Revenue Management: #10 Common Mistakes while Recognizing Revenue

Revenue Management: #10 Common Mistakes while Recognizing Revenue


We are at the end of the series on Revenue Management, covering how different businesses recognise revenue. Even with clear standards like ASC 606 and IFRS 15 in practice, businesses often struggle with the nuances of revenue recognition. Especially growing businesses that are so keen on scaling take a wrong foot.


Where do businesses often go wrong, and how can they avoid it? 


Here are some of the common mistakes businesses make and suggestions for avoiding them before they cause us harm.


Recognizing Revenue Early
A common mistake is recording the full value of a contract or an invoice as recognized immediately upon payment, especially for services or subscriptions delivered over time. This inflates revenue in the short term and understates liabilities.

To avoid this, Businesses should ensure revenue is recognized only when performance obligations are met, not when billing or cash collection. This avoids overstating earnings in the short term and ensures compliance with ASC 606/IFRS 15. Deferred revenue schedules and automated recognition tools can help align recognition with delivery.

Ignoring Performance Obligation
Many companies fail to separate multiple deliverables in a contract, such as onboarding, training, support, or updates. This results in an improper allocation of revenue across the contract's life.

Contracts often include multiple deliverables, such as onboarding, training, or ongoing support. Each should be treated as a separate performance obligation, and revenue should be allocated based on its standalone selling price.

Overlooking Discounts
Revenue must be recognized based on the actual transaction price, not the list price. Failing to adjust the discounts, credits, or rewards provided will inflate the financial figures.

To overcome this, Revenue must be recorded at the true transaction price, not the list price. Discounts, reductions, credits, and incentives should be factored in from the start, and estimates for variable consideration should be reassessed periodically. This ensures reported revenue reflects the real value of the customer contracts.

Failing to Update Contract Amendments
Mid-term changes like upgrades, downgrades, or cancellations must be tracked properly. A reassessment must be performed based on the revised obligations and the revenue that remains deferred. Many companies fail to do this or skip this recalibration step.

Upgrades, downgrades, extensions, or cancellations require proper revenue reassessment. Businesses should clearly distinguish whether a change creates a new contract or modifies the existing one. Automated systems that recalculate deferred balances can simplify this process and ensure accurate reporting.

Manual Spreadsheets
Racking revenue manually through spreadsheets increases the risk of errors, especially when managing deferrals, returns, or variable billing models. Automating this process with tools like Zoho Billing ensures accurate, hassle-free recognition with audit-ready reporting.

Manual spreadsheets are prone to errors and limit scalability. Adopting automated revenue recognition software ensures accuracy and reduces compliance risk. Strong internal policies, approval workflows, and finance team training enhance accuracy and reliability. 



Notes
Key Takeaway

With the right processes and tools, these challenges can be avoided. Businesses that invest in automation and adopt best practices early on will be better positioned to scale sustainably while maintaining compliance with recognition standards. 

Zoho Billing is designed to simplify revenue management by automating recognition, tracking contract changes, handling deferred revenue schedules, and ensuring audit-ready compliance. It provides the accuracy, transparency and scalability needed for growing businesses to keep revenue recognition on the right foot. 
​








      • 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's

      • Community 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 you

      • Community 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 most

      • Introducing: 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

        • Sending a Template to Sign

          hi, trying to send a template to be signed using this as a test: $accessToken = "1000.xxx" $templateId = "1234" $uri = "https://sign.zoho.eu/api/v1/templates/$templateId/createdocument" $payload = @{ templates = @( @{ template_id = $templateId request_name

        • Adding Choices in a Sub-Form Dropdown

          Hi, Has anybody tried Adding Choices to a Dropdown in a Zoho Creator Sub-Form programmatically? My Deluge code adds rows to a subform with 2 fields A and B. A - text field. B - dropdown. My Deluge script adds the row and displays A successfully. For the

        • Zoho CRM Email Templates 100% Width No Background How?

          Hi, On the Zoho CRM Email Templates in setup > customization > templates > new templates > I choose blank template, but still it puts in a gray background and a max width for the email. I just want to make an email that looks like an email I would send from gmail that has no background or max width. How do you do this? 

