Reading your invoice, and how proration works

Hosting invoices have a reputation for being hard to read. Ours has four sections and this is what each one means.

Recurring charges

The plan fee for the coming period, charged in advance. Annual plans show the full year here with the discount already applied rather than as a separate credit line.

Prorated adjustments

When you change plan mid-cycle we credit the unused days of the old plan and charge the remaining days of the new one. Both lines appear, which is why an upgrade invoice often shows a number larger than either plan on its own.

One-off items

Domain registrations and renewals, dedicated SSL certificates and any add-on service started mid-month. Domains are charged in advance for the full registration term because the registry charges us that way.

Tax

Calculated from the billing country on the account. A valid EU VAT number reverses the charge automatically from the next invoice. It does not retroactively adjust ones already issued, so add it before your first renewal.