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# Your First Invoice

After you accept a proposal, we issue the first invoice. This
page covers what's on it, the difference between **one-time
project work** and **recurring services**, and how the two
appear separately in the portal.

## Two billing systems running in parallel

Everything in your proposal falls into one of two buckets,
and the two are billed through completely different paths:

- **One-time project work** — building a website, designing
  a logo, setting something up. Charged once (or once per
  phase, see below). **We issue these invoices manually and
  you pay by bank transfer or cash** — see
  [Payment methods](payment-methods).
- **Recurring services** — hosting, maintenance, SEO
  subscriptions. **Auto-charged via Stripe on a card you
  put on file** at marketplace checkout. You don't pay each
  cycle by hand. See
  [Renewals](../subscriptions-and-billing/renewals).

This page is about the first kind — your first **project
invoice**. Subscriptions follow a separate flow you don't
have to actively manage past the initial setup.

## One invoice per project phase

A project doesn't pay in a single lump sum. **Most projects are
split into three phases:**

- **Phase 1** — a deposit, due when you accept the proposal.
- **Phase 2** — an interim milestone partway through the work
  (e.g. when designs are approved, or when the first draft is
  delivered for review).
- **Phase 3** — the final balance, due on delivery.

The exact percentages are agreed in the proposal and vary by
project. Some smaller jobs are billed as a single phase; some
longer engagements have more than three. The proposal is the
source of truth either way.

**Each phase gets its own invoice** when that phase becomes
due. A three-phase project results in three project invoices,
each paid in full — not one invoice paid in instalments.

You can see the phase breakdown in the **Project Payments**
menu (each row is a project, each project shows its stages and
the invoice attached to each).

## Recurring services bill on their own cycle

Subscriptions (hosting, maintenance, SEO retainers) renew
on their own schedule — **monthly** every month, **annual**
on the anniversary, etc. Each renewal is **auto-charged on
the card on file** by Stripe; you don't pay each cycle
manually like you do for project invoices.

This is separate from your project's phases — subscription
renewals keep going even after project work is finished.
See [Renewals](../subscriptions-and-billing/renewals) for
the full cycle, the upcoming-charge notice email, and how
to manage payment methods.

## What "your first invoice" actually is

Depends on your project:

- **Typical multi-phase project** (three phases): your first
  invoice is the **deposit** — the Phase 1 amount. Phase 2 and
  Phase 3 invoices arrive later, when those milestones become
  due.
- **Single-phase project** (smaller jobs): your first invoice
  is for the whole project. After that, only recurring
  subscription invoices follow.
- **No project, just subscriptions**: your first invoice is
  the first cycle of whichever subscription started first.

In every case, the **proposal** is the source of truth for how
your billing will be staged. Re-open it any time from the
**Proposals** menu if you want to check.

## Where to find invoices

Two menu items point at the same underlying records from
different angles.

### Invoices menu

The **Invoices** menu item shows every formal invoice we've
issued you, newest first. Each row has:

- **Invoice number** — assigned once it's filed with AADE (the
  Greek tax authority).
- **Description** — the line-item summary.
- **Status** — *Sent* / *Paid* / etc.
- **Total** — the amount due in your invoice's currency
  (usually EUR).

Click any row to open the invoice or download the PDF.

### Project Payments menu

The **Project Payments** menu item shows your projects with
their phase breakdown — each phase as a row, with its status
and the linked invoice. This is the "where am I in the payment
plan" view.

## How the two menus relate

- **Project Payments** answers *"what do I still owe on this
  project?"*
- **Invoices** answers *"show me the formal document for
  invoice #X"*.

Each phase in Project Payments points at the invoice issued
for it. Each invoice in Invoices belongs to either a project
phase or a subscription cycle.

## Reading the invoice itself

When you open an invoice, you'll see:

- Header with the **invoice number**, issue date, customer
  name and VAT details, our company details.
- A **line-item table**: description, quantity, unit price,
  VAT, total.
- The **totals**: subtotal, VAT, grand total.
- The **bank account details** for payment, plus the **payment
  reference** to use.

For invoices issued from July 2024 onwards (invoice number
≥ 474), there's a **Download PDF** action — the official PDF
comes from our invoicing platform, Elorus. Older invoices: ask
us if you need a copy.

## Next steps

- [Payment methods](payment-methods) — bank transfer, cash, and
  the methods we don't accept.
- [Paying an invoice](paying-an-invoice) — step-by-step.
- [Receipts & records](receipts-and-records) — finding past
  invoices.