log in.

Once you're in, the app remembers you, so you won't need to log in every time you open it.

There are really just two core jobs, and the whole app is organized around them.

This is the part that happens before you get an invoice — and it's where most VAT recovery is won or lost.

On the Home screen you'll find your virtual business card. It carries everything a merchant needs to issue a proper, compliant invoice to your company:

Before you request an invoice, tell the app which country you're traveling to. You can pick it from the list or tap Use My Location to detect it automatically. This matters because invoice rules differ from country to country.

Once a country is selected, the app gives you country-specific guidance so you ask for exactly the right thing:

When the merchant needs your company details, just open the business card to its full-screen view and show it across the counter — no spelling out VAT numbers, no mistakes.

This is the part that happens after you collect the invoice — capturing the proof before it gets lost.

Tap the Add Expense button in the center of the bottom bar, then choose the company the expense belongs to.

From there you can:

Invoices you capture are collected into a queue on your device, so you can scan several in a row — a whole day's worth of meals and taxis — and submit them together.

When you're ready, tap Submit to send them to your company's VAT4U profile, where the finance team picks them up for VAT recovery processing. A progress bar keeps you informed, and if anything fails to upload (say you lost signal), it's kept safely on your device so you can retry later.

The Expenses tab shows your history, split into Recent (the last 30 days) and Archive (older). Each item shows its status — pending, submitted, or failed — so you always know what's already on its way to recovery and what still needs your attention.

Not every traveler is set up to submit expenses. Your company's administrator can decide whether your profile is allowed to capture expenses.

If it's turned off for you, the capture screen will tell you so, and the scan and submit buttons won't be available. You can still use the virtual business card and invoice guidance — that part is always available to help you get compliant invoices.

To have expense capture enabled, contact your company's VAT4U account administrator.

The Settings screen lets you:

Everything in the app points at one goal: maximizing your company's VAT recovery, without making your trip harder.

You don't need to understand VAT rules, thresholds, or filing deadlines. You just travel, show your card when buying, snap your invoices, and submit. The app and your finance team handle the rest.

Need to be invited? Ask your company's VAT4U administrator to add you as a Traveler. Need a feature enabled or have a question about your account? Your VAT4U administrator is your first point of contact, and the Help Center is always available from Settings.