You want to set up an online shop in Austria, and WooCommerce is your tool of choice. Good decision — open source, flexible, no monthly SaaS lever breathing down your neck. Only: the shop is the easy half. The harder half is Austrian law. RKSV (Austria's cash register security regulation), ECG (the e-commerce act), FernAbsG, UID (VAT identification number), IOSS, Gewerbeschein (trade licence) — all acronyms that can spoil the fun if you only get them on your radar too late. In this post I walk through the most important building blocks so that you start out cleanly. As a technical setup foundation I recommend reading my post WooCommerce Shop einrichten beforehand — here I focus on the legal and country-specific points.
Important: This post is not legal or tax advice. I give practical pointers from over 30 shop setups I have supported in Austria, but for legally binding information your tax advisor or a specialised law firm is the right contact. When in doubt: better to book one appointment too many than to pay up later.
Gewerbeschein, UID and the WKO question
An online shop in Austria requires a trade licence. Most shop owners need one of the following:
- Free trade in commerce (retail or wholesale of goods). Registration with the competent Bezirksverwaltungsbehörde (district administrative authority, BH) or the Magistrat. Cost: a one-off registration fee of around 90 EUR.
- Regulated trades — if you sell something that requires special qualifications (e.g. hearing aid acoustics, certain food sectors, medical products).
- Agriculture and forestry — direct marketers often have an exemption via the Chamber of Agriculture. Here you should definitely seek individual advice.
With the Gewerbeschein you automatically become a member of the Wirtschaftskammer Österreich (WKO, the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber). At the WKO you can get advice for your industry segment — many WKO advisors are now well versed in online retail topics, which was not the case a few years ago.
UID number: As soon as your annual turnover exceeds the Kleinunternehmer (small-business) threshold of 35.000 EUR (as of 2026) or you want to actively sell to other EU countries, you need a UID. Application to the tax office, informal. The UID usually arrives within 14 days.
Kleinunternehmer scheme: If you stay below 35.000 EUR annual turnover, you can remain exempt from VAT as a Kleinunternehmer (small business). WooCommerce-relevant: your invoices then may show no VAT, and you must add a note („Umsatzsteuerbefreit gemäß § 6 Abs. 1 Z 27 UStG“). In the WooCommerce backend you therefore disable tax completely instead of storing 0% tax rates.
RKSV and cash registers: does that apply online too?
The cash register obligation (RKSV) applies in Austria in principle to cash payments above a certain threshold. For pure online shops with electronic payment (card, Klarna, PayPal, prepayment) it usually does not apply — because no „cash payment“ takes place.
BUT:
- As soon as you offer cash on delivery and the courier collects the money in cash, this can count as a cash payment depending on the constellation. This is where it gets tricky — clarify case by case with your tax advisor.
- As soon as you have a farm shop or a pickup point where customers pay in cash, you need an RKSV-compliant register (e.g. helloCash, easycash, ready2order).
- „Click & Collect“ with cash pickup: yes, RKSV.
If your constellation is purely electronic payment, you are at least out of the RKSV topic. Nonetheless I recommend receipt-numbering logic in WooCommerce (plugin: „PDF Invoices & Packing Slips“ or the German-language „Germanized for WooCommerce“ — the latter, despite its name, is worth its weight in gold for Austria too).
FernAbsG and ECG: implementing the 14-day right of withdrawal correctly
The Distance and Off-Premises Transactions Act (FAGG, formerly FernAbsG) stipulates: consumers in Austria (and EU-wide) have a 14-day right of withdrawal on an online purchase. You must:
- Present it transparently at checkout
- Inform before the contract is concluded
- Send it again by email after the order
- Provide a functioning withdrawal form
WooCommerce solution: „Germanized for WooCommerce“ gets most of this right. The „WooCommerce DE/AT/CH“ adaptations from plugin providers such as WooCommerce.de also help. Anyone who does not use one of these plugins almost certainly has a legal gap in the checkout.
Important exceptions to withdrawal: perishable foods, individually made products (e.g. with a name engraving), sealed hygiene items after opening, digital content after the download has started. However, these must be clearly communicated in advance — otherwise the right of withdrawal still applies.
The E-Commerce Act (ECG) adds: the disclosure (Impressum) obligation is more comprehensive than in Germany. You need not only name and address, but also UID, Firmenbuchnummer (company register number, if you are registered), the supervisory authority (Bezirksverwaltungsbehörde), professional regulations and WKO membership.