        • Checking client unsubscribe details

          Hi team, Can you please let me know where we can check if a client has unsubscribed, along with the date and time it was done? If this information is not available at our end, please help confirm the unsubscribe date for the below email ID from the backend:

        • Cancel zoho one only want to keep zoho vault

          Hello, I would like to cancel my Zoho One subscription and continue using only Zoho Vault. Please ensure that all existing data in Zoho Vault remains intact and is not removed. This month will be my final month under the Zoho One subscription. Thank

        • Scan and Fill CRM Lookup Field

          Not sure if there is a reason why this isn't possible or if I'm just missing it. But I would like to be able to use the scan and fill feature on the mobile app to prefill the CRM lookup field and fetch the rest of the data in the form.

        • Customer Management: #2 Organize Customers to Enhance Efficiency

          When Ankit started his digital services firm, things felt simple. A client would call, ask for a website or a one-time consultation, Ankit would send an invoice, get paid, and move on. "Just one client, one invoice. Easy.", he thought. Fast forward a

        • Zoho Mail and Zoho Flow integration to automatically create ToDo tasks from outbound emails

          How do i setup Zoho Mail and Zoho Flow integration to automatically create ToDo tasks from outbound emails

        • Attachments between Zoho and Clickup, using Flow.

          Olá suporte Flow, tudo bem ? Estamos usando o flow para integrar Zoho Desk com o clickup. Não localizamos a opção de integrar anexos entre do zoho Desk para o clickup. Gostaríamos de saber se migrando para o plano pago, teremos suporte para fazer a integração

        • Adding an Account on Zoho Mail Trigger in Zoho Flow

          I'm trying to create a flow using the zoho mail trigger "Email Receive". My problem is that when I select this trigger, it only shows one account from the account dropdown. I'm planning to assign it on a different email. How can I add other email ad

        • Linnworks

          Unless I am missing something, the Linnworks integration is very basic and limited. I have reached out to support but the first response was completely useless and trying to get a reply in a timely manner is very difficult. Surely I should be able to

        • Test data won't load

          I am using a Flow to receive orders from WooCommerce and add them to a Zoho Creator app. I recently received an order which failed, and when attempting to test the order I found that it just shows a loading animation and shows up in the history as "queued."

        • AddHour resets the time to 00:00:00 before adding the hour.

          Based on the documentation here: https://www.zoho.com/deluge/help/functions/datetime/addhour.html Here's my custom function: string ConvertDateFormat(string inputDate) { // Extract only the date-time part (before the timezone) dateTimePart = inputDate.subString(0,19);

        • WhatsApp Link is not integrating

          Hello, I am using zoho flow. when new row added in google sheet it sends email to respected person. In email body I have a text "Share via WhatsApp". behind this text I putted a link. But when the recipient receives email and wants to share my given info

        • Zoho flow - Webhook

          If I choose an app as a trigger in Zoho Flow, is it still possible to add a webhook later in the same flow?

        • Zoho Flow + Bigin + Shopify

          We are testing Zoho Flow for the first time and want to create a flow based in first purchases. When a client makes his first order, we're going to add the "primeiracompra" (first order) tag to his account in Shopify (it's not efficient, but that's the

        • Is it The Flow? Or is it me?

          I want to do some basic level stuff, take two fields from a webhook, create a zsheet from a template using one field with date appended, create a folder using both fields as the name, and put the zsheet into that folder. I was going to elaborate - but

        • Having problem with data transferring from Google sheet to ZMA

          When connecting Google sheet with Zoho marketing automation it is having the email as a mandatory field. Can I change it as non-mandatory field or is there any other way to trasnfer data from google sheet to ZMA. I have leads which we get from whatsapp,

        • Dropbox to Workdrive synchronisation

          I want to get all the files and folders from Dropbox to Workdrive and each time a new file or folder is added in dropbox i want it to be available in Workdrive and wise versa. Sync Updates to Files Trigger: "File updated" (Dropbox). Action: "Upload file"

        • Microsoft Planner Task to Service Desk Plus Request - error n4001

          Hi there. I'm trying to create a flow that will create a new request in ServiceDesk Plus when a new task is created in Microsoft Planner. I have succesfully connected both Planner and ServiceDesk Plus, and have configured the 'create request' section

        • Trailing Space in "Date and time scheduled "

          I am trying to use the Zoho Projects - Create event action in a flow. It is failing with the output error as: "Action did not execute successfully due to an unknown error. Contact support for more details." The input is: { "Duration - Minutes": 30, "Project":

        • Project name by deal name; project creation via flow

          Hello, I want to create a project in zoho projects using flow by a trigger at the crm. My trigger is the update of a deal (stage). The project name should be the account name/ deal name. But I dont find the solution to it. Can you please give me the answer

        • Slack / Zoho Flow; Repl

          I am trying to add a comment in a zoho ticket when someone reply's to a message in a thread. The Message posted to public channel trigger doesn't seem to pick up thread messages. I also cannot use the thread_ts field as it doesn't seem to pull that in.

