The Invoices section holds three kinds of documents: proforma invoices, invoices and payment receipts. We explain how they differ, what their statuses mean and how to download a PDF for your accounts.
What you'll need
- An account in the customer area
- About 5 minutes to read
Three kinds of documents#
| Proforma invoice | Invoice | Payment receipt | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number format | ZF-2026-0031 | 2026-0031 | DK-2026-0001 |
| When it's created | When you order or upgrade, before payment. | After an order or upgrade is paid, or when you pay with credit. | After a credit top-up is paid. |
| What it is | A payment request. It is not proof of payment. | A document for a paid service. | Confirmation that we received an advance payment for credit. |
| For your accounts | No | Yes | The invoice for this money is issued only when you use the credit. |
| PDF download | No | Yes | No |
The process is always the same: an order creates a proforma invoice, you pay, and we issue the invoice. If you don't pay the proforma invoice, no invoice and no debt is created.
Where to find your documents#
- In the customer area, open the Invoices section.
- The table has the columns Document, Status, Amount, Due, Issued and Actions.
- Above the table are counts: Awaiting payment, Paid, Cancelled requests and, if any, Unpaid top-ups.
- Click a document to open the Order summary, where you can also pay it.
The Overview also shows the last few documents in the Recent documents tile.
Document statuses#
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Awaiting payment | The proforma invoice is waiting to be paid. The Due column shows the date to pay by. | Pay with the Pay button. |
| Paid | The money has arrived. For an invoice, the Issued column shows the payment date. | Nothing; download the PDF for your accounts. |
| Invoice being issued | Paid; the final invoice number is still being assigned. | Wait a few minutes. |
| Cancelled | An unpaid request was cancelled after its due date (Cancelled payment request), or support cancelled it. | You owe nothing. Still want the service? Order it again. |
| Refunded | We returned the payment (to your account or to your credit). | You'll see the details on the order page. |
Downloading an invoice PDF#
In the Invoices section, find the paid invoice.
In the Actions column, click PDF (Download).
Your browser downloads the invoice as a PDF.
Right after payment, the invoice may show Invoice is being prepared with the note Usually within a few minutes after payment. Wait and refresh the page. You'll also find the PDF on the order page in the Invoice (PDF) row.
Billing details, company, company ID and VAT ID#
- The details on an invoice are taken from Account settings › Contact and billing details at the moment of payment.
- For a company, choose Invoice to: Company / business and fill in Company name, Company ID and, if you have one, VAT ID. Czech companies can be filled in from the ARES register with the Load from ARES button.
- Changing your details applies to future invoices. Invoices already issued stay as they are.
- If your billing address is missing, you'll see
Please add your billing address in Account settings — it will appear on your next invoices.above the list of invoices.
How to change your details is described in Account and password.
VAT#
StormHost is not a VAT payer. We issue invoices without VAT and the price on the invoice is final. If you're a VAT payer, you can't claim VAT from our invoices, because they don't include any.
Due date and automatic cancellation of a request#
- A proforma invoice has a due date: you see it in the Due column and on the order page in the Pay by row.
- If you don't pay it by then, the system cancels it automatically, together with the order. You'll see it as a Cancelled payment request and you owe us nothing.
- Exception: if you paid by bank transfer and the payment is still being processed, the order stays valid and we issue the invoice once the money arrives.
For accountants#
- The accounting document is the invoice, not the proforma invoice. A proforma invoice is only a payment request.
- An invoice is created only after the payment is received, so it also serves as proof that the service is paid. The issue date is the day of payment.
- Invoices are in Czech crowns (CZK).
- Credit: a top-up is an advance payment, for which we issue only a Payment receipt (
DK-…). The invoice is created only when you use the credit for a specific service, and it carries the date of that use. - The payment method fee is a separate line on the invoice, for example “Payment method fee – PayPal”. For methods without a fee, a small “Rounding to whole crowns” line may appear when the price came out with fractions of a crown.
- Your accountant can download the invoice as a PDF, see above.
Troubleshooting#
The invoice has the wrong details#
An invoice carries the details valid at the moment of payment and doesn't change by itself. Correct your details in Account settings (they apply to future invoices) and message us to correct the issued invoice: the invoice number and the correct details. Contacts: support.
The invoice can't be downloaded right now. Please try again shortly.#
A temporary problem with downloading the PDF. Try again in a few minutes. If you need the invoice right away, message us.
For a paid order I see We're preparing your invoice. If you need it right away, contact us.#
Issuing is taking longer than usual. We'll finish issuing the invoice; if you're in a hurry, send us the order number.
This order has no invoice — please contact support.#
No document was created for the order. Send us the order number (#… in the page header).
I paid, but the document still says “Awaiting payment”#
A regular bank transfer can take up to 1–2 business days to arrive. More in Payment methods and fees.
Summary
- A proforma invoice (
ZF-…) is a payment request; the invoice is created only after payment. - A credit top-up gets only a payment receipt (
DK-…); the invoice is created when you use the credit. - Download invoice PDFs in the Invoices section, usually a few minutes after payment.
- StormHost is not a VAT payer; changes to billing details apply only to future invoices.