> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveku.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Use Your Own Domain for Billing

> Serve the client portal and payment pages from a subdomain you own, like billing.youragency.com, with SSL handled for you

Out of the box, your client portal and payment pages live on your free Hiveku address, `youragency.hiveku.io`. Connecting your own subdomain (like `billing.youragency.com`) puts every client-facing billing surface, and every link in your billing emails, on a domain your clients already trust. SSL certificates are issued and renewed automatically.

<Info>
  Use a subdomain, not a bare domain. `billing.youragency.com` works; `youragency.com` cannot be connected. Your `hiveku.io` address keeps working either way, and links fall back to it automatically if your domain ever breaks.
</Info>

## What you'll do

<Steps>
  <Step title="Connect the subdomain in Hiveku" />

  <Step title="Add two DNS records at your DNS provider" />

  <Step title="Click Check and wait a few minutes" />
</Steps>

## Step 1: Connect the subdomain

Go to **Commerce > Settings > DNS**, enter your subdomain (for example `billing.youragency.com`), and click **Connect**. Hiveku registers the hostname and shows you the DNS records to add.

## Step 2: Add the DNS records

At your DNS provider (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Route53, Cloudflare, wherever your domain lives), add the two records shown:

| Type  | Name                     | Value                    | Purpose                         |
| ----- | ------------------------ | ------------------------ | ------------------------------- |
| CNAME | `billing`                | `cdn.hiveku.io`          | Points your subdomain at Hiveku |
| TXT   | `_hiveku-portal.billing` | (shown in the dashboard) | Proves you control the domain   |

No certificate records are needed. The SSL certificate validates and issues automatically once the CNAME is in place.

<Warning>
  If your DNS is hosted on **Cloudflare**: set the CNAME record to **DNS only** (gray cloud), not Proxied. A proxied record intercepts the traffic inside your own Cloudflare account and the domain will never verify. GoDaddy, Namecheap, Route53, and other providers need no special settings.
</Warning>

## Step 3: Check and go live

Back in **Commerce > Settings > DNS**, click **Check**. Verification and the SSL certificate normally complete within a few minutes.

If something is off, the Check button tells you exactly what: a missing record, a CNAME pointing at the wrong target, or a Cloudflare-proxied record, each with the fix spelled out.

Once the domain shows as verified:

* Payment-page share links switch to your domain automatically
* Portal sign-in and invite emails link to your domain
* The client portal serves at `billing.youragency.com/portal`

## Staying healthy

You do not need to babysit the domain. Hiveku re-checks every connected domain hourly: certificates are renewed and repaired automatically, and if the domain breaks (say, a DNS record gets deleted months later), links fall back to your `hiveku.io` address within the hour and recover on their own once the record is fixed.

## What's next?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Client Portal" icon="user" href="/commerce/client-portal">
    What your clients see on your new domain.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Payment Pages" icon="credit-card" href="/commerce/payment-pages">
    Shareable checkout pages that ride the same domain.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>