Billing Parameters

In this guide, we will explore Nue's key billing parameters that facilitate the generation of invoices and credit memos. You will gain a deep understanding of fundamental concepts such as Billing Period, Bill Cycle Day, Billing Timing, Partial Billing Period Prorations, and more. You will learn about how these parameters work together to ensure accurate and efficient billing processes.

 

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Billing Period

A billing period refers to a specific timeframe during which goods or services are provided, and for which customers are billed by a business or service provider. It is a predetermined period of time over which the billing activities and charges are calculated and accumulated.

 

The duration of a billing period can vary depending on the industry, business model, and agreement between the provider and the customer. Common billing periods include monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.

 

The billing period is an essential component of the billing process as it sets the timeframe for which charges are calculated and billed. It provides clarity and structure to both the business and the customer regarding the billing cycle, enabling accurate and timely invoicing.

 

Nue supports the following billing periods:

• Monthly
• Quarterly
• Semi-Annual
• Annual
• Same as Subscription Term

It is also important to configure the Start Month of the billing period, which determines the start month of the first billing cycle in a year.

 

The Billing Period can be configured at the organization level and can be overridden for a specific customer or product.  For example, the default billing period is annual, but a customer may want to be billed quarterly or a specific product needs to be billed monthly.

 

The default Billing Period of an order product will be in the following priority order and can be changed in the Quote Line Editor:

Product Billing Settings --> Order Billing Settings --> Account Billing Settings --> Nue System Billing Settings.

 

By default, the billing period is monthly, starting January. Admin users can configure the organization-level billing period by following the steps below: 

• Login to Nue App
• Navigate to Settings → Billing Schedules
• Configure the Billing Period, and set the Start From month.  
  • If the Biling Cycle Day is set to Auto-Set to the First Subscription, then the billing start month cannot be changed.  It will be default to the Start Date of the first subscription.  
• Additionally, admin users can set the billing period to align with the customer's first order or subscription by checking the 'Automatically align the billing period of an account with its initial Subscription/Order'. When this setting is checked, the account's billing period will be set to the billing period of the customer's first subscription or order automatically.

 

Users can override the organization default Billing Period and Start Month for a specific customer: 

• Login to Salesforce and navigate to Accounts
• Click to open the customer account
• In account details, edit Billing Period and Bill Cycle Start Month.  

If a customer account has a different billing period than the organization default, the billing period of a newly created order will be set to the customer's billing period instead.

 

Users can also override the organization default Billing Period for a specific product: 

• Login to Nue and navigate to Product Catalog:
• Click to open the product
• In the product edit page, edit Billing Period.  

If a product has a different billing period than the organization default, when adding the product to an order, the billing period of the order product will be set to the product's billing period instead.

 

Same as Subscription Term

This option is typically used when you bill your customers in total just once when the first billing cycle day comes, instead of periodically doing it in each billing cycle. Please note that if you choose this option as the billing period for any of your products or customers, the Bill Cycle Day and Bill Cycle Start Month will be ignored. Instead, the subscription's billing cycle day will be set as the start date of the subscription.

 

Bill Cycle Day

The bill cycle day refers to a specific day of the month on which a business or service provider initiates the billing cycle for a customer. It serves as a reference point to determine the start and end dates of the billing period and influences the timing of invoice generation and payment due dates.

 

When a customer's billing cycle begins and ends is determined by the bill cycle day. For example, if the bill cycle day is the 15th of the month, the billing period for that customer would typically span from the 15th of one month to the 14th of the following month.

 

The Bill Cycle Day can be configured at the organization level, and can be overridden for a specific customer. 

Anniversary Billing

Anniversary billing is commonly used in subscription-based industries such as telecommunications, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and membership-based services. It allows businesses to align their billing practices with the customer's initial sign-up date. 

 

In anniversary billing, the billing cycle and charges are determined based on the individual customer's specific activation or subscription start date. For example, if a customer signs up for a service on July 5th, their anniversary billing date would occur on July 5th of each subsequent year.

 

This billing method allows for personalized billing cycles tailored to each customer's unique subscription or service start date. It ensures that customers are billed consistently on the same day each year, providing predictability and clarity in the billing process.

