We are excited to announce a new feature that allows you to align billing periods with specific calendar dates when using monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual billing cycles. This enhancement provides greater flexibility and control over billing schedules, ensuring invoicing consistency with standard calendar periods.

What is Calendar Period Alignment?

Calendar Period Alignment lets you specify a fixed date in the calendar year to start your billing cycles, regardless of when the service actually begins. This ensures that billing periods align with your financial reporting periods, making accounting and forecasting more straightforward.

For example, if you want all quarterly billings to align with calendar quarters (starting January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and October 1st), this feature makes it possible—even if a service starts mid-quarter.

How to Use This Feature

You can use this feature while creating/editing a charge within a plan. Select Billing Period to Quarterly, Semi-Annually or Annually to see this option under Billing Period Start Alignment.

• Ability to align billing start dates with calendar periods (e.g., quarter start, annual start).

• New option to select a specific day within a calendar period.

• UI update with a drop-down for billing period alignment.
• API and import/export updates to support the new alignment option.
  
  

Examples

Example 1: Quarterly Billing Aligned to Calendar Quarters

Configuration:

• Service Start Date: January 25, 2025
• Billing Period: Quarterly
• Alignment: 1st of April
• Contract Term: 12 months

Resulting Billing Periods:

• January 25, 2025 - March 31, 2025 (initial partial period)
• April 1, 2025 - June 30, 2025
• July 1, 2025 - September 30, 2025
• October 1, 2025 - December 31, 2025
• January 1, 2026 - January 24, 2026 (final partial period)

Example 2: Annual Billing with New Year Alignment

Configuration:

• Service Start Date: March 25, 2025
• Billing Period: Annual
• Alignment: 1st of January
• Contract Term: 12 months

Resulting Billing Periods:

• March 25, 2025 - December 31, 2025 (initial partial period)
• January 1, 2026 - March 24, 2026 (final partial period)

Example 3: Quarterly Billing with Custom Date Alignment

Configuration:

• Service Start Date: March 25, 2025
• Billing Period: Quarterly
• Alignment: 10th of March
• Contract Term: 12 months

Resulting Billing Periods:

• March 25, 2025 - April 9, 2025 (initial partial period)
• April 10, 2025 - July 9, 2025
• July 10, 2025 - October 9, 2025
• October 10, 2025 - January 9, 2026
• January 10, 2026 - March 24, 2026 (final partial period)