Pay Order vs Invoice
Why you might pay more than once during an engagement, and how the final invoice reconciles everything.
Not every engagement is a single payment at the end. During delivery, a firm may need to collect money before the final invoice — for example to pay a government fee on your behalf. That is what a pay order is for.
Pay order
A pay order is an interim collection raised during delivery. Common types:
- Government fee — a statutory fee remitted to an authority.
- Statutory deposit — a deposit required for the work.
- Third party — a cost paid to an external party.
- Milestone — a staged payment for a phase of work.
- Reimbursement — a cost the firm incurred on your behalf.
Pay order
Final invoice
The final invoice is the single settlement document at the end. It totals the professional fee, applicable GST, and any charges, then subtracts everything you already paid through pay orders, leaving the net payable.
You are not paying twice
Money collected through pay orders is credited on the final invoice. The invoice's net payable is the total minus what you already paid — so you never pay the same amount twice.
Pass-through vs revenue charges
Charges come in two natures, and this matters for what you are billed:
- Pass-through — money remitted in full to a government or third party. No platform fee and no GST is added on top by the firm.
- Revenue — the firm's own professional fee, which is subject to GST.
See GST vs non-GST for how tax is applied.