 

By default, the Bill Cycle Day is 1st of Month, Admin users can configure the organization-level Bill Cycle Day by following the steps below: 

• Login to Nue App
• Navigate to Settings → Billing Schedules
• Configure the Bill Cycle Day
  • To set a specific day of the month for invoice generation and align the Billing Cycle Day for all customers, choose the option "Specific Day of Month".  If 31st of Month is selected, Nue billing engine will generate invoices in the last day of the month.  
  • To configure Anniversary Billing, select "Auto-Set to the First Subscription" to Subscription Start Date. 
    • Optionally, you can align the Bill Cycle Day to a different date of the first subscription, for example, Ordered On, or even a custom date field, such as Service Acceptance Date.
  • If customers have multiple subscriptions with different start dates, select "Auto-Set to the Subscription's Start Date." This way, each subscription will have its own Anniversary Billing starting on its start date.

 

Users can override the organization default Bill Cycle Day for a specific customer: 

• Login to Salesforce and navigate to Accounts
• Click to open the customer acccount
• In account details, edit Bill Cycle Day.  

If a customer account has a different Bill Cycle Day than the organization default, Nue billing engine will generate invoices according to the customer's specific Bill Cycle Day.

Billing Timing

Billing Timing determiens whether the products or services are billed before or after the products or services are delivered or consumed.  

 

Nue supports 2 different billing timing options: Bill In Advance and Bill in Arrears. 

Bill In Advance

Bill In Advance option allows for the invoicing of customers before the provision of products or services. With this billing timing option, customers are charged in advance for a specified billing period. 

Bill In Arrears

Bill in Arrears option allows for the invoicing of customers after the products or services have been provided or consumed. In this billing model, customers are billed for the usage or consumption that has already occurred within a specific billing period.

 

For example, if you have a monthly subscription service and utilize bill in arrears, your customers would be billed at the end of each month for the services they have already received during that month. The charges are based on the actual usage or consumption of the products or services.

Organization Defaults

Nue sets default billing timing for different revenue models. 

• One-time, Recurring, Credit Burndown and Credit: Bill In Advance
• Overage Usage: Bill In Arrears

Admin users can change the organization defaults by following the steps below:

• Login to Nue App
• Navigate to Settings → Billing Schedules
• Configure the Billing Timing for selected Revenue Model

Biling Timing Overrides

Users can override the organization-default billing timing configuration for specific products or price book entries.

 

For example, a company sells OAuth API as a Service with the following different pricing options:

Price Plan	Default?	Billing Timing
$100 per month for unlimited API calls	Yes	Bill In Advance
$50 per month for the first 100K API calls, and $10 per month for each additional 10K API calls	No	Bill In Arrears

In this example, admin user can configure the following:

• Set the billing timing of the OAuth API to Bill In Advance
• Set the billing timing of the second price book entry to Bill In Arrears

You can set the biling timing for specific products by following the steps below: 

• Login to Nue App
• Navigate to Price Builder → Product Catalog
• Search for the product, and click 'View' icon to open the product details
• Set the Billing Timing to your preferred value, if different from the organization default.
• Toggle to 'Advanced Mode'
• Click 'Prices', where you can see all the list prices of the product
• Click 'Edit' icon of a specific price book entry, and set the Billing Timing to your preferred value, if different from the organization default.

Partial Billing Period Proration

Partial period proration determines when the prorated amount for a subscription will be invoiced, if the order product(s) related to the subscription start in the middle of a billing period.  

• If enabled, the order products that start in the middle of a billing period will be prorated and billed for the partial billing period;
• Otherwise, the order products that start in the middle of a billing period will be prorated, but the prorated amount will be rolled into the next billing period. 

EXAMPLE   Chloe placed an order starting 10/01/2022 for a 12-month subscription of monthly recurring CMRR of $100.   The customer has a billing period of ‘Annual’ starting 1/1 on a year.   If ‘Partial Period Protection’ is enabled, the user will receive a prorated bill of $100 *3 = $300 for the billing period of 01/01/2022 and 12/31/2022.   Otherwise, the user receives an invoice on 01/01/2023 for a total of $1500 for the service period between 10/01/2022 and 12/31/2023.

 

By default, the partial billing period is enabled.  To configure this setting, 

• Login to Nue App
• Navigate to Settings → Billing Schedules
• Toggle the value for Enable billing proration for partial periods.