Billing Management: #3 Billing Unbilled Charges Periodically
We had a smooth sail into Prorated Billing, a practice that ensures fairness when customers join, upgrade, or downgrade a service at any point during the billing cycle. But what happens when a customer requests additional limits or features during the cycle? Sending out a new invoice for each change would disrupt the billing cycle and create unnecessary confusion.
This is where unbilled charges become a deal breaker. Unbilled charges record the value of service consumed or upgrades applied during the cycle without immediately invoicing the customer. Instead, these charges are a running balance that will be added to the customer's next scheduled invoice. This allows businesses to keep a clean and consistent billing cycle while ensuring all customer amendments are adequately captured.
As many industries rely on recurring or consumption-based billing models, unbilled charges are a vital mechanism for tracking ongoing usage. Let's explore how they play out across different sectors.
Telecom
In telecommunication, services are consumed continuously, but billing happens over time. Most postpaid service bills follow this method of billing. For instance, a customer with a plan that includes 10 GB of data may exceed their allowance. If they use an additional 2GB at $5 per GB, that customer generates $10 in unbilled charges. These charges accumulate invisibly during the cycle and appear on the next invoice, alongside their monthly subscription. Similarly, charges like roaming, pay-per-view and international calls are all tracked as unbilled until the cycle closes.
Utilities
Electricity, water, and gas are in a similar situation due to the lag between consumption and billing. These utilities are charged based on their consumption rate and the slab they belong to. Consider a household with an electricity rate of $0.12 per kWh. By mid-month, the household has consumed 250kWh, equating to $30 in unbilled charges, even though the official invoice won't arrive until the end of the month. The service provider records the consumption internally as unbilled revenue, ensuring no usage goes unaccounted for.
SaaS
Unbilled charges often arise in Saas for usage-based or hybrid pricing models. The usage is tracked and added as unbilled charges periodically. A customer on a $100 per month base plan decides to upgrade to the $200 plan halfway through the billing cycle. The system calculates a prorated charge of $100 for the remainder of the cycle. Instead of sending out a separate invoice right away, the service provider decides to record this as unbilled. It remains pending until the end of the billing cycle, when it will be added to the customer's regular monthly invoices. By doing this, the company ensures the billing cycle remains intact, avoids confusing customers with multiple mid-cycle invoices, and protects its revenue.
Transportation & Logistics
Transport companies, especially those serving large shipments, both in terms of quantity and quality, often consolidate usage into a single invoice. Imagine a company making 50 travel bookings monthly, each costing $20. The total $1000 in unbilled charges accumulates as the trips are completed. Instead of invoicing after each ride, the travel agency waits until the billing period ends, offering convenience for the customers and administrative efficiency for the company.
Advertising Platform
Marketing agencies and Digital ads rely heavily on unbilled charges because campaigns run continuously. Suppose an advertiser runs a pay-per-click campaign at $1 per click, generating 500 clicks in a week, which equates to $500. These charges accrue daily but won't be billed until the advertiser hits a billing threshold, say $2000, or the monthly billing date arrives. This approach ensures uninterrupted campaign performance while keeping billing predictable.
Stretch Across with Zoho
With the volume of transactions each of these businesses handles, manually tracking unbilled charges will be challenging. This is where a modern billing system like Zoho Billing adds value. Zoho Billing automatically computes unbilled charges based on the data provided, whether it's extra data, additional API calls or incremental ad spend. Businesses can decide whether to,
- Invoice immediately by charging customers for accumulated unbilled charges at any point during the billing cycle.
- Consolidate automatically by letting Zoho Billing roll all unbilled charges into the customer's next billing date.
For instance, if a SaaS customer exceeds their plan by generating $300 in API consumption, the service provider can either issue a one-off invoice on any given day or allow Zoho Billing to add the charge seamlessly to the upcoming monthly bill. This flexibility reduces revenue leakage, improves cash flow, and enhances transparency to the customers.
By automating unbilled charge invoicing, Zoho Billing ensures that no consumption unit is lost. At the same time, businesses retain the freedom to charge customers in real time or on their preferred billing schedule.
Up Next
With prorated billing ensuring fairness and unbilled charges providing completeness, the next billing in line is Advance Billing. Unlike unbilled charges, where usage is billed after the fact, advance billing collects payment upfront before services are rendered, ensuring cash flow and reduced payment risk.
This model has advantages and challenges. Our upcoming post will examine how advanced billing works and the businesses that can adopt it.
