Billing Management: #4 Negate Risk Free with Advances
In the last post, we explored how unbilled charges accumulate before being invoiced. But what happens when businesses need money before service begins?
Picture this: A construction company takes on a $500,000 commercial building project expected to last 12 months. The first step is sending the client a detailed quote. Once accepted, the builder requires a 20% advance before breaking ground. This advance payment doesn't represent complete work; it secures raw materials, labour, and permits to get the project moving. The client feels reassured that the project will start on schedule, while the builder gains the cash flow needed to set everything in motion.
This is the essence of advance billing. Unlike unbilled charges raised after usage or delivery, advance billing ensures businesses have funds available before or during service execution, reducing the risk and ensuring smooth operations.
This post will explore the nuances of advance billing and the best way to handle it.
Types of Advances
Across industries, businesses collect advances in different ways depending on their needs: Advance Invoices, Security Deposits or Retainers, Prepaid Subscriptions, Down Payments, Reservation or Booking Advances, and so on. Though these advances carry different names and practices, they all represent the same principle: to secure funds upfront before service fulfilment.
When do businesses need/use Advance Billing?
Businesses rely on advance billing in two situations:
Before a Project or Subscription Begins- Customers agree to pay in advance, securing their commitment and giving the business working capital.
Ahead of a Billing Cycle- Customers make payment before the cycle starts, allowing businesses to run smoothly with guaranteed funds.
Let's look at some real-time use cases where Advances becomes handy.
A corporate client plans a $50,000 retreat at a luxury resort six months in advance. To confirm the booking, reserve rooms, and coordinate vendors, the resort requires a 20% upfront payment. Without this, the business would risk blocking dates without certainty of the client's commitment. By collecting advance payment, the resort secures the funds and the assurance that the event will occur.
A consulting firm signs a $120,000 strategic engagement with a client. Before the project begins, the firm must dedicate senior consultants, purchase specialized research reports, and reshuffle schedules. Covering these costs and securing the client's commitment requires a 30% payment before the project process. This advance ensures the consulting team can jump into the work with resources ready rather than worrying about delayed payments or last-minute cancellations.
A SaaS platform charges $2000 per month for its enterprise plan. Instead of paying month by month, a client chooses to prepay the entire year for $24,000. This advance means guaranteed revenue and reduces churn risk for the SaaS provider. For the client, it simplifies budgeting and often comes with a cost benefit or a discount. The advance serves as a year-long commitment on both sides.
An education company launches a six-month course at $500 per month. Before the end of the month, the training institute sends a payment link to ensure that students pay ahead of the renewal cycle. This advance confirms students' continuity and allows the institute to plan the resources properly.
Beyond the four different businesses, advances or credits are vital in Construction and infrastructure, Professional services, Education and training, Healthcare, Travel agencies, and many more.
The first and second scenarios are one-time deliverable tasks: a one-time booking and a consulting project. They require an advance invoice to collect payment, which will be adjusted against the total amount. This invoice should not necessarily be part of the usual invoice, as it will be applied against the total when the service is delivered.
When you look at the other two scenarios, they are subscription-based and typically billed either ahead of the billing cycle or as an advance while the subscription is in progress.
Bail out with Zoho Billing
Across these cases, businesses face two recurring needs:
Sometimes advances must be invoiced upfront- for cases like consulting retainers or SaaS prepayments.
Sometimes, advances are commitment payments held as credits, such as event deposits, manufacturing down payments, or hospitality booking advances.
Zoho Billing's Advance Billing & Retainers are carefully built to handle:
- Retainer Invoice for One-time & Projects: Businesses can raise invoices for upfront retainers, record the payment, and apply it to the final bill.
- Advance Invoices: Businesses can raise a valid taxable invoice for upfront payment and track it until adjusted.
- Advance Payment Request: Businesses can collect money securely through a payment link as credits and apply it later to the final bill.
Zoho Billing stands out because retainers can be applied to an invoice anytime it is created. On the other hand, in a subscription-based ecosystem, advanced billing does not disrupt the regular billing cycle. Invoices are still raised on schedule, monthly, quarterly, or annually.
