The main settings for Relationship Invoicing can be configured on the “Invoices” sub-tab of the settings page.
Invoice settings screen
Below, we’ll explore the different configuration options available within this page.
Invoice Collection Settings
Select how you would prefer to collect payment for your subscribers. This setting controls the default collection method for a subscription’s first invoice.
Invoice collection settings in your Advanced Billing site
After the first invoice is created, you may change the invoice collection method on a particular subscription. For more information, please see our documentation on changing a single subscription’s invoice setting.
Automatic Payment
When a new invoice is issued, Advanced Billing will attempt to collect payment automatically from the payment method on file. Dunning rules will handle any failed payments. The automatic payment method is functionally same as the automatic of the legacy statement architecture.
Manual/Remittance Payment
When a new invoice is issued, Advanced Billing will not attempt to collect a payment automatically. This rule applies even if there is a payment method on file. The remittance payment method is functionally same as the invoice billing of the legacy statement architecture.
Your customer may be sent an invoice link to manually review and remit payment. You must manage the collections/dunning process offline, as no dunning is performed on these subscriptions. Subscriptions are not canceled for non-payment and will continue to accrue charges against the subscription.
Invoice Start Number
Similar to the original setting on the legacy statement architecture, this number specifies what the first, or next, invoice number will be. This will allow you to match up the current invoice numbering in Advanced Billing with an outside or legacy invoicing service. The field enforces a requirement that the starting number can be no less than the highest numbered invoice within your site; for example, if invoice #355 is the most recent invoice, then the starting invoice number must be at least 356.
The numbering for the first, or next, invoice on the site.
Cancellation of Invoices in Collections
By default, if a subscription is set to cancel at the end of a failed dunning process where no renewal payment was received, its invoices are canceled. However, you may want to distinguish invoices on which you are still attempting to collect through a post-dunning process. To facilitate this, Advanced Billing provides an optional ‘collections’ status which you can configure for your invoices. Once an invoice enters collections, it will stay in collections until paid or voided. Advanced Billing will not attempt to automatically collect on it or reopen it at reactivation.
To use this feature, enter the number of days invoices should remain in ‘collections’ before moving to a ‘canceled’ status. The default setting for this option is 0 days. If you do not want invoices to go into a ‘collections’ status, you can leave this as 0 days and invoices will move directly from ‘open’ status to ‘canceled’ status when dunning concludes. If you set a number of days, then invoices will remain in ‘collections’ status for this number of days after dunning concludes.
Here, the invoices for subscriptions canceled from dunning will remain in a 'collections' status for 45 days.
The ‘collections’ invoice status differs from the open invoices of an unpaid subscription in that the former has a time limit. Unpaid subscriptions will remain unpaid and continually open new invoices until the subscription is manually canceled.
This setting will apply to all dunning schedule types: credit card, ACH/Direct Debit, and remittance dunning.
Invoice Customization
Invoice customization settings to control masthead elements.
The invoice architecture feature allows you to customize a host of options for your subscribers’ view on their invoices. Pick and choose from the following options; they will appear in the upper portion of your invoices. Deselect any of the options to hide them from your invoices.
- Logo
- Upload your logo from the settings screen, and it will appear on the top-left portion of the invoices that are viewed online.
- Business Name
- The business name associated with your merchant account in Advanced Billing will be displayed on the invoice.
- For more information on customizing your business name, please see the account settings here.
- Business Address
- The address associated with your merchant account in Advanced Billing will be displayed on the invoice.
- Business Phone Number
- The phone number entered on your Advanced Billing account will be displayed on the invoice.
Customer Address Information
There’s a combination of options that can be combined to display the name and address of the customer being invoiced. The section is separated into a billing address, Bill To, and a shipping address, Ship To. Each of these address sections in turn allows customization of the receipient name and the address.
To display the recipient’s name on the invoice, the following options are available:
- Display only the customer’s first and last name.
- Display only the customer’s organization name.
- Display the customer name, then the organization name.
- Display the organization name, then the customer name.
- Do not display a receipient for this section.
For the billing and shipping addresses, a similar selection is available:
- Use the payment profile’s billing address if it exists; otherwise, resort to using the customer’s shipping address.
- Use the customer’s shipping address.
- Use the customer’s billing address.
- Do not display an address for this section.
Line Item Elements
Line Item Elements settings allow you to control what is shown on the invoice for each line item. By default, invoice line items display a quantity, unit price, amount, and date range.
- Display Unit Price
- If you wish to hide the unit price, deselect the checkbox.
- Display Quantity
- To hide the quantity column on invoices, deselect the checkbox.
- Ad Hoc Invoices in a "Draft" status will retain the column, but it will be removed once the invoice is opened.
- Usage details for Event-Based Billing components will not be affected by this setting.
- Hide Product Date Ranges
- By default, this setting is turned off.
