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.
• 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.

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 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 — bank transfer, cash, and the methods we don't accept.
• Paying an invoice — step-by-step.
• Receipts & records — finding past invoices.