# Invoices and Billing History

Manage your billing invoices, payment history, and download receipts for your DanubeData account. This guide covers invoice management and billing transparency.

## Overview

DanubeData provides:

- **Detailed Invoices**: Itemized breakdown of all charges
- **Monthly Billing**: Invoices generated on 1st of each month
- **Automatic Payments**: Charges processed automatically
- **Invoice History**: Access all past invoices
- **Downloadable PDFs**: Print or save invoices
- **Tax Documentation**: VAT/tax included where applicable

## Accessing Invoices

### Via Dashboard

1. Navigate to **Account** > **Billing** > **Invoices**
2. View list of all invoices
3. Filter by:
   - Date range
   - Status (Paid, Pending, Failed)
   - Amount
4. Click invoice to view details

### Invoice List

Each invoice shows:

- **Invoice Number**: Unique identifier
- **Date**: Invoice issue date
- **Due Date**: Payment due date
- **Amount**: Total amount due
- **Status**: Payment status
- **Actions**: View, Download PDF, Email

## Invoice Details

### Invoice Information

Each invoice includes:

**Header**:
- Invoice number and date
- Billing period
- Account name and address
- Payment method

**Line Items**:
- Resource name and type
- Usage period
- Quantity/hours
- Rate
- Subtotal

**Summary**:
- Subtotal
- Tax (if applicable)
- Credits applied
- Total amount

**Payment**:
- Payment method
- Payment date
- Transaction ID

### Sample Invoice Breakdown

```
DanubeData Invoice #INV-2024-10-001
Billing Period: September 1-30, 2024

Line Items:
├─ VPS: web-server-1 (Small)
│  Period: Sep 1-30 (730 hours)
│  Rate: €0.027/hour
│  Total: €20.00
│
├─ Database: prod-postgres-1 (DB-Medium)
│  Period: Sep 1-30 (730 hours)
│  Rate: €0.110/hour
│  Total: €80.00
│
├─ Cache: redis-cache-1 (Cache-Small)
│  Period: Sep 1-15 (360 hours)
│  Rate: €0.042/hour
│  Total: €15.12
│
├─ Bandwidth Overage
│  Amount: 150 GB
│  Rate: €1.00/TB
│  Total: €1.50
│
└─ Snapshot Storage
   Amount: 50 GB
   Rate: €0.073/GB/month
   Total: €5.00

Subtotal: €121.62
Tax (VAT 19%): €23.11
───────────────────
Total: €144.73

Payment Method: Visa ****1234
Payment Date: October 1, 2024
Status: PAID
```

## Billing Cycle

### Monthly Invoicing

Invoices generated monthly:

- **Generation**: 1st day of month
- **Period**: Previous month's usage
- **Due Date**: Immediately (5 days for first invoice, 10 days for following)
- **Payment**: Automatic charge upon generation

### Hourly Billing

Resources billed hourly with monthly cap:

- **Usage Tracking**: Per-hour granularity
- **Monthly Cap**: Never exceed monthly price
- **Pro-rated**: Only pay for hours used
- **Mid-month Changes**: Reflected in billing

### Example Calculation

VPS Small profile:
- **Monthly Price**: €20
- **Hourly Rate**: €20 / 730 hours = €0.027/hour

**Scenarios**:

1. **Full Month**: 730+ hours = €20 (capped)
2. **Half Month**: 360 hours = €10
3. **One Week**: 168 hours = €4.70

## Payment Processing

### Automatic Payments

Default payment flow:

1. Invoice generated on 1st
2. Email notification sent
3. Payment auto-charged on due date
4. Receipt emailed after payment
5. Invoice marked "Paid"

### Payment Methods

Accepted payment methods:

- **Credit Card**: Visa, MasterCard, American Express
- **Debit Card**: Most debit cards accepted

### Failed Payments

If payment fails:

1. **Day 3**: Payment reminder email
2. **Day 7**: Urgent payment reminder
3. **Day 14**: Final warning — suspension notice
4. **Day 21**: Account suspension — all resources stopped
5. **Day 30**: Termination warning
6. **Day 45**: Account termination — all resources permanently deleted

> **Important**: Update your payment method immediately to avoid service interruption. See [Payments](https://docs.danubedata.ro/billing-payments) for full details.

