Schedule

Schedule defines the frequency of the recurring invoice. This could be monthly, annually, etc.

Start Date

This is the date the recurring invoice started. Note that this date is for informational purposes only, it does not trigger the processing of the recurring invoice.

End Date

This is the date the recurring invoice will stop processing. You can leave this blank and the recurring invoice will process until you deactivate it.

Occurrences

As an alternative to the End Date, you can enter the number of times (or occurrences) the recurring invoice shall process. For example, if you want to bill monthly for the next twelve months, then you can put 12 in Occurrences (schedule Monthly). More information can be found here.

Next Invoice Date

Recurring invoices are processed on the Next Invoice Date. This date is automatically calculated by the system based on the Schedule and Billing Period Start date.

Billing Period Start

This date identifies the start of the billing period. This date is for informational purposes only and is not used to trigger the processing of the recurring invoice.

NOTE: Billing Period Start was introduced on later versions of Payment Center and is not enabled by default (it’s enabled for new users). To enable the use of Billing Period Start, go to Payment Center Settings and check the box called Use Billing Periods (if it’s not on your page, please edit your layout and expose the field).

Billing Period End

This date identifies the end of the billing period. This date is for informational purposes only.

NOTE: Billing Period End was introduced on later versions of Payment Center and is not enabled by default (it’s enabled for new users). To enable the use of Billing Period End, go to Payment Center Settings and check the box called Use Billing Periods (if it’s not on your page, please edit your layout and expose the field).

Usage Based

Check this box if the recurring invoice is usage-based. Usage-based billings are normally processed at the end of a billing period, and amounts vary per period depending on usage.

Billing Period Offset

Recurring invoices are normally processed at the start of the billing period, or the end of the billing period for usage-based. You can use Billing Period Offset to process the invoice outside of the billing period.

For example, if your billing period is every 1st of the month but you want to process the invoice 5 days before, then you can put 5 in the Billing Period Offset. Here’s an example of what the dates would look like if there’s an offset:

Notice that the Next Invoice Date is 5 days before the billing period.

If you are usage-based and want to process the invoice 5 days after the billing period so you would have time to update/upload usages, then you can put 5 in the Billing Period Offset. Here’s what the example above would look like if it was usage-based:

Notice that the Next Invoice Date is 5 days after the billing period.

NOTE: Billing Period Offset was introduced on later versions of Payment Center and is not enabled by default (it’s enabled for new users). To enable the use of Billing Period Offset, go to Payment Center Settings and check the box called Use Billing Periods (if it’s not on your page, please edit your layout and expose the field).

 

How Are Recurring Invoices Processed

Is Active

Ensure that this box is checked for the recurring invoice to be processed.

Recurring Processor/Scheduler

Recurring invoices are processed by a background job that runs on scheduled basis looking for recurring invoices due for processing. More information can be found here. Ensure that the scheduler is started.