Help center
How Summit works, step by step.
Getting started
- How Summit works
From client to project to scheduled invoices. Summit prepares your invoices, and you check and send each one yourself.
- Create your account
Sign up, confirm your email address and start your 14-day free trial. Choose a plan whenever you're ready.
- Set up your company
The three steps before your first invoice, and the company details Summit needs: business ID or VAT number, address and IBAN.
Clients
- Add a client
Add who you invoice, where they're based, where their invoices go, and how VAT works for them.
- Choose the right VAT treatment for a client
Standard VAT, reverse charge, the small business scheme or outside the EU. Which one Summit suggests, and what it puts on your invoices.
- Send invoices as PDF or PDF and UBL
What a UBL file is, why business clients get one by default, and when to choose PDF only.
- Send a client invoices in another language
Your company's invoice language, the language setting per client, and what happens to invoices you've already sent.
- Archive a client
What archiving a client does and doesn't do, when it isn't possible, and how to restore one.
Projects
- Choose a project type
Fixed price, retainer or project phases. Which fits which agreement, how to create a project, and what its invoice lines look like.
- Invoice a fixed price project
One invoice or installments: choose a payment schedule, adjust percentages, amounts and dates, and save your own schedules.
- Invoice a monthly retainer
A fixed amount every month: how Summit dates and calculates each invoice, including part months and the last invoice.
- Invoice a project in phases
Phases with a duration and an amount, one invoice at the end of each phase, and what you can still change.
- Opportunities and signed projects
What an opportunity is, what changes when you sign a project, and why a project with sent invoices stays signed.
- Read the projects timeline
What the bars, dots and markers on the Projects page mean, on a computer and on your phone.
- Change or archive a project
What you can still change once a project has sent invoices, and when and how to archive a project.
Invoices
- Find your way around the invoices board
The five columns on the Invoices page, what moves an invoice from one to the next, the year filter and the dot in the menu.
- Review and send an invoice
Check a ready invoice, add a line if needed, and send it. What your client receives, and when the invoice number is given.
- Add costs you paid for a client
Add extra lines to an invoice before sending it, and pass on costs without VAT as disbursements.
- Mark invoices as paid and send reminders
Mark an invoice as paid or unpaid, see which invoices are overdue, and send a reminder.
- Correct a sent invoice
A sent invoice can't be edited. Void it, send a credit note if needed, and send a corrected replacement.
- Check whether an invoice arrived
The delivery status of a sent invoice, what to do when it couldn't be delivered, and how to send it again.
- Download an invoice as PDF or UBL
Download a sent invoice for your records or your accountant, as the PDF your client got or as a UBL file.
- The payment QR code on your invoices
What the QR code on your invoices does, when Summit adds it, and what your client does with it.
VAT and compliance
- VAT on your invoices
How Summit puts VAT on your invoices: the 21% rate, reverse charge, the small business scheme, clients outside the EU and the VAT number check.
- What every Summit invoice contains
The details on every invoice, how invoice numbers work, and what the EN 16931 standard means for you.
Settings and Financials
- Your company settings
The company details, bank account and invoice defaults on every invoice, and where to change them.
- Track revenue in Financials
What the Financials page shows per month and quarter, how other currencies are counted, and how to set a year target.
Account, team and subscription
- Invite team members
Invite people to your company, what members can do, and how to remove someone.
- Your subscription and Summit invoices
The free trial, monthly and annual plans, changing or cancelling, failed payments, read-only mode, and where to find Summit's invoices.
- Delete your account
How the company owner deletes the account, the 14 days to undo it, and how to download your invoices first.
Frequently asked questions
Before you sign up
Who is Summit for?
Freelancers and small studios, from one to about five people, who invoice their clients per project: a fixed price, a monthly retainer or work in phases. Summit plans those invoices and helps you send them on time. It's built for businesses in the Netherlands and Belgium. See How Summit works.
What does Summit cost, and is there a free trial?
€12 a month, or €96 a year (€8 a month), both ex VAT. That covers your whole company, with unlimited users, clients, projects and invoices. Every new company starts with a 14-day free trial, without a credit card. See Your subscription and Summit invoices.
Does Summit send invoices automatically?
No. Summit plans and prepares every invoice, and tells you when one is ready. You check it and send it yourself, so nothing reaches a client without you seeing it. See Review and send an invoice.
Can I use Summit if I'm not based in the Netherlands?
Summit is built for the Netherlands and Belgium: Dutch and Belgian business registration numbers, the small business schemes of both countries, and the 21% VAT rate they share. Companies elsewhere can sign up too, but invoices with VAT always use 21%, so check with your accountant whether that works for you.
Does Summit replace my accounting software?
No. Summit prepares, sends and tracks your invoices. Set a bookkeeping email address, and every invoice and credit note also goes to your accountant or bookkeeping software, with a UBL file that the software can read without retyping. See Send invoices as PDF or PDF and UBL.
Where is my data stored, and who can see it?
In the EU: Summit's database and files are in Frankfurt, Germany. Only the people in your company can see your clients, projects and invoices. The privacy notice lists every service Summit uses and what it processes.
Using Summit
Can I change an invoice after it is sent?
No, a sent invoice is part of your records. To correct one, you void it, optionally send your client a credit note, and send a corrected replacement. See Correct a sent invoice.
How do invoice numbers work, and can I choose my own prefix?
Invoice numbers are the year and a sequence, such as 20260001, and are given at the moment you send an invoice, so there are never gaps. You can set a prefix of up to 12 letters, numbers or dashes in Settings, giving numbers like ABC-20260001. See What every Summit invoice contains.
Can I invoice in another currency than euros?
Yes. Each project has its own currency, from about 25 common currencies, and its invoices use it. Invoices with VAT in another currency also show the VAT in euros. Financials converts everything to your reporting currency. The payment QR code is only added to invoices in euros.
Can I send invoices in English and Dutch?
Yes. Choose your company's invoice language in Settings, and give a client its own language when needed. The invoice, its emails and its reminders all follow it. See Send a client invoices in another language.
How many invoices can I send per day?
Your company can send up to 200 emails to clients a day with a subscription, and 25 a day during the free trial. Each invoice, credit note, resend or reminder you send counts as one, whoever it goes to. You can send one reminder per invoice per day.
My client didn't receive the invoice. What now?
Open the invoice and check its delivery status. If it says Not delivered, correct the client's invoice email address if needed and choose Resend. See Check whether an invoice arrived.
How do I add a logo to my invoices?
Go to Settings, find Brand and choose Upload logo. Use a PNG or JPG of up to 2 MB. The logo appears on invoices and credit notes you send from then on, and in the emails to your clients.
Account
How do I change my language or email address?
Go to Profile. Change the language there for yourself: it only changes what you see in Summit. To change your email address, enter the new one and choose Send verification, then click the link in the email sent to that address.
What happens when my subscription payment fails?
You keep full access for 7 more days. The owner can choose Fix payment on Subscription to pay. After 7 days without payment, your workspace becomes read-only until you pay. Nothing is lost. See Your subscription and Summit invoices.
How do I contact support?
In Summit, open the help menu in the top bar and choose Contact support. We do our best to reply within 2 business days. Can't sign in? Email support@getsummit.eu.