Two questions reach us nearly every week: why is the first invoice not the price of the plan? and why did I get two invoices at once? Both have the same answer, and there is nothing hidden in it.
The first invoice is unlike all the others
On most plans we use pro-rata billing: instead of starting your cycle on the day you bought, we line every service up on the same date of the month. That way someone with three services gets one invoice a month rather than three on different days.
To reach that date, the first invoice charges only the days remaining until it. That is why it is almost never the same as the advertised price — and why, depending on the day you buy, it can be a good deal lower or a good deal higher.
The arithmetic, exactly
There are no hidden roundings. It is three numbers:
amount = plan price x T / D
T = days from today until the alignment date
D = days in the full cycle
And there is one rule that catches people out: if you buy very close to the alignment date, the invoice also adds one whole cycle. It is not an extra charge — it is so that we do not issue you a three-day invoice and then another one for the full month right behind it.
| If you buy… |
The first invoice |
| Well before the date |
Covers only the days remaining. It comes out below the plan price. |
| Close to the date |
Covers the remaining days plus a whole cycle. It comes out above the plan price — and the next cycle is already paid. |
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The service starts either way. The amount of the first invoice changes nothing about what you get: the account is created and the service starts counting as soon as the payment lands, whether the invoice is for 4 days or 40.
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The billing calendar, day by day
After the first one, everything runs to the same rhythm, and it is always this:
| When |
What happens |
| 15 days before the due date |
The renewal invoice is issued and e-mailed. It is there to give you time — not to be paid that day. |
| 7 days before |
We send a reminder, if it is still unpaid. |
| On the due date |
Nothing changes on the service. The site and the e-mail carry on working. |
| Days 1, 2 and 3 overdue |
Three notices, on consecutive days. The service stays up. |
| 7 days overdue |
The service is suspended. The site stops opening and mail stops arriving — but nothing is deleted. |
| 15 days overdue |
The service is terminated and the data may be removed. This is the deadline that really matters. |
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We do not charge late fees. Nor interest. Between the due date and suspension the amount owed is exactly what it was on day one. What lateness costs you is the service, not money.
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There is an enormous difference between suspended and terminated. Suspended is fixed by paying: the service comes back, and comes back whole. Terminated can mean the files and mailboxes no longer exist — and then paying restores nothing. There are eight days between the two. If money is tight, talk to us before day 15 — see how to reactivate a suspended or terminated plan.
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Why I received two invoices at once
It happens when you buy close to the renewal date of services you already have: one invoice is for the new service, the other is the ordinary renewal of what already existed — issued, as always, 15 days ahead. They are different things and both are due.
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Paying only one of them does not solve half of it. Each invoice is tied to its own services. If you pay the new service and leave the renewal unpaid, the new service starts and the old one begins counting towards suspension. It is always worth looking at both.
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The domain runs on its own calendar
A domain is not a hosting service: it is not suspended or reactivated the same way, and the deadlines belong to DNS.AO, not to us. An expiring domain has its own rules and windows — see expired domain: what happens and how long you have. It is the invoice least worth letting slip.
How to avoid surprises
| 1 |
Check the contact e-mail on your account. Invoices and notices all go there, and we have seen cases where they went to someone who had left the company.
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| 2 |
Pay when the invoice is issued, not when it falls due. The 15 days are there on purpose.
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| 3 |
Move to a longer cycle if it suits you. Yearly instead of monthly is one invoice a year rather than twelve, and it usually costs less.
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For how to pay and how long each method takes to confirm, see how to pay your invoice and bank transfer: the five stages.
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Invoice not matching what you expected? Send us the number.
Open a ticket
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