        • Get Holiday ready with Zoho Mail's Templates

          As the holiday season approaches, it’s time to step away from work and unwind. You may not be able to respond to every email or send individual messages to wish everyone holidays greetings—but It is still important to stay connected. How do you send thoughtful

        • Customize folder permissions in a Team Folder in a Team Folder via zoho Flow

          HI All, on the nth level folder of a team folder I would like to Customize folder permissions when it's created in the flow of Creating folders. That last level I only want to grant access to a specific group, goup ID 201XXXXXXXX. Can you help with a

        • Associating a Candidate to a Job Listing

          Hello, I am trying to use Zoho Forms embedded on my website for candidates to apply for a job opening. I want the form then to tie directly with zoho recruit and have the candidate be automatically inputed into Recruit as well as associated with the specific

        • Automate reminder emails for events

          Hi team, I am trying to automate send event reminders via zoho campaign to my attendees 1 day prior to my scheduled events. I used zoho flow, autoresponder in zoho campaign, as well as I used workflow and automation - but none of these methods are working.

        • Update related module entry Zoho Flow not working with custom module ?

          Hi everyone. I am facing an issue here on Zoho Flow. Basically what I am doing is checking when a module entry is being filled in with an Event ID. Event is a custom module that I created. If the field is being filled in I fetch the contact with its ID

        • How to disable time log on / time log off

          Hi We use zoho people just to manage our HR Collaborators. We don't need that each persona check in and out the time tracker. How to disable from the screen that ?

        • Zoho Flow - Add to Google Calendar from trigger in Zoho Creator App

          Hello! New to Zoho Flow, but I believe I have everything setup the way it should be however getting an error saying "Google Calendar says "Bad Request". Any idea where I should start looking? Essentially some background: Zoho Creator app has a trigger

        • Email authentication

          أريد التحقق من البريد الإلكتروني

        • What’s New in Zoho Analytics – December 2025

          December is a special time of the year to celebrate progress, reflect on what we have achieved, and prepare for what’s ahead! As we wrap up the year, this month’s updates focus on refining experiences, strengthening analytics workflows, and setting the

        • Marketing Tip #12: Earn trust with payment badges and clear policies

          Online shoppers want to know they can trust your store. Displaying trust signals such as SSL-secure payment badges, return and refund policies, and verified reviews shows visitors that your store is reliable. These visual cues can turn hesitation into

        • The improved portal experience: Introducing the template view for inventory modules, enhanced configurations, and PDF export support

          Availability: Open for all DCs. Editions: All Hello everyone, You can now achieve a seamless, brand-aligned portal experience with our enhanced configuration options and the new template view for inventory modules. Your clients will now be able to view

        • Zoho Analytics Bulk Api Import json Data

          HI, I’m trying to bulk-update rows in Zoho Analytics, and below are the request and response details. I’d like to understand the required parameters for constructing a bulk API request to import or update data in a table using Deluge. Any guidance on

        • Project Management Bulletin: December, 2025

          The holiday cheer is in the air and it’s time to reflect on the year that was. At Zoho PM Suite, we've been working behind the scenes on something huge and exciting all year and now we are almost ready—with just a bit of confetti—for our grand release

        • Inventory batch details

          Hi there, I'm trying to get the batch details of an item, here's what I've done so far. I've sent cUrl request to the below endpoint and I get a successful response. Within in the response I find the "warehouses" property which correctly lists all the

        • Auto check out after shift complete

          i'm just stuck here right now, i wanna know how to do this thing, now tell me, how can i configure a custom function that runs after complete shift time if employee forget to check-out ?

        • How to create a flow that creates tickets automaticaly everyday based on specific times

          Hi guys Does anyone know how to create a flow that will create tickets automaticaly in ZOHO Desk when a certain time is reached. Im havin a hard time configuring a flow that will create tickets automaticaly everyday during specific hours of the day For

        • ZOHO FLOW - ZOHO CREATOR - ZOHO WRITER : Get Related records

          Bonjour, J'ai besoin que vous m'ajoutiez la solution "Get related Records" dans la liste de choix de zoho creator (sous Zoho flow). En effet, j'ai besoin de récupérer les champs d'un sous formulaire pour l'ajouter à l'impression de mon document. Mer

        • Next Page