MAXER works with all types of businesses — from web agencies and freelancers to developers, computer shops, and technology enthusiasts. If you're managing a large domain portfolio, our team is here to support you and help manage your domain names effectively.
If you're managing hundreds or thousands of domain names, you may be wondering if we can issue a single monthly invoice for everything. While we understand the wish to reduce the number of transactions, domain renewals must be paid in advance to ensure continuity and avoid any risk of domain loss. Because of this, we're not able to offer post-renewal invoicing. All payments must be made before the renewal date.
This article explains how to keep your account topped up with funds, so renewals are processed smoothly — without generating hundreds or thousands of small card transactions.
Account Top-Up Feature
We offer an account top-up option, which works like paying in advance. You can add a reasonable amount to your account to cover domain registrations and renewals for the upcoming period. To estimate the right amount, consider your domain renewal dates, any new orders you expect to place, and leave a little extra to cover anything unexpected.
You can top up your client account at any time by going to Add Funds. When our billing system generates an invoice, it will automatically apply any available credit and mark the invoice as paid, provided the balance is sufficient.
How Often To Top-Up?
We recommend you estimate your spend on domain names for the next one to six months, taking into consideration typical spend, upcoming renewals and new registrations.
You may also want to consider your accountancy cycle when deciding how often to top up. In most countries, the VAT reporting period is monthly or quarterly, so it’s a good idea to align with that if possible. However, that’s not always the case. For example, clients in Ireland often top up their domain credit accounts once every two months, in line with the country’s bi-monthly VAT reporting cycle. This results in just six payment transactions per year, while still retaining a detailed record of individual invoices (e.g. 1,000+ domain renewals) for Revenue audit purposes.
How Does VAT Apply to Top-Ups?
When you add funds to your account using the Add Funds option, you're simply pre-paying for future services. These top-up payments themselves are not subject to VAT.
VAT is charged on each individual invoice — for example, when domain renewals or new registrations are billed. These invoices will show the VAT amount clearly and should be retained for your own bookkeeping or in case of a VAT audit.
If you regularly top up your Maxer account — for example, €1,000 every month or two — and those funds are consistently used for domain renewals and services, it’s generally acceptable to include the top-up payments in your VAT return for the period in which the payment was made. The VAT on domain services is accounted for through the individual dated invoices, but Revenue and most tax authorities tend to accept this approach as long as there’s a steady pattern of usage and the supplier is topped up regularly. A small carry-over balance is usually not an issue.
Of course, everyone’s accounting setup is a little different — so while we’re happy to explain how our billing system works, please remember this isn’t legal or tax advice. We recommend checking with your accountant or tax advisor to confirm the best approach for your business.
Auto-Renew ON is Recommended!
When you register or transfer a domain name to us, auto-renew is set to ON and we recommend leaving it that way. This means renewal invoices are generated (28 days in advance) and if there is an account credit, it will be applied to the invoice and the domain renewal will be processed automatically. This is the default setup and it works well for most clients. You only need to ensure your account credit is sufficient for upcoming renewals.
Want to manually process all domain renewals?
The majority of our clients prefer to use auto-renew because (1) the billing system will automatically generate renewal invoices and (2) the domain name is renewed providing there is sufficient account balance or a card on file. However, we understand that some clients prefer to manually process their domain name renewals.
Only if you use the account top-up feature and you do NOT want domain names to be renewed automatically, you should follow these steps:
- Disable auto-renew on your domain names (see here how: I want to cancel my service or domain)
- Do NOT keep a payment method on file (you can manage your payment methods here: Payment Methods)
Alternatively, you can contact our billing department to disable automatic card processing for your account. - Set up a regular routine where you login and manually process renewals. For example, on 1st February you could process domain renewals for March, and on 1st March for April. You can place renewal orders here: Domain Renewals
- Domain renewals should always be processed before their expiry date to make sure there is no interruption to the associated website/email.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Updated by PA on 06/08/2025
