Running an online shop in Slovakia: what to choose and what the law requires
Conversations about an e-shop usually start with the platform and end six months later with "why are there no sales". The right order is the reverse: first what you sell and to whom, then the law and the money, and only then the technology.
Below, in that order.
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First, an honest question: do you need a shop at all
Not everyone needs a catalogue with a cart. If you have ten items, the sale happens after a conversation and the price depends on volume, what you need is a catalogue with an enquiry form. It is cheaper, faster and closer to how the deal actually works.
A shop with a cart earns its place when the purchase happens without you: the person chose, paid, received.
Ready platform or custom build
An argument with no universal answer, so let us be concrete.
| Ready platform | Custom | |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | fast, cheaper | longer, from 5,000 € |
| Monthly | subscription + a percentage of sales | hosting |
| Design | template with limits | no limits |
| Non-standard logic | via plugins, if they exist | built as required |
| Integrations | whatever the platform anticipates | anything |
| Data | with the platform | with you |
The practical test is one question: do you have logic the ready solution does not? Volume pricing for wholesale buyers, warehouse integration, delivery with your own rules, a product configurator — that is where platforms end.
If none of that applies, starting with a ready solution is sensible. An example of a custom build is the BODA BODA wholesale shop, where the product page carries the parameters a buyer decides on.
Real development prices are in how much a website costs in Slovakia.
Accepting payment
The key choice, affecting both conversion and cost.
What a Slovak buyer expects:
- Card — the basic method.
- Bank transfer — established and still widely used.
- Cash on delivery (dobierka) — many still choose it out of caution; its absence costs you a share of orders.
- Apple Pay / Google Pay — on mobile it noticeably raises the share of completed purchases.
A comparison of gateways, fees and what to watch for in the contract is in accepting card payments.
Important from 1 May 2026: a seller must make cashless payment possible on any purchase above one euro. For an e-shop that is largely the norm already, but it also applies to collection in person and to couriers.
eKasa: when it applies and when it does not
A frequent source of panic, so point by point.
Not required when payment goes by card on the site or by bank transfer.
Required when you receive money in person: cash or card on handover — collection with payment on the spot, or a courier taking payment.
The full analysis including the changes from 1 January is in eKasa in 2026.
VAT: from what turnover
VAT registration becomes mandatory at 50,000 euros of turnover in a calendar year. A second threshold — 62,500 — carries different timing consequences. Sales to private individuals in other EU countries follow separate rules and separate limits.
Practical advice: watch turnover in advance, not in hindsight. The thresholds and what changed are in VAT registration in Slovakia.
Need a new website?
A company site, an online shop or a booking system. Most projects ship within 15 working days.
What must be on the site
Shops carry more requirements than a services site, and they are checked more often.
Company details — name, registered address, IČO, DIČ, register entry. The full list.
Terms of business — a mandatory document: how an order is formed, deadlines, delivery, payment.
The 14-day right of withdrawal. A consumer may return goods without giving a reason. The terms must be described clearly, not hidden.
Complaints procedure — the process and the deadlines for handling.
Privacy policy — stating what data is collected and why. What GDPR requires.
A cookie banner with Consent Mode v2 — mandatory if there is analytics or advertising. More.
Any missing item is both a legal risk and a loss of trust: a Slovak buyer checks the details before paying.
Delivery
Three things that affect sales more than they appear to:
Delivery cost visible before the cart. A surprise at the final step is the main cause of abandoned carts.
A choice of collection point. Packeta, courier services, the post office — Slovak buyers are used to choosing.
A specific timeframe. "2–3 working days" works better than "as soon as possible".
Measurement: without it a shop is unreadable
A shop without e-commerce analytics configured is monthly spending in the dark.
The minimum that has to work: product view, add to cart, checkout started, purchase. Then it becomes visible where people drop out — on the product page, at delivery, or at payment.
How to set it up — configuring GA4.
Launch order
- Decide: a shop, or a catalogue with an enquiry form.
- Calculate the cost of ownership over 2–3 years, not the launch.
- Choose payment methods and check whether an eKasa is required.
- Prepare the mandatory documents.
- Build the shop.
- Set up measurement before launch, not after.
- Launch and watch where buyers are lost.
If you need help
I build custom online shops from 5,000 € — with payments connected, delivery, the mandatory documents and measurement configured. Details on the web development service page.
I have lived in Slovakia for over ten years, work as a Slovak s.r.o. and issue a faktúra with an IČO.
Want to know what is holding your site back?
I go through it the way Google sees it and send a concrete list within 3 working days.
