Payment Terms

How these Payment Terms work

These Payment Terms explain how Bulgaria For Business quotes fees, issues invoices, handles retainers and expenses, and deals with late payment. They are intended to work alongside the Terms of Cooperation and any written engagement confirmation. If a written engagement confirmation or invoice sets a different payment schedule, that written document will normally prevail for that matter.

1. Purpose and scope

These Payment Terms apply to fees, invoices, retainers, deposits, disbursements, expenses, recurring services, payment deadlines and payment administration for services supplied by Bulgaria For Business.

They apply to all clients and prospective clients unless a written engagement confirmation, signed agreement, invoice, service-specific term or mandatory law states otherwise.

References to “Bulgaria For Business”, “we”, “us” or “our” mean trading as Bulgaria For Business. References to “Client”, “you” or “your” mean the person or entity requesting, receiving or paying for our services.

2. Relationship with quotes and engagement documents

Before starting chargeable work, we will normally confirm the scope and fee basis in writing. This may be done by proposal, quote, engagement letter, email confirmation, invoice, project plan, payment schedule or other written confirmation.

If there is an inconsistency, the following order of priority should normally apply unless mandatory law requires otherwise:

1. A signed engagement letter or other written engagement confirmation for the specific matter.
2. A service-specific proposal, quote, payment schedule or invoice for the specific matter.
3. These Payment Terms.
4. The general Terms of Cooperation.
5. Website, brochure or marketing content.

Website fee examples, starting prices or package descriptions are indicative only unless accepted by us in writing for a specific client, scope and timeframe.

3. Fee principles

Bulgaria For Business aims to price transparently. We use fixed fees wherever possible for standard work and hourly, daily, retainer, success-based or mixed fee structures where the work is complex, open-ended, urgent, unusual or dependent on third parties or public authorities.

A fixed fee covers only the scope, assumptions and deliverables expressly stated in the relevant written confirmation. Work outside scope is chargeable separately unless we agree otherwise in writing.

A quote does not create an obligation for us to start work until the engagement is accepted, onboarding requirements are satisfied, any required retainer or advance payment has been received, and we have confirmed that work may begin.

4. Common fee models

5. Currencies and exchange rates

Fees may be quoted and invoiced in EUR, BGN or another agreed currency. Unless stated otherwise, Bulgaria-related statutory fees and local third-party expenses may be charged or converted in BGN.

Where conversion is required, we may use the fixed EUR/BGN rate where applicable, our bank conversion rate, card processor rate, payment-platform rate or another reasonable rate stated in the invoice or payment request.

You are responsible for bank charges, intermediary-bank charges, currency-conversion costs, card processing fees, payment-platform fees and any difference between the invoiced amount and the net amount we receive, unless we agree otherwise in writing.

6. VAT and taxes

Unless expressly stated otherwise, quoted fees are exclusive of VAT and any other applicable taxes, duties or withholding amounts. VAT will be charged where required by law.

If we are required to charge Bulgarian VAT, the applicable VAT rate will be the rate in force at the relevant tax point. The standard Bulgarian VAT rate is currently 20%, but reduced rates, exemptions, reverse-charge treatment, place-of-supply rules or other VAT treatment may apply depending on the service, client status and transaction facts.

You must provide accurate billing details, VAT number, country of establishment, tax residence, company information and any information needed to determine VAT or invoice treatment. If information is late, inaccurate or incomplete, we may issue, correct or reissue invoices as necessary.

Any withholding tax, local tax, bank deduction, platform deduction or payment deduction imposed in your jurisdiction is your responsibility. We must receive the full invoiced amount unless a written agreement states otherwise.

7. Invoices and payment due dates

Invoices are payable by the due date shown on the invoice. If no due date is stated, invoices are payable within 7 calendar days of the invoice date unless a different period is confirmed in writing.

For standard fixed-fee projects, we may require full payment in advance. For larger or multi-stage projects, we may require a deposit, retainer or milestone payments. For recurring services, we may invoice monthly, quarterly, annually or on another agreed cycle.

Payment is treated as made only when cleared funds are received into the nominated account or payment platform. Screenshots, transfer confirmations or pending card transactions do not constitute payment unless and until funds are actually received.

8. Advance payments, deposits and retainers

We may require payment in advance before starting work, reserving time, ordering third-party services, submitting applications, instructing notaries or translators, starting recruitment, opening a matter file, or maintaining recurring services.

A retainer or deposit may be applied against fees, expenses, disbursements, third-party costs, recurring charges or unpaid invoices related to the same client or matter, unless mandatory law or a written agreement requires a different treatment.