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
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
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
how can we create in zoho crm a new contact when the looup does not find a similar existing one
In forms/integrations/zoho crm / ne w record tab, contact name is to be mapped with my form contact name. When I go in biew edit/lookup configuration, I don t get the options (help dedicated page simply repeat the same info you get in the app) and doesDirectory Websites
Directories are a good website category to gain search engine traffic. Directories for a professional service category as an example can help their members in search results over their individual website. It would be nice to have a directory templateManage Task on Mobile
How do we manage our task on mobile devices? It seems that there should be a standalone mobile app to handle the new task features. The new features released in regards to Task management are great by the way! Now we need to bring that all together inSet Default Payment Method & Default account
Hi, I would like to know how to set the default payment method and default bank account when recording payments in zoho books. At present we have to change these fields everytime we record a payment, which leads to potential error and as we have a veryCustomer Portal on Zoho Desk
Hi, I'd like to know more about the items below I found when setting up the Customer Portal on Zoho Desk. Could someone help me explaining these in details? Especially the 2nd and 3rd point. Thanking you in advance! Permissions Customers can sign up for Customer Portal Customers can view tickets of their organization (contacts) Customers must register to access Customer Portal Display Community in Customer Self Service portalComputer Showing Offline in Unattended Access
I have a computer that was connected to the internet but showing offline in Assist. I tried uninstalling the program and deleting it from Zoho Assist the reinstalling and it still does not show up. I have been a user for several months and am not pleased with the lack of connectivity with Assist. If this continues I will have to find another product. The computer I reinstalled it on is not even showing up in Assist now. The name is NYRVLI-PC. ThanksZoho CRM Portal Error
Hi, We’re experiencing an issue with the Zoho CRM Portal. When we try to access it, we receive an HTTPS connection error: net::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID. If we proceed past that, we then get a 400 Bad Request error. Could you please help us resolveIntegrating Zoho CRM EmbeddedApp SDK with Next.js — Initialization and Data Fetching Issues
You can get an idea from my code I have given in end: First, I worked on a React project and tried the same thing — it worked. My goal was to import the Zoho script and then load contacts using the Zoho Widget SDK, which was successful in React. Now,monetizing the courses
Can I add a price for course enrollment ?Can we add zoho books features like invoices estemates etc on our zohocommerce website. When our customer login with their account they can able to see all books features in one place on zohocommerce?
Can we add zoho books features like invoices estemates etc on our zohocommerce website. When our customer login with their account they can able to see all books features in one place on zohocommerce?Copy paste from word document deletes random spaces
Hello Dear Zoho Team, When copying from a word document into Notebook, often I face a problem of the program deleting random spaces between words, the document become terribly faulty, eventhough it is perfect in its original source document (and withoutTaxes for EU B2B Transactions
Currently, ZC doesn't seem to have a procedure for validating VAT numbers of businesses purchasing in another EU state, and removing local VAT is valid. This is essential for all inter EU B2B trade.Unable to Receive Emails on Zoho Mail After Office 365 Coexistence Setup – Error: 553 Relaying Disallowed
Hello, My domain name is bigniter.com, and I’ve been using Zoho Mail as my email service provider without any issues. Recently, I followed the steps outlined in the Zoho documentation to enable Coexistence with Office 365: 🔗 https://www.zoho.com/mail/help/adminconsole/coexistence-with-office365.html#multi-serverCRM Related list table in Zoho analytics
In Zoho Analytics, where can I view the tables created from zoho crm related lists? For example, in my Zoho CRM setup, I have added the Product module as a related list in the Lead module, and also the Lead module as a related list in the Product module.Candidate Registration/Invitation
It would be great to include the 'invite' candidate functionality into some of the automation functions - ether through a custom function trigger or webhook or accessible through an email template. Currently there is no way to add this functionality into any workflows or blueprint steps which, I find limits the ability to invite candidates to engage with us directly through our candidate portal.[Free Webinar] Learning Table Series - Creator for Infrastructure Management | A Partner-driven collaborative session
Hello Everyone! We’re excited to invite you to another edition of Learning Table Series, where we showcase how Zoho Creator empowers industries with innovative and automated solutions. About the Learning Table Series The Learning Table Series is a free,Where we can change the icon in social preview
Hi, we changed our logo, and the image that appear in preview (ex : when we post a appointment link somewhere) is still our old logo. I did change our logo in the org setting. https://bookings.zoho.com/app/#/home/dashboard/settings/basic-info?clview=falseI have error AS101 when I try to add paypal@mydomain.com to Zoho
Please help me with this. I tried to call the help line 4 times but don't get any response.VAT on Multiple Expenses
Firstly, might I say I am based in Ireland, and I'm not an accountant, and therefore my understanding of procedures could be somewhat limited. Scenario. An employee pays for items throughout a month, and therefore their claim for expenses includes multiple items - some of the items are VAT deductible (eg, an IT product) and some are not (eg, a client lunch). Discovery The odd thing in ZBooks, is that whilst it seems possible to add a VAT rate to a one-off item of expense, it is not possible to addProblema Verificacion con proveedor NIC.AR
No puedo realizar la verificación del correo, he seguido los pasos indicados y configurado los MX. Y no puedo verificar el correo. He leido en el foro que otros han tenido el mismo problema. Alguno pudo solucionarlo?Agent assignment filter?
