Creating a Recurring Invoice: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

This guide is designed to assist you in creating recurring invoices for service agreements and subscriptions. Recurring invoices are a crucial element for managing ongoing services and subscriptions efficiently.

Contents

1. Eligibility for Recurring Invoices
2. Steps to Create a Recurring Invoice
3. Termination of Recurring Invoices
4. Handling Payments in Recurring Invoices
5. Managing Subscriptions and Service Agreements

1. Eligibility for Recurring Invoices

Recurring invoices can be generated exclusively for:

• Service Agreements
• Subscriptions

2. Steps to Create a Recurring Invoice

Follow these steps to set up a recurring invoice:

1. Initiate Agreement or Subscription: Create or edit an existing service agreement or subscription.
2. Generate a New Invoice: Inside the agreement or subscription, create a new invoice. If an invoice is auto-generated, it can be converted to a recurring one.
3. Lock the Invoice: Review your invoice details, then select “Invoice Actions” and lock the invoice to confirm.
4. Set Up Recurrence: Under “Invoice Actions,” choose “Recur Invoice.”
5. Configure Recurrence Details: Choose the frequency of recurrence and a payment method from saved options. Opting out of selecting a payment method will create invoices without automatic payments.
6. Finalize Settings: Confirm your settings to initiate the recurring invoice process.

3. Termination of Recurring Invoices

The lifecycle of recurring invoices depends on their type:

• Service Agreements: Invoices cease automatically at the agreement’s expiration.
• Subscriptions: Invoices continue indefinitely until the subscription is manually terminated.

4. Handling Payments in Recurring Invoices

Payment management in recurring invoices is designed for flexibility:

• Manual Payment Adjustment: If a manual payment is applied to the original invoice before converting it to a recurring one, the first automatic payment will adjust accordingly. This includes omitting the initial payment if the first invoice is fully paid.
• Initial Invoice Specific: This manual payment compensation applies only to the first invoice, not to subsequent ones.
• Purpose: This feature facilitates converting to a recurring invoice post-payment.

5. Managing Subscriptions and Service Agreements

Closing or canceling these agreements involves specific procedures:

• Closing a Subscription: You'll be presented with options to either keep open or void outstanding invoices.
• Cancelling a Service Agreement: This does not alter outstanding invoices or payments. These must be managed manually, including the application of any early-termination fees.