The difference lies in how payments are applied. Advances are automatically adjusted against invoices, ensuring that businesses always receive funds in advance while customers continue to receive their regular bills accordingly.
Adopting advanced billing allows businesses to create financial stability and secure customer commitment early on. This naturally sets the stage for usage-based billing, where charges depend on actual consumption. Unbilled charges, advance billing, and usage billing complete the billing spectrum for modern revenue management using Zoho Billing.
Topic Participants
Hari Hara Sudhan. S
Sticky Posts
Community Learning Series | Digest #5 — September 2020
Dear customers, We're happy to bring you the September edition of our #CommunityDigest! Keep track of your subscription KPIs right from your smartphone: Last month, we enhanced our Android mobile app to help our customers get daily updates on their business health. We got to know from a lot of customers that this has made their job much more easier because they no longer have to keep a reminder to manually check on the previous day's revenue or activations. If you have not downloaded it yet, here'sCommunity Learning Series | Digest #4 - August 2020
Dear customers, We hope you're staying safe and healthy. I'm happy to bring you the fourth edition of our #CommunityDigest with some brand-new updates from us. 1. Daily Business Updates (for Android users) The Zoho Subscriptions Android app has got a cool new update: You can now get a push notification to your smartphone that lets you know how many activations and cancellations have taken place, and what's the net revenue for the previous day. The best part is, you can tell the app when exactly youCommunity Learning Series | Digest #3 - July 2020
Dear customers, We hope you're staying safe and healthy. We're glad to bring you the July edition of our #CommunityDigest. New community members can view our previous newsletters here. This time, we have two major updates and three interesting topics for you: 1. Zoho Subscriptions Developer Community Since the inception of Zoho Subscriptions, our team believed that the recurring billing platform we provide should be able to offer an extensive API library that empowers businesses to automate mostIntroducing: Community Learning Series | Digest #1 - May 2020
Dear customers, We hope you are staying safe and healthy. Helping businesses manage their customer subscriptions more efficiently has always been, and always will be, our goal at Zoho Subscriptions. We strongly believe this is possible if we grow together as a community and share what we know with each other. To nurture this shared learning experience, here is our brand-new Community Learning Series! Welcome to the first edition of our digest! Each edition of our community digest includes guides
Recent Topics
What’s New in Zoho Analytics - March 2026
Hello Users! In this month's update, we bring improvements across integrations, security, reporting, and analytics capabilities to help you work with your data more efficiently and with greater control. Explore what’s new and see how these enhancementsZoho People > Performance Management > Appraisal cycle
Hello All I am using this 2 users to test out how it work on Performance Management User 1 - Reportee User 2 - Reporting Manager : Li Ting Haley User 1 : Self Appraisal Error How do i fix this error?SalesIQ Tip for Admins: Guide Operators in Real-time Without Interrupting the Chat
Consider this. You're a supervisor and you're looking through the active conversations. An associate is mid-chat with a high-value prospect. The prospect asks something unexpected, maybe about a tailor-made subscription plan or a bulk discount that’sEarly Access: Check Printing in Zoho Books
Hello Everyone, Are you constantly writing checks to pay your vendors? We've got a great news to share with you! You can now pay your vendors by writing and printing a check directly from Zoho Books. The feature is ready and we'll be rolling it out to our customers in phases. It is available in the US Edition of Zoho Books and also in the Global edition, where the country is selected as USA and the currency is USD. Here’s a summary of what’s possible: 1. Write and print a check. 2. MakeConnecting Zoho Inventory to ShipStation
we are looking for someone to help connect via API shipStation with Zoho inventory. Any ideas? Thanks. UriSyncing zoho books into zoho crm
I was wondering how I can use zoho books in crm as I have been using them separately and would like to sync the two. Is this possible and if so, how? ThanksZoho no support response.