## Managing Invoices

### Downloading Invoices

Download PDF invoices:

1. Go to **Invoices** page
2. Click invoice to view
3. Click **Download PDF**
4. Save or print invoice

PDFs include all invoice details formatted for accounting.

### Emailing Invoices

Send invoice via email:

1. Click invoice
2. Click **Email Invoice**
3. Enter recipient email(s)
4. Click **Send**

Useful for sharing with accounting department.

### Disputing Charges

If you find errors:

1. Click **Dispute** on invoice
2. Describe the issue
3. Provide supporting details
4. Submit dispute

Support team will review within 1-2 business days.

## Credits and Adjustments

### Promotional Credits

Applied automatically to invoices:

- **Source**: Promotions, referrals, compensation
- **Application**: Oldest invoices first
- **Expiration**: Check credit expiry date
- **Balance**: View in billing dashboard

### Account Adjustments

If a billing error is confirmed, a correcting credit or adjustment is applied and appears as a line item on your invoice. Contact support if you believe a charge is wrong.

### Refunds

Refunds aren't offered as a matter of course, but may be issued in certain cases — for example, a confirmed billing error. When a refund is approved it's returned to your original payment method. Contact support to request one.

## Tax Information

### VAT/GST

Tax handling by region:

**EU Customers**:
- VAT charged based on country
- Reverse charge for VAT-registered businesses
- Provide VAT number to avoid charges

**Other Regions**:
- Tax charged per local regulations
- Rates vary by jurisdiction
- Included in total amount

### Tax Documentation

Download tax documents:

1. Go to **Account** > **Tax Information**
2. View tax documents
3. Download W-9, VAT certificates, etc.

## Usage Reports

### Detailed Usage

View detailed usage breakdown:

1. Navigate to **Billing** > **Usage**
2. Select date range
3. Choose resource type
4. Export to CSV

Reports include:

- Resource name and ID
- Start and end time
- Hours used
- Rate
- Cost

### Cost Analysis

Analyze spending:

- **By Resource**: Breakdown by resource
- **By Type**: VPS, Database, Cache, etc.
- **By Time**: Daily, weekly, monthly trends
- **By Project**: If using project tags

## Cost Optimization

### Reducing Costs

Strategies to reduce billing:

1. **Right-Size Resources**: Don't over-provision
2. **Delete Unused**: Remove idle resources
3. **Optimize Bandwidth**: Use private networks
4. **Manage Snapshots**: Delete old snapshots
5. **Monitor Usage**: Regular cost reviews

### Budget Alerts

Set spending alerts:

1. Go to **Billing** > **Budget Alerts**
2. Click **Create Alert**
3. Set threshold (e.g., €100/month)
4. Add email recipients
5. Save alert

Receive notifications when approaching budget.

## Account Statements

### Monthly Statements

Comprehensive monthly statement:

- Summary of all charges
- Payment history
- Credit activity
- Account balance

Download from **Billing** > **Statements**.

### Annual Reports

End-of-year summary:

- Total spending
- Resource usage statistics
- Payment summary
- Tax information

Available in January for previous year.

## Payment History

### Transaction Log

View all payment transactions:

- **Date**: Transaction date
- **Type**: Payment, refund, credit
- **Method**: Payment method used
- **Amount**: Transaction amount
- **Status**: Success or failed
- **Invoice**: Related invoice

Export to CSV for accounting.

## Billing Support

### Common Questions

**Q: Why was I charged more than expected?**
A: Check invoice for:
- Bandwidth overage
- Additional resources created
- Snapshot storage
- Backup storage

**Q: Can I get a refund for unused time?**
A: Refunds are handled case-by-case — contact support to discuss your situation.

**Q: How do I change my billing date?**
A: Billing date is fixed to 1st of month and cannot be changed.

**Q: Can I pay annually?**
A: Not at this time — billing is monthly and pay-as-you-go.

### Contacting Support

For billing questions:

- **Support ticket**: Via the dashboard — the fastest route, tied to your account and invoices
- **Email**: support@danubedata.ro

## Related Documentation

- [Billing Overview](https://docs.danubedata.ro/billing-overview)
- [Pricing](https://docs.danubedata.ro/billing-pricing)
- [Account Settings](https://docs.danubedata.ro/account-settings)
- [Account Limits](https://docs.danubedata.ro/account-limits)