Tired of missing out on VAT reimbursement?
Flappy Owl is available Mission-wide to help get YOUR money back!
Watch the YouTube Tutorial to see how it works!
Instant download after checkout
Hands-off. We handle the entire process for you.
By popular community demand!
Flappy Owl is operated by a USDH member of the community. If you're not fully satisfied with Flappy Owl, just contact me for a refund and I'll be happy to return your payment.
Please email us at fapiao@flappyowl.com. You can also DM Lewis in the 'Mission China Tips' group!
Flappy Owl is a locally run desktop application designed to help streamline the extraction of VAT-related data from scanned Chinese invoices (fapiao) and automatically populate Excel reports for diplomatic users.
To enhance automation and user convenience, the app optionally allows users to input the following details:
This information is not required to use the app. If you prefer, you may leave these fields blank and complete them manually in the exported Excel file.
Any information entered is stored and processed locally on your device. It is not transmitted to the developers, any server, or third party.
An email address is required only for login and payment tracking purposes. It will never be used for marketing or unsolicited communication by the developer. However, your email address may be visible to third-party platforms used for payment and licensing, such as Stripe and Vercel, whose own privacy policies apply.
The application processes PDF fapiao to extract relevant VAT data. While fapiao generally do not contain personally identifiable information (PII), they may include purchase histories or vendor details.
The contents of your fapiao are not accessible to the developer.
For OCR (optical character recognition), the app uses Tencent OCR services, which may transmit invoice image data to Tencent servers during analysis. Use of this feature constitutes your acceptance of Tencent's privacy and data handling practices.
The developer of Flappy Owl does not access, collect, or store your personal data or invoice files. By using the app, you acknowledge that the developer is not liable for any data loss, inaccuracies, security breaches, or system failures.
Use of this application must comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies of the United States Government and the Host Nation where you are assigned. Users are solely responsible for ensuring that their usage of this tool does not conflict with diplomatic, legal, or agency-specific guidelines.
1. Email your invoice PDFs to fapiao@flappyowl.com. You can either send them all together, or one at a time over several weeks.
Include your first/last name, diplomatic ID number, post, office and agency in the body of your email. If you provide that information, we'll include it on your completed VAT reimbursement paperwork.
If you choose not to provide it, those spaces will be blank and you will need to fill them in yourself.
2. When you're ready for me to produce your paperwork, send an email with 'Ready!' in the subject line.
3. Once I've finished reviewing your fapiao, your completed VAT paperwork will be available in exchange for 15% of your tax rebate. The service will provide the following:
In the unlikely event that Finance identifies errors, just email me and I'll quickly issue a correction. Please aim to pay within 24 hours of receipt.