Problem is Zoho support seems to be just a concept. Just completing my trial, am ready to purchae 3 user subscriptions pending answer to a question, submitted two suport request during my trial that weren't responded to. Gave up trying the 888 line. Hard to imagine my production data in hosting environment with no support response.Updating transaction number series for fiscal year 2026-2027 in Zoho POS
A fiscal year or financial year is a 12-month period that businesses follow to manage and track their financial activities such as expenses, revenue, and taxes. This doesn't need to match the calendar year (JAN-DEC) and varies based on region, and taxLack of Looping and Carry-Forward Functionality in Zoho Survey
Zoho Survey currently does not support looping or carry-forward functionality, meaning it is not possible to dynamically generate follow-up questions based on each option selected in a previous question or to pipe selected responses (such as {LoopingForecast in Zoho CRM Just Got Smarter with an upgraded Zia Intelligence
Hello Everyone, We are here with an interesting enhancement to Forecasts in Zoho CRM — Enhanced Zia Insights for your sales Forecast. Imagine a regional sales manager reviewing their team’s performance using forecasts in Zoho CRM. Instead of switchingUpdate TDS and TCS rates for Income Tax Act, 2025 (effective April 1, 2026)
Hello everyone, The Income-tax Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 198(E), dated March 20, 2026) have been notified, marking a significant structural shift in India’s direct tax framework. From April 1, 2026, the Income Tax Act, 2025 replaces the Income Tax Act, 1961.Service line items
Hello Latha, Could you please let me know the maximum number of service line items that can be added to a single work order? Thanks, Chethiya.Automation Series: Auto-assign Resources as Task Owners
In Zoho Projects, task ownership can be set automatically during task creation, allowing resources to be assigned based on the task name. Resources are work equipment or tools added to the portal to monitor their usage across projects. They can be assignedSubform edits don't appear in parent record timeline?
Is it possible to have subform edits (like add row/delete row) appear in the Timeline for parent records? A user can edit a record, only edit the subform, and it doesn't appear in the timeline. Is there a workaround or way that we can show when a userAI secretary
In our company, Claude is the secretary and creates inquiries and schedules from Gmail. You no longer have to enter them yourself. The secret is that we created an MCP server that connects to CRM. https://x.com/Mac_nishio/status/19179545625663286945 small changes to Recruit that make a big difference
Sometimes, the biggest improvements aren’t new features, they’re small changes that make everyday actions feel smoother. Over the past few weeks, we’ve made a few such updates across Zoho Recruit. They’re subtle, but together, they remove friction fromProject Management Bulletin: March, 2026
We are passionate about equipping our users with efficient solutions that help them run their businesses successfully. Our collective efforts over the past 2 years have culminated in the launch of Sprints 3.0— built with reliable features, impactful integrations,New security enhancements for portal users: MFA and password management
Hello everyone, We are excited to announce three major security enhancements that are now available to portal users in Zoho CRM: Organization-wide multi-authentication for portal users - Admins can enforce multi-factor authentication across the entire[Free Webinar] Learning Table Series 2026 – Customer agreement & contract management using Zoho Creator
Hello everyone, We’re excited to announce the next session in Learning Table Series 2026, where we will continue with our purpose-driven approach—focusing on how Zoho Creator’s features help solve real-world business challenges. Each session in this seriesZoho Payroll's USA and KSA editions are available in Zoho One!
Greetings! We’re excited to share that Zoho Payroll, currently available only in India and the UAE, is now introducing the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) edition and the USA (United States of America) edition, and these editions are now available in ZohoLooking for Guidance on Building a Zoho Website
I'm exploring the possibility of building a custom website with specific features using Zoho as an alternative platform. My goal is to create something similar to https://gtasandresapk.com , with the same kind of functionality and user experience. I'dMultilingual website feature
Would be a great feature to have. I saw that this feature was available for backstage. I think it could be done for zoho sites too.[Webinar] Modernize your sales engine with agentic analytics
Traditional sales decision-making methods aren't cut out for modern businesses. Leveraging AI in sales helps businesses actively respond to the changing dynamics of the market. Agentic AI is letting sales teams across industries make better decisionsBuilt-in Date Functions in Zoho Analytics Query Tables
I have a doubt about whether Zoho Analytics Query Tables provide built-in functions for start date, end date, and the current monthZoho Commerce in multiple languages
When will you be able to offer Zoho Commerce in more languages? We sell in multiple markets and want to be able to offer a local version of our webshop. What does the roadmap look like?Nimble enhancements to WhatsApp for Business integration in Zoho CRM: Enjoy context and clarity in business messaging
Dear Customers, We hope you're well! WhatsApp for business is a renowned business messaging platform that takes your business closer to your customers; it gives your business the power of personalized outreach. Using the WhatsApp for Business integrationConnectivity issues with Google Calendar and third-party integrations
Description: We are currently experiencing a critical failure with Zoho CRM third-party connections. This issue is heavily affecting our primary workflow. Symptoms: Sync Failure: Existing Zoho CRM to Google Calendar connections have been failing for approximatelyDynamic image in form works in the app but not on the customer portal.