We may ask you to replenish a retainer if the expected remaining work or expenses exceed the balance held. We may pause work if the retainer is not replenished when requested.

9. Third-party costs and disbursements

Third-party costs are payable in addition to our professional fees unless a written quote expressly states that they are included. These may include state fees, Commercial Register fees, Property Registry fees, notary fees, translator and interpreter fees, certified translation, apostille/legalisation, courier, bank, software, platform, candidate-search, advertising, travel, accommodation and public authority charges.

We may ask you to pay third parties directly or to provide funds to us in advance so that we can pay them on your behalf. We are not required to advance third-party costs from our own funds.

Third-party costs may change without notice and may be outside our control. Any estimate of third-party costs is not a guarantee unless expressly stated in writing.

10. Out-of-scope work and change requests

The following are usually outside scope unless expressly included: additional calls, substantial revisions, urgent work, new entities or jurisdictions, complex ownership structures, unusual KYC issues, counterparty negotiations, public authority queries, document defects, rejected filings caused by client facts, bank onboarding support, litigation, tax opinions, notarisation, certified translations, site visits, travel and work caused by incomplete or inaccurate information.

If we identify out-of-scope work, we may provide a further quote, hourly-rate estimate, revised fixed fee or request for additional retainer. We are not required to continue beyond scope until additional payment terms are agreed.

Where urgent action is required to protect a deadline or keep a project moving, we may proceed with reasonable out-of-scope work if you have generally authorised us to act and the work is commercially necessary, but we will aim to notify you as soon as practicable.

11. Recurring services

Recurring services may include accounting, bookkeeping, VAT compliance, payroll, HR administration, legal address, registered address, employer-of-record coordination, compliance monitoring or other continuing services.

Recurring fees are payable for each billing period whether or not the client uses the full available support during that period, unless the service is expressly usage-based. Unused time, filings, consultations or support do not roll over unless agreed in writing.

Recurring services continue until terminated in accordance with the relevant engagement confirmation or, if no specific notice period is stated, by at least 30 days’ written notice. Any fees and third-party costs already incurred remain payable.

12. Recruitment, real estate and acquisition-related fees

Recruitment, executive search, real estate and business acquisition matters may involve staged, contingency, success, completion or hybrid fees. These fees must be confirmed in writing for the specific matter.

A recruitment success fee may become payable when a candidate accepts an offer, signs an employment or services agreement, starts work, or another agreed trigger occurs. Replacement guarantees, rebate periods or refund rights apply only where expressly agreed in writing.

A real estate or acquisition fee may become payable on signing, completion, closing, registration, notarial deed, transfer of shares or assets, or another agreed transaction milestone. Unless stated otherwise, our advisory fees are separate from broker, agent, notary, registry, tax, valuation, bank and due diligence costs.

13. Payment methods and payment security

Accepted payment methods may include bank transfer, card payment, online payment link or another method confirmed by us. We may refuse cash payments or payments from unknown third parties.

You must verify payment instructions carefully. We will not normally change bank details by informal message. If you receive unexpected payment instructions, changed account details, pressure to pay urgently, or a suspicious payment link, you must verify the instruction through a known secure channel before paying.

We are not responsible for losses caused by payment fraud, email compromise, social-engineering fraud, incorrect recipient details, client-side cyber incidents, wrong payment references or payments made to unauthorised accounts, except to the extent caused by our proven fault and subject to applicable law.

14. Payments by third parties

We may refuse or return payment from a person or entity other than the client, especially where the payment raises AML, sanctions, source-of-funds, tax, accounting or conflict concerns.

If a third party pays on your behalf, we may require identification, source-of-funds information, written confirmation of the payment purpose and confirmation that the payer does not acquire rights to our advice, work product, documents or client relationship unless expressly agreed.

Payment by a third party does not make that third party our client and does not give that third party a right to instruct us, receive confidential information or rely on our work product.

15. Late payment

If an invoice is not paid on time, we may charge statutory interest, contractual interest where agreed, reasonable collection costs, bank charges and administrative costs to the extent permitted by law.

For Bulgarian overdue payments, statutory interest is generally calculated by reference to the Bulgarian National Bank base rate applicable for the relevant half-year plus an additional statutory margin, unless another mandatory rule or contractual arrangement applies. The applicable rate may change over time and should be checked when enforcing a late-payment claim.

We may suspend work, withhold non-final deliverables, decline new work, stop recurring services, pause filings, postpone deadlines, terminate the engagement, require payment in advance for future work or take collection action if payment is overdue. We are not responsible for consequences caused by suspension or delay resulting from non-payment.