- If you would like to remove the date range that appears beneath product line items on invoice, select the checkbox.
- Note that the date range on components can be controlled on the component level.
- Display $0 Product Line Items on Invoices
- This option will hide any $0 line items from products.
- Note that this will not hide any $0 component charges.
- Display of Prorated Price Invoice Lines
- On the Invoice, the proration percentage is applied to the Unit Price.
- You will also need to charge for proration by selecting the Charge the prorated amount of the difference in quantity option.
- For more information and example calculations, see Update Quantity and Proration.
Previous Balance Due
- Display Previous (‘Other’) Balance on Invoice
- This option will display the total due on any existing payable invoices for the subscription at the point that the new invoice was issued.
- There will also be a list of all invoices which were outstanding and the individual amounts that were due at the time of issuance.
- Note: This feature is currently only supported in English.
Invoice Memo and Payment Instructions
- Invoice Memo
- Any information you like can be added here, and it will appear at the bottom of any invoice.
- Start memo on new page of the invoice
- If you wish to start the memo on a new page of the pdf invoice, select the checkbox.
- Payment Instructions
- Displays on invoices for manual/remittance subscriptions.
- It indicates how the customer should pay for their invoice. Example: “Make checks payable to Acme, Inc.”
Tax Settings
EU VAT breakdown
If enabled, subsequent invoices that are subject to VAT but billed in a non-Euro currency will contain a message like the one pictured below.
GST NZD breakdown
If enabled, subsequent invoices that are subject to GST tax but billed in a non-NZD currency will contain a message like the one pictured below.
UK VAT breakdown
If enabled, subsequent invoices that are subject to UK VAT tax but billed in a non-GBP currency will contain a message like the one pictured below.
Document Settings
- Show page number in pdf
- If you wish to show a page number on each page of the invoice, select the checkbox.
- Hide history
- If you wish to hide the invoice history in the UI, PDF, and Public Invoice, select the checkbox.
Invoice Emails
In addition to customizing the look and feel of invoices, merchants can decide whether or not to send emails when invoices are generated. Additionally, merchants can decide under which circumstances invoices should be sent to subscribers.
Depending on if your subscribers are on automatic or manual invoices, Advanced Billing gives you the choice to edit separate emails for each payment method.
Configure invoice email settings for your site
Send Email when Invoice Issued for Automatic Payment
Depending on whether your subscriber is on automatic or manual-based invoicing, Advanced Billing gives you individual control over what emails are sent. Set your automatic based subscribers to receive invoices via email by turning on this feature.
- Off: Invoices will be generated, but not distributed to subscribers automatically upon renewal.
- On: Invoices will be generated and will be distributed to subscribers via email.
Automatic payment email settings
Preview of invoice email
Send Email when Invoice Issued for Remittance
Set your manual/remittance-based subscribers to receive invoices via email by turning on this feature.
- Off: Invoices will be generated, but not distributed to subscribers automatically upon renewal.
- On: Invoices will be generated and will be distributed to subscribers via email.
Manual/remittance payment email settings
For more information on invoice-based email templates, please view our resource here for a full listing of email variables for templates.
Invoice Delivery Options
Once you turn on an invoice email, an email is always sent when the invoice total is greater than zero.
However, for those zero amount (i.e. $0) invoices, you get a choice of when they should be sent:
- Always: Choosing this option means that the customer will always be emailed when the invoice total is zero.
- Only if the total reached $0 from discounts or credits: Sometimes, the invoice subtotal is positive, but discounts (i.e. a large coupon) or credits bring the total due to zero. Choosing this option means that invoices with a zero subtotal will not be sent, but invoices with a positive subtotal but a zero total will be sent.
- Never: Choosing this option means that invoice emails will not be sent anytime the invoice total amounts to zero.
Attaching PDF Invoices
If you would like to attach a PDF to the outgoing email, simply select that option when configuring your invoice emails.
Generating Credit Notes for Fully Voided Invoices
If you see this setting, then your fully voided invoices are currently not generating offsetting credit. As a result, fully voided invoices contribute to revenue in the Finance Report. Enabling this setting will cause a credit note to be generated for fully voided invoices. In addition, all of your historical fully voided invoices will be enriched with credit notes. The operation cannot be undone. If you have any questions, please contact support. This option is enabled by default for all new sites.
Setting to Generate Credit Notes for Fully Voided Invoices.
Net Terms Settings
Net Terms specifies the due date for each subscription’s renewal invoices. As an example, an automatic subscription with a net term of 1 will have an invoice generated on their renewal date, but it won’t automatically be paid until the day after.
The full article on Net Terms may be found here.
Language Settings
Much of the static text on an invoice, such as “Invoice” or “Invoice Number”, can be manually overriden with the language of your choice. This functionality is controlled under “Language Settings”. For more information, see the full article under Settings