Proposals & Invoices · Article 5.4
Receipts (REC-) — payment confirmation, single-stage vs split
A receipt confirms that a payment was actually received. Clozo issues one receipt per payment event: one for the deposit, one for the final balance, or a single receipt if the project was 100% prepaid.
Many freelancers conflate "invoice" and "receipt" — they're different documents under EU bookkeeping rules. The invoice is the request (and the VAT chargeable event); the receipt is the confirmation that the funds actually landed. Some clients ask for both; some only ask for the invoice. Clozo issues both automatically so you never have to.
Step by step
No manual step
: receipts fire automatically on every payment event.
Verify in Documents dropdown.
A REC- entry appears within ~5 seconds of the payment confirmation. Filename pattern:
REC-2026-NNNN.pdf.Email goes out automatically.
Both you and the client receive a "Payment received" email with the REC- attached.
Forward to your accountant.
Many accountants want the REC- alongside the invoice for cash-basis bookkeeping. The R2 link is stable — share it directly or download and forward.
each payment event creates a Timeline event with a REC- link. The Documents dropdown shows REC-deposit, REC-final, and any refund REC-s. Your inbox gets a copy of every "Payment received" email so you have a full trail in mail too.
Why this works this way
Why a receipt is a separate document. Two reasons:
1. Cash-vs-accrual accounting timing. The invoice records the chargeable event (when VAT becomes due); the receipt records the actual cash movement. For a small business on a cash-basis VAT scheme (EUR-VAT cash accounting, available in DE under §20 UStG and similar rules elsewhere), the receipt date — not the invoice date — drives when VAT is reportable. Without a separate receipt, you'd be guessing the cash-movement date from bank statements. 2. Audit trail completeness. EU tax inspectors expect to see, for each payment, both an invoice and a payment confirmation. The receipt fills that role; without it, an audit asks you to dig out bank statements as evidence.
[D-083] Split-receipt design. Per the project decision log entry [D-083], Clozo issues:
- For split-deposit projects (deposit % > 0 and < 100%): one REC- when the deposit lands, a second REC- when the final balance lands. Both reference their corresponding invoices (DEP- and INV- respectively). - For 100% prepayment projects: one REC- when the deposit lands. No second receipt because there's no final balance. - For 0% deposit projects: one REC- when the final balance lands. No deposit receipt because there was no deposit invoice. - For refund settlements: an additional REC- when the credit note settles (Stripe refund succeeded, or manual SEPA refund confirmed). This receipt confirms the refund movement, not the original payment.
What's on a Clozo REC- (verified against apps/pdf/service.py:render_receipt_pdf):
1. Document number (REC-2026-0042) and issue date.
2. Stage label: "Deposit receipt" / "Final receipt" / "Full payment receipt" / "Refund receipt" — translated per locale.
3. Reference to the invoice it confirms: "This receipt confirms payment against DEP-2026-0042" (or INV-, or CRN-).
4. Amount received (gross), with VAT breakdown if multi-rate (rare; usually one rate).
5. Payment method (Stripe / SEPA / manual / refund).
6. Payment date — important for cash-basis VAT timing.
7. Stripe charge ID or SEPA reference where applicable, for forensic traceability.
Localised header:
- EN: "Receipt" - DE: "Quittung" (or "Zahlungsbeleg") - NL: "Kwitantie" (or "Betalingsbewijs") - FR: "Reçu" - ES: "Recibo" - PL: "Pokwitowanie"
Per-VAT-rate split (multi-bracket scenarios). If a single payment spans multiple VAT rates (rare for freelancers — would happen only with the manual-override mechanism), render_receipt_pdf produces one receipt per rate per [D-083]. For 99% of freelance work this is invisible — one rate, one receipt per payment.
Troubleshooting
Keep reading
Proposals & Invoices
The deposit invoice (DEP-) — Anzahlungsrechnung, facture d'acompte
The deposit invoice is the legal artefact that records VAT liability on an advance payment. Under EU VAT Directive Art. 65, the deposit becomes chargeable the moment the client pays — the deposit invoice is what the law requires you issue.
Proposals & Invoices
The final invoice (INV-) — Schlussrechnung, facture de solde
The final invoice closes the project. It states the full work value, then explicitly references the deposit invoice and **deducts both the deposit amount and the deposit VAT**, so you don't pay tax twice. This deduction is mandated by §14 UStG and parallel rules across the EU.
Proposals & Invoices
Marking a payment as paid manually — for SEPA, cash, wire, anything outside Stripe
When a payment lands outside the auto-detected channels (SEPA bank transfer, cash, foreign wire), use `Mark as paid manually` to record it. Clozo creates the receipt, fires confirmation emails, and preserves the audit trail.
Lifecycle
Status: Deposit paid — work can start
The deposit landed (Stripe webhook or manual confirmation). Clozo flips the status, queues the deposit receipt PDF, and starts a behind-the-scenes job to pre-render the final invoice. You can begin the work.
Lifecycle
Status: Awaiting final payment, then Paid
You've issued the final invoice. The client now owes the remaining balance (full amount minus the deposit they already paid). When the money lands, status flips to `Paid` and the final receipt is generated.