Payment providers for AT: Klarna, Mollie, Stripe, EPS, Bancontact
For Austrian shops the following providers have established themselves:
Stripe — the international standard. Excellent WooCommerce integration, fair fees (1,4 % + 0,25 EUR for SEPA, 1,5 % + 0,25 EUR for cards), has supported EPS (Austrian online banking) since 2023. My default for shops with international ambitions. A deeper comparison in my post Stripe vs. Mollie.
Mollie — a Dutch provider, widely used in the DACH region. Slightly cheaper than Stripe on small amounts, supports EPS, Bancontact, Klarna natively. Great UX at checkout. I recommend it for DACH-focused shops.
Klarna — very strong with younger target groups because of „purchase on account“ and „pay later“. Higher fees than Stripe/Mollie (2,5–3,5 % depending on the constellation), but in return higher conversion. Can be integrated via Stripe or Mollie — direct integration is only available for larger merchants.
EPS (Electronic Payment Standard) — Austrian online banking. A must-have function for serious AT shops. Via Stripe, Mollie or dedicated providers such as BluePayment.
PayPal — no longer the market leader, but as an option still expected. Higher fees than Stripe/Mollie, poor buyer-protection practices for merchants, but consumer trust is high. Offer it as an additional method, not as the only one.
Sofortüberweisung (Klarna Sofort) — still works, but declining. Consumers increasingly distrust the solution. I would no longer build it in as a main method today.
Prepayment / bank transfer — low cost (no fees), but a conversion killer. Only for loyal existing customers, not for first-time buyers.
Shipping within the EU + IOSS thresholds
If you only ship within Austria, the shipping topic is manageable: the terms and conditions govern delivery times, show shipping costs transparently, standard partners Österreichische Post or DPD/GLS.
As soon as you sell to other EU countries, the OSS scheme (One-Stop-Shop) comes into play: from 10.000 EUR turnover with end consumers per year from other EU countries, you must remit the VAT in the buyer's country — via the OSS portal at the tax office. WooCommerce plugins such as „OSS Compliance for WooCommerce“ or the built-in EU VAT handling help.
IOSS (Import-One-Stop-Shop) only concerns you if you import from third countries (e.g. China, USA, UK after Brexit) and resell to EU end consumers. For direct importers from Austria who have their own warehouse in AT: irrelevant.
UK after Brexit: a special case. For sales to the UK you need a UK VAT registration (for turnover from 70.000 GBP/year) and must fill in the additional shipping documents (CN22/CN23) correctly. If you do not want to serve UK customers, deactivate the UK in the WooCommerce shipping section — that saves trouble.
Terms, data protection, Impressum for AT shops
The mandatory legal pages in WooCommerce:
Terms and conditions (AGB). Must be presented for confirmation before the contract is concluded (checkbox at checkout). Do not create your own terms, but use specialised generators: WKO model texts (free, but conservative), the Trusted Shops terms service (paid, but with an update service), or a specialised e-commerce law firm (one-off 400–1.500 EUR, but truly tailored to your shop).
Privacy policy. A GDPR obligation, plus the Austrian DSG, plus the TKG for cookies. Generators such as eRecht24, Dr. Schwenke or activeMind help. A deeper approach in my post DSGVO Compliance Checklist für österreichische Websites.
Impressum. See the ECG point above. For AT shops it must be more comprehensive than for DE.
Withdrawal instructions. Mandatory. Ideally from a generator such as eRecht24 (AT version) or from a lawyer.
Data protection at checkout. Specific mandatory notices on: which data and why, retention period, legal basis. Germanized for WooCommerce sets up most of this correctly.
Bonus: WooCommerce plugins I recommend as standard for AT shops
- Germanized for WooCommerce — a must. No need for discussion.
- PDF Invoices & Packing Slips — invoice creation.
- OSS Compliance (if you ship within the EU).
- WooCommerce Stripe Gateway or Mollie Payments.
- YITH WooCommerce Wishlist (optional, a conversion booster).
For deeper plugin recommendations see beste WooCommerce Plugins.
Would you like personal advice?
If you want certainty for your WooCommerce shop in Austria before you go live — from a legally sound setup to the choice of payment provider to shipping logic — drop me a short message. In the 60-minute online setup coaching I go through your concrete case with you, and you leave the conversation with a to-do list that you can work through yourself or hand over to me.
→ Request advice: Get in touch
Tags