Documentation

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 (720 hours)
│  Rate: $0.028/hour
│  Total: $20.00
│
├─ Database: prod-postgres-1 (DB-Medium)
│  Period: Sep 1-30 (720 hours)
│  Rate: $0.111/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: $0.01/GB
│  Total: $1.50
│
└─ Backup Storage
   Amount: 50 GB
   Rate: $0.10/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: 7 days after generation
  • Payment: Automatic charge on due date

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 / 720 hours = $0.028/hour

Scenarios:

  1. Full Month: 720+ 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
  • PayPal: Link PayPal account
  • Bank Transfer: Manual payment option (contact support)

Failed Payments

If payment fails:

  1. Retry: Automatic retry after 3 days
  2. Email: Notification of failure
  3. Grace Period: 7 days to update payment
  4. Suspension: Resources suspended after grace period
  5. Deletion: Resources deleted after 14 days

Important: Update payment method immediately to avoid service interruption.

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

Service Credits

Issued for service issues:

  • SLA Violations: Automatic credits
  • Support Issues: Manual credits
  • Disputed Charges: Resolution credits

Credits appear as line items on invoices.

Refunds

Refund policy:

  • Unused Services: Pro-rated refunds available
  • Processing: 5-7 business days
  • Method: Original payment method
  • Contact: support@danubedata.com for refund requests

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. Use Reservations: (Coming soon) Reserved instances
  4. Optimize Bandwidth: Use private networks
  5. Manage Snapshots: Delete old snapshots
  6. 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: Yes, contact support for pro-rated refunds.

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: Annual billing coming soon. Contact sales for prepayment options.

Contacting Billing Support

For billing questions:

  • Email: billing@danubedata.com
  • Phone: +1 (555) 123-4567 (Business hours)
  • Support Ticket: Via dashboard
  • Response Time: Within 1 business day

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