> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.salesbricks.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Legal Entities
> Issue orders and invoices under multiple contracting entities
## Overview
A **legal entity** is the company that contracts with your customer. It carries a registered legal name, a headquarters address, and a tax ID, and it appears as the seller on the order form, the checkout page, and the invoice.
Most sellers only ever need one, and Salesbricks uses your [company details](/settings/company/details-and-branding) for it automatically. You need more than one when you sell through separate registered companies, such as a US parent and a UK subsidiary, or entities registered for tax in different jurisdictions.
Every order and every invoice records exactly one issuing entity. When no entity is selected, both fall back to your company details.
If you don't see a **Legal entity** field on the order builder, multiple legal entities aren't
enabled for your account yet. Reach out to us in your dedicated Slack channel.
## Requesting an entity
Legal entities are configured by Salesbricks rather than in your settings. To add one, reach out to us in your dedicated Slack channel with:
| Field | Notes |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name** | The short display name, e.g. `Acme UK`. |
| **Legal name** | The registered legal name, e.g. `Acme Software Limited`. Must be unique within your account. |
| **Headquarters address** | Street, city, state or region, postal code, and country. Used for tax calculation; see [What changes downstream](#what-changes-downstream). |
| **Tax ID** | Optional. The entity's VAT, GST, ABN, or equivalent. Overrides your account-level tax ID on invoices this entity issues. |
Where the name and legal name differ, documents render both as `Legal Name (Name)`, for example `Acme Software Limited (Acme UK)`. Where they match, only the one name is shown.
Once an entity has issued an order or an invoice, it can't be deleted. Send us the corrected
details and we'll update the entity in place.
## Selecting an entity on an order
Start a new order, or open a draft order and continue editing it.
Below the customer information section, open the **Legal entity** selector and pick the entity that will contract with this customer.
Each option reads as the entity name followed by its headquarters, for example `Poesy International - Toronto, Ontario`.
The first option, **Seller default**, is selected on every new order. It issues the order under your account's company name, address, and tax ID rather than a specific entity.
The selected entity is shown on the order details page once the order is created.
Amendments and renewals inherit the legal entity of the order they're based on, so the **Legal
entity** field is read-only on those order types. To contract an existing customer under a
different entity, build a new order.
## Selecting an entity on an invoice
* **Invoices attached to an order** inherit that order's legal entity. There's nothing to select.
* **Standalone invoices**, meaning [one-off invoices](/billing/one-off-invoices) not tied to an order, carry their own **Legal entity** selector, with the same **Seller default** option.
You can change the entity on an existing invoice through advanced edit, as long as the invoice hasn't been sent.
## What changes downstream
Selecting an entity changes who the customer sees, and how the deal is taxed.
| Surface | What the entity controls |
| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Order form** | The seller name in the header and in the signature block, and the seller address. |
| **Checkout** | The company the customer sees they're buying from. |
| **Invoice** | The issuing company name and address. |
| **Invoice tax ID** | The entity's tax ID, falling back to your account-level tax ID when the entity has none. |
| **Customer emails** | The seller name in order and billing notifications. |
| **Sales tax** | Calculated from the entity's headquarters address. |
Sales tax is calculated from the nexus between the **entity's** headquarters and your customer's
location. The same deal sold to the same customer can produce a different tax result under a
different entity. See [Taxed States](/settings/finance/taxed-states) for how tax collection is
configured.
## API
Subscriptions created through the REST API can specify which entity issues them.
### List your legal entities
[`GET /legal-entities`](/api-reference/legal-entities/list-all-legal-entities) returns your entities and their IDs.
```bash cURL theme={null}
curl https://api.salesbricks.com/api/v2/legal-entities \
-H "X-SALESBRICKS-KEY: "
```
```json JSON theme={null}
{
"count": 1,
"next": null,
"previous": null,
"results": [
{
"legal_entity_id": "3f9a1c2e-5b7d-4e18-9a20-6c4b8d1e7f33",
"name": "Acme UK",
"legal_name": "Acme Software Limited",
"display_name": "Acme Software Limited (Acme UK)",
"hq_address": {
"line_1": "20 Air Street",
"line_2": null,
"city": "London",
"region": "England",
"zip": "W1B 5AN",
"country": "GB"
}
}
]
}
```
### Issue a subscription under an entity
Pass the ID as `legal_entity_id` when you [create a subscription](/api-reference/getting-started/starting-a-subscription). Omit it to use your company details.
```bash cURL theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api.salesbricks.com/api/v2/subscriptions \
-H "X-SALESBRICKS-KEY: " \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"customer_id": "a1b2c3d4-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a",
"plan_id": "b7e4f210-3c88-4a91-b5d2-1e9f7a6c4d05",
"legal_entity_id": "3f9a1c2e-5b7d-4e18-9a20-6c4b8d1e7f33"
}'
```
An ID that doesn't belong to your account returns `400`.
## Related topics
- [List all legal entities](/api-reference/legal-entities/list-all-legal-entities.md)
- [Setup](/integrations/stripe/setup.md)
- [Update a subscription recast](/api-reference/subscription-recasts/update-a-subscription-recast.md)