Proposals & Invoices ยท Article 5.1
Anatomy of a proposal
A Clozo proposal is a single legal document with seven moving parts: title, line items, deposit split, payment terms, language, dates, and the metadata that drives VAT and signatures.
Before you spend time on the deeper articles in this section, a one-page mental model of the proposal helps. Every field on the wizard at /proposals/new falls into one of seven groups, and each group affects a different part of the lifecycle. If a downstream document looks wrong (an invoice with a missing VAT line, an email in the wrong language, a deposit that doesn't add up), the cause is almost always a field in the proposal itself.
Why this works this way
The proposal is the source of truth for the entire chain: the Service Agreement quotes from it, the deposit invoice cites it, the final invoice references the deposit invoice that referenced it, the receipt closes the loop. Once you click Send, several fields lock โ the proposal number, the line items as captured at send-time, the language, the currency, and the client's address as it stood at that moment. Locking is not a UX choice; it's a legal requirement under EU VAT Directive Art. 226 (sequential, immutable invoice numbering) and ยง14 UStG in Germany (invoices must reference fixed, dated documents).
The seven parts of a proposal:
1. Header: title, optional description, your business identity (auto-filled from your profile).
2. Client identity: name, address, country, B2B/B2C flag, VAT number if applicable. Drives the VAT rule.
3. Line items: rows of {description, quantity, rate, type} where type is hourly or fixed.
4. VAT block: calculated from line items + your tax regime + the client's country and B2B/B2C flag. You don't enter this directly โ the [D-088] VAT engine derives it (apps/vat/engine.py:calculate_vat).
5. Deposit: a percentage of the gross total (0%, 25%, 50%, or 100%) plus a deposit due date.
6. Payment terms: how long after signing the client has to settle the final balance. Net 7, 14, or 30 days are standard.
7. Dates and language: project start, project end (estimated), language for both PDF and emails (en, de, nl, fr, pl, es).
Troubleshooting
Keep reading
Proposals & Invoices
Line items, the VAT engine, and what determines your rate
Each line is `{description, quantity, rate, type}`. Clozo computes the net subtotal, then applies one of seven VAT rules based on your tax regime, the client's country, and whether the client is B2B or B2C.
Proposals & Invoices
Deposit splits: 0%, 25%, 50%, 100% โ and when to pick each
The deposit percentage decides how the gross total breaks into two payments: an upfront deposit invoice (Anzahlungsrechnung) and a final invoice (Schlussrechnung) that closes the project.
Proposals & Invoices
The three documents: Proposal, Service Agreement, and the signed PDF
A signed Clozo proposal produces three legal artefacts: the Proposal PDF (the offer), the Service Agreement (the binding contract), and a stored audit trail. Each plays a different legal role under EU contract law and eIDAS Reg. 910/2014.
Proposals & Invoices
What you can change after `Send` โ withdraw, resend, edit, amend
After clicking `Send`, the proposal becomes a legal artefact and many fields lock. The right action depends on whether the client has signed yet: withdraw before signing, amend after.