Godo day, We are starting to play with FSM to see if it's going to work for our needs. Now so far we have found that it's very restrcitve in the field department you you have layout rules or can't even hide fields depending on the users roles. We can'tDKIM Now Mandatory - Changes to Zoho Forms Email Policies
Hello Zoho Forms Users, This post is to inform you about an important update regarding the authentication of all email domains in your Zoho Forms account. This year, we are doubling down on our commitment to deliver a secure, seamless, and empoweringis it possible to add more than one Whatsapp Phone Number to be integrated to Zoho CRM?
so I have successfully added one Whatsapp number like this from this User Interface it seems I can't add a new Whatsapp Number. I need to add a new Whatsapp Number so I can control the lead assignment if a chat sent to Whatsapp Phone Number 1 then assignKiosk Page Refresh
We have a Kiosk running from a button in contacts to update values and also add related lists, which works great, but when the kiosk is finished the page does not refresh to show the changes. Is there a way to force the contact to refresh/update whenTips & tricks: Make SalesIQ automations work for you
Every day, thousands of visitors land on your website. Some browse, some buy, and some leave without a word. But, wouldn’t it be great if you could automatically know who’s interested, engage them at the right moment, and never miss a lead, and all thisAdd Custom Reports To Dashboard or Home Tab
Hi there, I think it would be great to be able to add our custom reports to the Home Tab or Dashboards. Thanks! ChadDigest Octobre - Un résumé de ce qui s'est passé le mois dernier sur Community
Chers utilisateurs, Faisons le point sur les temps forts du mois d'octobre au sein de notre Community Zoho France. Partager des informations sensibles, comme des mots de passe, peut vite devenir compliqué et risqué. Les données circulent par email ouHow do I fully delete a user account
Hi, I have two old accounts on my CRM which are inactive and show as 'Closed' in the list of users. BUT they are basically still there. How do I fully delete these accounts? They appear in some parts of CRM still such as the on the contact record emailsAutomatically Add Recurring Zoho Meeting Events to Zoho Calendar / Zoho Meeting Calendar
Hello Zoho Meeting Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement regarding recurring meetings created inside Zoho Meeting. At the moment, when we schedule a recurring meeting in Zoho Meeting, it does not appear in Zoho CalendarCredit Management: #6 Tackling Common Mistakes in Credit Based Billing
Businesses extend credit to build relationships, make buying easy, and drive more sales. But somewhere between extending and collecting, things begin to slip. A few late payments here and there, an overlooked invoice, and a backlog make cash flow feelTasks Statuses
Hi, The task status "Completed" is a final status which closes the task. We need to have a status "Cancelled". However, when the status is set to "Cancelled", the task prompt still has a blue button to Close Task. When the customer clicks that and closesUpdating Blueprint stage from my Deluge function
Hi all, I need to update the blueprint stage. Its almost working, but ONLY if the current Deal stage is 'Closed Lost'. On any of my custom stages that Ive specified in the pipeline it doesnt work! My code: dealmap = Map(); deal_stage = deal.get("Stage");Canvas: is it possible to have a fixed header?
Hello. Does Canvas provide the option to have a fixed header, similar to the standard view? It would also be interesting for other parts of the interface, like the header or sidebar of the tab section. Thanks!Limited layout rules in a module
There is a limit of 10 layout rules per module. Is there a way to get that functionality through different customization or workflow + custom function (easily accessible), etc. Having just 10 is limiting especially if module contains a lot of data. Aredealing with post dated cheques
Hi, can you help me please the best way to deal with this We sell an item of three months duration that is paid for with post dated cheques in monthly stages example - item is sold £3000 Cheque 1 is for £1000 due at time of sale (say Sept) cheque 2 is dated 25th of next month (Oct) cheque 3 is dated 25th of next month +1 (Nov) Now, with invoice number one it's simple - i send a standard invoice as usual But with the other two here's what i want zoho to do next month i want it to send an invoice onUsing Contains as a filter
We are using Zoho Reports, ServiceDesk Plus analytics. I do not see how to create a report filter using Contains comparison of a string values, is one string contained in another. For example, Task Title contains the word Monitor. Is this possible in Zoho Reports? This reporting feature is available in SDP reporting. Thanks in advance, Craig RiceMass import of documents into Zoho Writer
I'm using Google's word processor at the moment but feel that Zoho does a better job (on the online apps market). Iwant to move my documents (about 50-70) to Zoho but it seems to me that I have to import them seperately. Is it already possible to upload several documents at a time or is this a forthcoming feature? Cheers Rolli :?:Error 400 Booking
Added a custom domain to Booking. Am Getting a SSL Error that has some other domain on the SSL and giving a 400 error. Followed instructions and it stated it verified our domain.. However it is not working. Please Help!Set off Unearned Revenue
Hi, I would like to get a clarification on the below. I have an opening balance of BD.725/- in my Unearned Revenue A/c which includes the overpayments of 6 clients. No One of my clients settled his invoices by paying the value of the invoice less theHow Zoho Desk contributes to the art of savings
Remember the first time your grandmother gave you cash for a birthday or New Year's gift, Christmas gift, or any special day? You probably tucked that money safely into a piggy bank, waiting for the day you could buy something precious or something youNext Page