How Billing Works

You pay for a period before you use it. When you order, you pay for the first term; before each term ends we issue an invoice for the next one. Nothing renews without an invoice, and no invoice appears without a service behind it.

The cycle is chosen when you order — monthly, quarterly, annually, depending on the product — and it stays the same at every renewal until you change it. Longer cycles generally have a lower effective monthly price.

To change cycle, use the plan change option on the service: it is treated like any other plan change, with the difference prorated.

Three terms show up constantly and are easy to confuse.

• **Invoice** — a request for payment for a specific period. It has a number, a due date and a status.
• **Payment** — money actually received against an invoice. One invoice can have several payments, for example part credit and part PayPal.
• **Credit** — a balance on your account that can pay invoices. It is not money in a bank account and is not refundable to a card.

Renewal invoices are generated in advance of the renewal date, so you always have a window in which to pay before the service is affected. You get an email when the invoice is issued, and reminders as the due date approaches.

The invoice shows exactly what is charged and on what basis. The billing details you set in your profile determine what appears on it, so keep them up to date — especially company name, address and any tax identifiers.