kibot

Buying with a purchase order, invoice, or wire transfer

Most universities, research labs, and corporate buyers need a formal invoice or purchase order before they can release funds. Kibot supports the full B2B procurement workflow through FastSpring, our authorized merchant of record. This page walks through the exact steps so your accounting or procurement team gets what they need on the first try.

The short version

  1. Build your cart on the Buy data page. Open the cart and click Request a formal invoice.
  2. Fill in the billing form, institution name, billing email, country, VAT number if you have one, and your internal PO number if your finance team needs it on the invoice.
  3. You're redirected to a hosted checkout page on FastSpring with your cart contents and contact details already populated. The link stays valid, you can forward it to your finance or procurement department.
  4. Click Invoice as the payment method on that page. FastSpring confirms the buyer details and generates a formal PDF invoice immediately, with bank-transfer details and a unique reference code.
  5. Forward the PDF to whoever needs to approve the spend, or pay it directly. The page also supports credit card, PayPal, ACH, SEPA, and Google/Amazon Pay if you don't need a wire transfer.
  6. Pay by wire using the details on the invoice, making sure to include the unique payment reference. Your data access activates within roughly one business day after the wire arrives.

Frequently asked questions

Who appears as the seller on the invoice?

The invoice is issued by BrightMarket LLC DBA FastSpring, headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. FastSpring is Kibot's authorized merchant of record, they collect payment, handle VAT and sales tax for the relevant jurisdictions, and remit revenue to Kibot. This arrangement is standard for SaaS and digital-data resellers and is accepted by virtually every university and corporate procurement department we've worked with.

If your procurement team needs Kibot listed alongside FastSpring on the invoice (for compliance with internal vendor records), include that request in the Notes field when generating the quote and we will add it before the invoice is finalized.

VAT and reverse charge for EU buyers

If your institution is based in the European Union and has a valid VAT number, FastSpring applies the reverse-charge mechanism, the invoice is issued without VAT and your accounting team self-accounts for it on your local return. Enter your VAT ID in the VAT / Tax ID field on the request-invoice form so it's printed on the quote.

The single most common procurement-side ticket on the Kibot support inbox is "we received an invoice with VAT but our institution is in the EU and is VAT-registered". Sending the institution's VAT number and the invoice/quote ID through the contact form is the fastest fix; FastSpring re-issues the invoice without VAT on the same business day in most cases. UK-based buyers post-Brexit follow the same path: send the UK VAT number and we'll have FastSpring re-issue under the post-2021 rules.

FastSpring is registered for VAT in the EU and holds a European VAT number itself, which is what allows the reverse charge to operate cleanly on the buyer's local return.

Where do I put the purchase order number?

The request-invoice form has a dedicated Purchase Order Number field. Whatever you enter is also pre-filled on FastSpring's invoice modal, so the PO ends up printed on the final invoice without you having to type it twice. If your accounting team only assigns the PO after seeing the invoice, just leave that field blank for now, you can add it on the FastSpring page before clicking Generate Invoice.

Which payment methods are supported?

The FastSpring checkout page supports credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, UnionPay), wire transfer, ACH (US), SEPA (EU), PayPal, Amazon Payments, certain real-time bank transfers, and in the US only, check or money order. Choose Invoice when you need to pay by wire transfer, this routes through FastSpring's invoicing service and produces the formal PDF document your accounting team needs.

One subtle point on the checkout page: if the Securely save payment details checkbox is visible, leave it unchecked. Saving payment details suppresses the Invoice and Wire Transfer options on FastSpring's side, which is the most common cause of "I cannot see the Invoice button" support tickets.

Paying by check or money order (US only)

This option is available only for US-based customers. The order stays in Pending Payment status until FastSpring receives the check or money order in the mail. Checks are deposited the day they arrive (Monday through Friday), and the order is marked complete and the download instructions sent the same day. Plan for the postal-mail round trip when choosing this method.

Pre-authorization holds on cards

A rejected card attempt can still trigger a temporary pre-authorization, which is a hold on funds rather than an actual charge. Banks typically release these holds within five business days, sometimes longer. The pre-authorization is not a charge against your account, and neither Kibot nor FastSpring can speed up the release; the timing is controlled entirely by the card-issuing bank. If a hold is still visible after ten business days, your bank's customer service is the right escalation path.

Bank-transfer details

Bank-transfer details are printed on the invoice itself, but for reference the destination is Wells Fargo Bank N.A. London Branch (account holder BrightMarket LLC DBA FastSpring). Each invoice carries a unique payment-reference code, you must include this reference in the wire's memo field or FastSpring cannot match the payment to your order, which delays activation.

Splitting payment across two institutions

If two universities or departments are co-funding a purchase, we can issue two separate invoices that together cover the order, each can list a subset of the items and a different billing address. Generate one invoice with the request-invoice form, then use the contact form with the order ID and the second institution's billing details and we'll set up the matching second invoice.

How long does the link stay valid?

The hosted checkout link is good for several days. If your procurement cycle takes longer or the link expires before payment, email us with the order ID and we'll re-issue without changing the price, as long as our catalog hasn't moved.

Academic and educational pricing

Kibot offers reduced rates for verified academic researchers, students, and university-affiliated labs. Use the contact form with proof of affiliation (university email is usually enough) before generating the quote, we'll set up custom pricing on the items you need and send a quote URL directly.

How long until I get the data?

From the moment FastSpring confirms the wire transfer (typically same business day after the funds arrive), your account is activated automatically and you'll receive the download instructions by email. International wires generally take 1–3 business days to settle. Plan ahead during quarter-end and holiday periods, when bank processing can be slower.

Once active, your purchase includes 45 days of download access plus free use of the Kibot API over the same period as a bonus, followed by quarterly updates for a year. The data you download is yours to keep.

Why are taxes shown on my quote?

Taxes added to a quote are imposed by your country's tax authority on digital service providers, not by Kibot or by FastSpring. Over 110 countries currently require digital service providers to collect VAT, GST, or sales tax on digital purchases, and FastSpring as Merchant of Record is legally obligated to collect and remit. The tax rate is determined automatically from the billing country and address on the quote. If your country recently changed its digital-service tax rules, the quote reflects the rule in force on the day the invoice is generated.

If you're VAT-exempt under the reverse-charge mechanism, see the VAT section above; that path removes the tax line entirely on the re-issued quote.

Multi-currency support

FastSpring detects the buyer's region from the billing address and displays prices in the local currency where supported (EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, CHF, and several others; the underlying transaction is converted at the rate quoted on the page). The base price stays the same in USD, the displayed currency is a convenience for the buyer and a clean line item for the accounting team. If your institution requires the invoice in a specific currency, mention it in the Notes field on the request-invoice form.

My order isn't in your standard catalog

If you need a custom symbol universe, a date range that's not on the buy page, or a one-off historical extract, use the contact form and describe what you're after. We'll quote it manually and send a custom-order link that follows the same invoice and wire-transfer flow described above.

Need help?

  • Use the contact form with your quote ID, institution name, and the question. A human responds within one business day.
  • If you're not sure what to buy yet, the Buy data page lists every package, bundle, and subscription, and the FAQ covers the most common questions.
  • For a deeper background on how FastSpring fits into the picture, see FastSpring payment details.

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