Issue #135 Loop WP

Hi, friend. 👋

Welcome to Issue #135 of Loop WP!

Last week, we examined BBQ (Block Bad Queries), a security plugin I install on all my client websites.

This week, we look at a niche WooCommerce topic…taxes! In a special edition of the Weekly WordPress News & Tips, I will also share some Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals.

Let’s go! 👇

🏴 I wanted to get this topic out last week, but the timing couldn’t be better with Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in full swing!

🚨 The products I discuss below are plugins and solutions I have used in the past or currently use for my WooCommerce clients.

Taxes, Taxes, Taxes

I've been spending my daily life in WooCommerce as usual (after a pleasant interruption from Shopify), both for my clients and with my consulting hat on.

It’s never a dull day with WooCommerce.

🫠 With a new client, I came across something I had not seen in a long time: the previous website development team had NOT enabled the WooCommerce tax settings.

⚠️ No tax settings were a big deal for this client, not just for accountancy and reporting but also for legal compliance.

Tax is complicated, especially if you live in the UK. With changes due to Brexit, it gets even more complex when you live in Northern Ireland (like I do).

Even if you aren’t based in the EU but sell to EU customers, you must also consider taxes (especially for Digital Services), but more on that later.

WooCommerce Tax Settings

⚠️ One of the first things you should generally do when setting up WooCommerce is to enable the tax settings.

WooCommerce also has a guide for configuring more customised/complex tax setups.

(I am not a tax expert; you should always consult your accountant when configuring your tax settings.)

WooCommerce Tax Solutions

⚡️ WooCommerce has its own tax plugin that automatically calculates the sales tax that should be collected for WooCommerce orders by city, country, or state at checkout.

(And if you are EU-based, WooCommerce recommends another plugin in addition to their automated tax plugin.)

🫠 My frustration with the latter solution is that Jetpack must be installed on your website (and you must have a connection to WordPress.com, which is impossible for some people today, #WPDrama 😔).

Third-Party Solutions

🚨 One of the must-have plugins I used to install for all my clients, which is free and fantastic, is the "WooCommerce EU VAT Assistant" plugin from Aelia.

It reached the end of life over 2 years ago, but:

• The plugin still works flawlessly.

• It has still received compatibility updates.

• They do recommend another option from Simba Hosting as a replacement. **

** I’ve tested both the free and pro versions of EU/UK VAT Compliance Assistant for WooCommerce (the recommended replacement plugin), and it’s a solid solution.

EU VAT and OSS

🙇‍♂️ Another consideration is that the 2021 changes to EU VAT and OSS have made matters even more complex and apply to non-EU-based stores.

For example, if you are a US-based store and sell enough to an EU country, these rules will apply to you.

Yith Themes has a plugin to help you, “YITH WooCommerce EU VAT, OSS & IOSS”.

💪 After testing it for several stores, I found it a good solution with great support.

Note: The “WooCommerce Marketplace” is great for finding other tax solutions. You don’t need to be limited to the options I’ve discussed today.

(There are plenty of other potential solutions out there.)

Call for Feedback: What’s Next for WooCommerce Tax?

Tax is very complex. 🫠

If you didn’t know that before, you do now after reading this week’s newsletter.

The good news is that WooCommerce is trying to make things easier and needs our help, friend. 👇

There are a few ways to get involved (writing this newsletter was one of them), and you can learn more about them in this article from Matthias Reinholz.

💡 I would love WooCommerce to offer a MoR (Merchant of Record feature).

(Previously, my go-to was Lemon Squeezy, but since Stripe took them over, they have become quite restrictive.)

Before You Go

🤯 Things took another turn this week, with Automattic " forking " ACF Pro and placing it in the repository for free.

Automattic subscribes to my newsletter, so it will be interesting to see my sharing the following outcome.

😬 I’ve considered not including these links, but I believe it’s too important not to.

It’s caused a stir in the community, and I think justly so:

• An overview of how WordPress is serving up a nulled version of ACF Pro.

• It’s ironic, don’t you think?

• Many things inside of the ACF Pro fork would not pass the plugin review process, and as far as I can see, no one on the Plugin Review Team was aware of or reviewed any of the code.

• A8c's new SCF plugin deactivates Advanced Custom Fields PRO when activated, an action not allowed by the dot-org Plugin Handbook.

• A sad day for ACF and Metabox.

• The Plugin Review Team's usual checks and processes are bypassed.

That’s it for this week 👋

⏩ It’s been a while since I talked about WooCommerce in my newsletter (over a month).

So next week, we will continue that theme as we look at “Shipping”. It sounds boring, but it’s not.

Shipping is something you should be thinking about before you launch your store.

Sponsorship Opportunities

🚨 The Google Doc contains all the details if you’re interested in sponsoring the Loop WP Newsletter.

🎉 Slots are sold out before Christmas, but I am now taking bookings for the New Year.

Weekly WordPress News, Tips & Black Friday Deals

This week's excellent and insightful WordPress News & Tips includes a Black Friday special!

Any deals below are from plugins I use or use with my clients or from trusted members of the WordPress community whose plugins I have tested, reviewed or used in the past.

• Blink - Introducing BLINK “Business, Links, Insights, and Knowledge”, a free way to build connections and links. (WP Mayor)

• Feedback - Modernizing WooCommerce Emails: We Need Your Feedback! (WooCommerce)

• 2025 - Is WordPress 6.7 Good? (Brian Coords & The WP Minute)

• Igniting the Future - YouthCamp at WordCamp Asia 2025 (WordCamp Asia)

• ACF & Bricks - Master ACF Bi-Directional Relationships. (WP Tuts)

• Seriously, Bud? - Seriously, BUD? is all about exploring the life stories of people in the WordPress community. (The WP World)

Black Friday Deals

• WPBFDeals - Black Friday WordPress Giveaway 2024. (WPBFDeals)

• 30% off - Accessibility Checker, enter coupon code: “BlackFriday24” on the checkout page to get the discount. (EqualizeDigital)

• Bug Hunt - Black Friday Special. Earn cash bounties by hunting for vulnerabilities in WordPress software. (patchstack)

• Save up to $50 - Discounts on GeneratePress, GenerateBlocks, GenerateOne and Cloud. (GeneratePress)

• 50% Off - GenerateBlocks Pro Wireframes. This includes all future updates and the soon-to-be-released GB 2.0 blocks version. Use code: “X2024”. (Mike Oliver)

• New Plugin Alert! - Noted! is a user-friendly note-taking plugin that allows Admin users to create and manage notes directly in WordPress. (Kyle Van Deusen)

• 30% Off - WooCommerce plugins to optimise your store, with coupon code: “BFCM2024”. (Studio Wombat)

• Recommended Deals - Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals - My Tools Of Choice! (WP Tuts)

• 50% Off - Yearly plans with Insta WP. Use Code: “BF50“. (Insta WP)

• Exclusive 30% Off - Your first payment with promo code “SRHDESIGN“. (Termageddon)

• 30% off - All WooCommerce plugins. (Yith Themes)

• 50% off - All hosting plans. (Kinsta)

• Save 20% - Supercharge your web design game with Core Framework's robust toolkit to manage, organize, and reuse your stylesheets. Use code: “BF20“. (Core Framework)

•  20% off Lifetime - Boost your Bricks websites. Build faster, easier, and better. (Advanced Themer)

If you have a question about this email or WordPress, reply, and I will answer you as soon as possible.

👋 Until next time,