16. Disputed invoices

If you dispute an invoice, you must notify us promptly in writing, identify the disputed amount and explain the reason for the dispute. You must still pay any undisputed amount by the due date.

The parties should try to resolve invoice disputes in good faith. A dispute raised after substantial delay or after work has continued without objection may be taken into account when assessing the issue.

Raising a complaint or service concern does not suspend payment obligations for undisputed amounts unless we agree otherwise in writing or mandatory law provides otherwise.

17. Refunds, cancellations and non-refundable items

Refunds are available only where expressly agreed, required by mandatory law, or appropriate because fees were paid for work that we have not started and do not reasonably need to reserve capacity for.

The following are usually non-refundable once incurred or committed: completed work, work in progress, onboarding and file-opening work, urgent-capacity reservation, third-party costs, public authority fees, notary fees, translation/legalisation costs, courier costs, software/platform costs, candidate-search costs, travel costs, and any non-cancellable external commitment made with your approval.

If you cancel a project after work has started, you must pay for work performed, expenses incurred and commitments made up to cancellation, even if the original fee was fixed or payable in stages.

18. Chargebacks and payment reversals

You must not initiate a card chargeback, payment reversal or bank recall for a valid invoice without first raising the issue with us and allowing a reasonable opportunity to resolve it, unless the payment was genuinely unauthorised or mandatory law gives you an immediate right to do so.

If a payment is reversed, recalled or charged back, the invoice will be treated as unpaid. We may suspend work, recover processor fees and administrative costs, and require future payments by bank transfer or advance cleared funds.

19. AML, sanctions and source of funds

We may be required to perform identification, verification, beneficial-ownership, source-of-funds, source-of-wealth, sanctions, politically-exposed-person, adverse-media and other compliance checks before accepting payment or starting work.

We may refuse, delay, return or hold payment, suspend work, decline an engagement, terminate services or make required reports where compliance concerns arise. We may be legally restricted from explaining the reason for certain checks, delays, refusals or reports.

You must provide complete and accurate compliance information promptly. Delays caused by onboarding, AML, sanctions, bank or public authority checks are not our responsibility.

20. Records and invoice corrections

We may retain payment records, invoices, credit notes, billing correspondence, bank references and related documents for accounting, tax, legal, compliance, audit, insurance and legitimate business purposes.

If an invoice contains an error, incorrect billing information, wrong VAT treatment, incorrect reference or other defect, we may issue a corrected invoice or credit note. Correction of an administrative error does not remove the underlying payment obligation for valid services or expenses.

21. Consumer clients

Some clients may be consumers under applicable law. Nothing in these Payment Terms limits mandatory consumer rights that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.

Where a cooling-off, withdrawal, distance-contract, pre-contract information or similar consumer rule applies, the relevant treatment will depend on the service, timing, whether work has started, whether the service is bespoke or fully performed, and whether you requested immediate performance.

If you ask us to begin work before the end of any applicable withdrawal period, you may have to pay for work performed and, where permitted by law, certain withdrawal rights may be affected once the service is fully performed.

22. Suspension and termination for payment reasons

We may suspend or terminate work if invoices, retainers, replenishment requests, recurring charges or third-party cost requests are not paid on time.

Suspension may affect filings, deadlines, public authority submissions, recruitment timelines, transaction milestones, payroll processing, VAT filings, accounting deliverables, legal address services, bank onboarding, property completion or other project steps. You remain responsible for consequences of non-payment unless mandatory law states otherwise.

Termination does not affect accrued payment obligations, late-payment rights, confidentiality, intellectual property, limitation of liability or other terms intended to survive termination.

23. Updates to these Payment Terms

We may update these Payment Terms from time to time. The version that applies to a specific matter is the version incorporated into the engagement confirmation, published on our website when the engagement is accepted, or otherwise provided to you in writing, unless the parties agree otherwise.

Material changes will not normally apply retrospectively to an existing engagement unless required by law, reasonably necessary for compliance, or agreed with you.

24. Governing law and disputes

These Payment Terms and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with them are governed by the laws of Bulgaria, unless mandatory law requires another law to apply.

The parties will first try to resolve payment disputes through good-faith discussion. If the dispute is not resolved, it will be submitted to the competent Bulgarian courts, unless the engagement confirmation provides for arbitration or another forum, or unless mandatory law gives the client the right to bring proceedings elsewhere.

25. Contact

Questions about invoices, payment instructions, payment confirmation, corrected invoices, billing details or these Payment Terms should be sent to:

Bulgaria For Business
General email: info@bulgaria-for-business.com
Website: https://bulgaria-for-business.com/