Purpose: This article explains how to navigate and manage the Billing section in your Sendcloud account. You’ll learn where to find your invoices, credit notes, and payment history, and how credit notes are automatically applied to future invoices.
Invoices
In the tab Invoicing you can find the overview of all of your invoices and credit notes. In the invoice section the type of invoice will be specified including the invoice number. Next to this you can see the status, date and the total amount of the invoice.
What does each invoice status mean?
There are several invoice statuses to give a clear overview for your invoice management.
In the table below, you can find a description of each invoice status.
| Invoice status | Description |
| To be generated | This is your upcoming invoice. The insights show you the expected costs based on the costs generated since your last transactional invoice. |
| Open | Your new invoice is created and the payment term starts. The invoice is awaiting payment. |
| Almost due | The invoice is due within 3 days and is awaiting payment. This status is visible after the open status. |
| Payment due | The invoice is past its due date. This status will follow after Almost Due. You will receive reminders over the next 14 days in order to pay the invoice. |
| Payment overdue | The invoice has not been paid. This status will follow after the payment due status. Please note: If there's an invoice with the status Overdue in your account, access will be temporarily restricted. As soon as the outstanding invoice is paid, your account will be reactivated automatically. |
| Paid | The invoice has been successfully paid. |
Credit limit
Your account has a default credit limit. Once you reach this limit, you’ll receive an invoice. To continue shipping, you must pay the invoice first. After the payment is processed, you’ll be able to create labels again.
Find your credit limit
You can find your shipping limit by following the steps below:
- Open your Sendcloud panel
- Go to Account
- Click Billing
In the top right corner, you’ll see a white box labeled Accumulated costs. The number displayed below represents your current costs. For example, if it says €6.12/€250 limit below Accumulated costs, you have spent €6.12 out of your €250 limit.
If you exceed your credit limit, the accumulated costs will turn red. You’ll need to pay the invoice before you can continue shipping.
If you pay by SEPA direct debit*
If you reach your credit limit, the amount won’t be taken by direct debit. Instead, you can settle those extra costs using the payment button in your account. Your regular invoices will still be collected via direct debit as usual.
* SEPA direct debit is not available in Italy. Italian customers can only pay using a recurring credit card.
If you have a recurring credit card contract
Both your regular invoices and any credit limit will be charged automatically to your credit card when you reach the limit.
Generate invoice now
You can choose to generate an invoice instantly at any time. This helps you stay in control and avoid reaching your credit limit.
The generated invoice includes all transactional costs at the moment of label creation, such as shipping costs and fuel surcharges. Please note that it does not include any additional surcharges that may be applied later in the shipping process.
How to generate an invoice:
- Go to Account > Billing
- The top invoice in Invoices will have the status To be generated. Click on the button Generate invoice to receive the invoice.
- Refresh the page for the Pay button to appear
- You can now pay the invoice by clicking on the Pay button.
How to pay your invoices
You have two easy options to pay your invoice:
- Set up a direct debit – This is the easiest way to ensure your payments are always made on time. Once it’s set up, everything happens automatically - no need to worry about due dates. More information on how to set up your direct debit can be found here.
- Pay manually – If your account is restricted due to an unpaid invoice, always use the blue Pay button in Account > Billing rather than a manual bank transfer. The Pay button processes your payment immediately and lifts the restriction automatically. Bank transfers take longer and will delay reactivation.
Credit notes
If you receive a credit note from Sendcloud, it will be automatically offset against your next upcoming invoice. This means the credit amount will be deducted from the total amount due, reducing what you need to pay. You don’t need to take any manual action.
If the total amount of your invoice is higher than your available credit notes, the remaining balance will be shown under Open amount. If your credit note exceeds the value of a single invoice, the remaining credit will be automatically applied to the next upcoming invoice(s) until it’s fully used.
How it works
- Automatic offset: Any outstanding credit note will be automatically offset against the next newly generated invoice. You don’t need to take any action.
- Invoice notes: In the Note column of your invoice overview, you’ll see whether a credit note was applied to an invoice, or where a credit note was used.
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Payment history: When you open an invoice, you can view a detailed payment history showing:
- Which credit notes were applied
- How the payment was completed (e.g., via bank transfer or using available credit)
What does each credit note status mean?
The credit notes can have two different statuses:
Open: A new credit note has been generated, and has not been deducted from other invoices or paid out to your bank account yet.
Credited: The credit note has been processed and deducted from the invoice. The details of the invoice, on which your credit note has been deducted, will be visible in the “notes” section of your invoice insights. 
Invoice and Credit note details
Your invoice or credit note provides a complete overview of the costs and adjustments related to your shipments, subscriptions, and account activity. Each line item includes detailed information such as carrier shipping costs, subscription fees, surcharges, VAT, and any applied credit notes.
What information can I find on my invoice?
Each invoice includes the key components of your billing:
- Invoice details: Shows when the invoice was issued, which billing period it covers, and to which company it's addressed.
- Subscription costs: Lists the costs of your Sendcloud plan and any additional paid features. This helps you clarify for which costs within your subscription you're invoiced.
- Shipping costs: Breaks down the shipments created during the billing period, grouped by carrier. You can use this to check which carrier costs were charged.
- Surcharges: Additional costs applied by the carrier, grouped by surcharge type. To avoid unexpected charges, check the carrier-specific surcharge article in our Help Center.
- VAT summary: Provides the VAT rate and total VAT applied. Useful for your own financial records and tax declarations.
What’s the difference between PDF and CSV invoice?
Your invoice or credit note is available in two formats: PDF and CSV. Both contain the same billing information, but each format is designed for a different purpose.
- PDF: A clean and formatted summary of your invoice, ideal for reviewing or saving as an official document. It shows totals per cost category, but does not include shipment-level details.
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CSV: A detailed spreadsheet version, perfect for in-depth analysis or bookkeeping. It includes all individual shipments, surcharges, and fees, and can be filtered or sorted in tools like Excel.
💡Tip: To see the exact cost per shipment, including any surcharges, download the CSV invoice. It provides a detailed breakdown per shipment using the tracking number. For a full explanation of how shipping costs and surcharges are calculated, see Shipment invoicing.
If you want to learn how to download your invoice and better understand its structure and content, take a look at the article How to download and read Sendcloud invoices.