img = frm_Fichas[ID == input.Nombre].Foto; imgno = Nophoto[ID2 = 1].Image; if(len(img) > 1) { img = img.replaceAll("/sharedBy/appLinkName/",zoho.appuri); img = img.replaceAll("viewLinkName","Fichas_de_personal_public"); img = img.replaceAll("fieldName","Foto");Incorrect Functioning of Time Logs API (Version 3)
We need to fetch the list of time logs for each task for our company internal usage. We are trying to achieve it by using the next endpoint: https://projects.zoho.com/api-docs#bulk-time-logs#get-all-project-time-logs Firstly, in the documentation theHow can I export all Deluge code across the application?
I’m working on a application with multiple forms, reports, and HTML views, where Deluge scripts are used across workflows, field actions, and custom functions. Is there a way to export all Deluge scripts into a single file for easier search?First Name in Mail
While sending a mail/message to the user, I want only the first name to be displayed—for example: “Hi John” instead of the full name using "Hi ${Name_Field}"Can you import projects into Zoho Projects yet?
I see some very old posts asking about importing project records into Zoho Projects. But I can't find anything up to date about the topic. Has this functionality been added? Importing tasks is helpful. But we do have a project where importing projectsUpdating Sales orders on hold
Surely updating irrelevant fields such as shipping date should be allowed when sales orders are awaiting back orders? Maybe the PO is going to be late arriving so we have to change the shipment date of the Sales order ! Not even allowed through the api - {"code":36014,"message":"Sales orders that have been shipped or on hold cannot be updated."}Zoho Social API for generating draft posts from a third-party app ?
Hello everyone, I hope you are all well. I have a question regarding Zoho Social. I am developing an application that generates social media posts, and I would like to be able to incorporate a feature that allows saving these posts as drafts in Zoho Social.Deleting unwanted ticket replies
Hello, In a Zoho Desk Ticket thread, sometimes one of the recipients has auto-reply activated. This creates a new message in the Ticket thread that not only pollutes the thread, but most importantly cannot be replied properly because usually auto-reply e-mails don't do "reply all", so the other recipients are not included. I want to delete such a message in the Ticket thread. I searched the help of Zoho Desk, but only found a way to mark as Spam (https://help.zoho.com/portal/kb/articles/marking-support-tickets-as-spam)Issue updating Multi-Select Picklist via API (saves as string instead of checking boxes)
Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone can point out what I'm doing wrong here. I'm stuck trying to update a custom multi-select field via the Desk API and it's driving me a bit crazy. I have a multi-select picklist called "Buy years" with options like 2023,Page variable not receiving URL parameter in Creator 6 HTML snippet Deluge — Canada DC
I have a Creator 6 app on Canada DC. I'm trying to pass a URL parameter to an HTML snippet page via Deluge but the variable always returns empty. Setup: Page: MYC_Meeting_Tool Page variable declared: submission_id, type Text Page Script tab contains:Zoho Campaigns API endpoint for contact details
there is some REST API support for Zoho Campaigns, however, I am not able to find an endpoint for "get contact details". in particular, I'd like to access contact's subscription status and also their topic. ideally there is all profile available includingMigrating Documentation from Notion to Zoho Help Centre
Hi there, We have a large chunk of documentation that currently sits on Notion. However, we are eager to move this into our Zoho Help Centre/Knowledge Base. What is the most efficient way of achieving this?Can't add attachment on email template
The attachment does show up. This is my template. Hi ${Cases.Assigned Programmers}, Please be reminded about the following task that has been assigned to you. Subject : ${Cases.Subject} Description : ${Cases.Description} Ticket # : ${Cases.Request Id}Next Page