Revenue Management: #5 Revenue Recognition in SaaS
If you're building or running a SaaS business, you've probably encountered this. You get paid upfront for a subscription and a one-time onboarding fee, but you end up with confusion about when to consider it revenue. Can I book all of it now? Should I spread it out? What if the customer upgrades or downgrades midway?
How do SaaS companies manage revenue recognition and stay compliant?
Revenue Recognition Scenarios in SaaS
In the world of SaaS, a business's billing of its customers has a direct impact on how and when it recognizes revenue. While the five-step model stays the same, the application varies significantly depending on the contract structure, billing frequency, and delivery pattern. Below are the common real-world scenarios that define these differences.
Annual Contract Paid Upfront
Most SaaS companies bill customers annually or quarterly in advance. However, accounting standards do not permit revenue to be recognized when cash is received. Instead, the revenue must be recognized over time, as the service is delivered.
For example, a $12,000 annual contract with $1000 onboarding. $1000 will be recognized immediately during billing, and $11,000 is spread across 12 months.
Monthly Billing
Customers pay monthly for access. There is typically no deferred revenue, and revenue is recognized in the same month the service is delivered.
Example: $500 per month subscription recognized monthly as it is earned.
Bundled Pricing
A typical SaaS contract might include platform access, onboarding, training and support as a part of the contract that gets billing as a bundle. According to ASC 606 and IFRS 15, these are separate performance obligations. The business must allocate revenue to each and recognize it based on how and when each is fulfilled.
Example: A $10,000 contract includes $2000 for setup, $6000 for software access, and $2000 for support. Revenue is recognized based on the timeline of each deliverable.
Amendments & Discounts
Customers often switch plans mid-cycle, receive promotional pricing, or get billed based on the actual usage. These changes introduce variable consideration and require contract modification, revenue reallocation, and recalculations for the remaining service term.
Example: A new allocation and recognition schedule must be set up if a customer moves from a $1000/month plan to a $1500/month plan mid-year.
Usage Based or Tiered Pricing
Some businesses charge based on consumption. For instance, API usage, user access, data storage, etc., they charge the customer again as and when the upper cap is met. This means revenue cannot be recognized until the service is used. Businesses must track usage data and apply the prorated or usage-based revenue rule to stay compliant.
Example: $0.10 per API call. If a customer makes 10,000 calls in March, $1000 is recognized in that month.
These scenarios illustrate the diverse billing models in SaaS and their direct impact on revenue recognition timing. Businesses that manage multiple pricing plans, onboarding services, or usage billing must ensure their recognition strategy aligns with the service delivery. This is where automation becomes critical.
Scenario:You sign an annual contract worth $1,20,000 with a client. The client pays the full amount upfront. The contract includes $20,000 onboarding and $1,00,000 for uninterrupted access to the software for 12 months.
Zoho Billing for SaaS Revenue Recognition
Zoho Billing simplifies SaaS revenue recognition by allowing the finance team to define a recognition rule based on the product or service offered.
For this kind of business, the Revenue recognition rule should be set in the following way:
There are two deliverables here: one is Onboarding, and the other is software access.
| For onboarding | For Software Access |
Recognition Frequency | Once | Monthly |
Recognition Method | One-Time (Daily) | Evenly Distributed |
Recognition Time | Period Start | Period End |
Although the full payment is collected in advance, you cannot recognize the entire $1,20,000 as revenue immediately. Only the onboarding revenue of $20,000 is recognized in the first month. The remaining $1,00,000 must be recognized evenly over 12 months at $8,333 monthly.
Reports in Zoho Billing
If you look at the reports in Zoho Billing after three months of service rendering, you will see,
i) Recognized Revenue Report
Onboarding is complete three months into the contract, and three out of 12 months of application access have been delivered.
Component | Recognized Revenue | Description |
Onboarding | $20,000 | Fully recognized in Month 1 |
Software Access | $25,000 | $8333/month for 3 months out of ($1,00,000) |
Total Recognized | $45,000 | Recognized at the end of 3 months |
ii) Deferred Revenue Report
After three months, the company will have nine months of software access remaining.
Component | Deferred Amount |
Software Access | $75,000 (9 months x $8333) |
Total Deferred | $75000 |
iii) Revenue Waterfall Report
Months | Onboarding | Software Access | Total |
Month 1 | $20,000 | $8,333 | $28,333 |
Month 2 | ----- | $8,333 | $8,333 |
Month 3 | ----- | $8,333 | $8,333 |
Month 4 (upcoming) | ----- | $8,333 | $8,333 |
Month 5 (upcoming) | ----- | $8,333 | $8,333 |
Month 6 (upcoming) | ----- | $8,333 | $8,333 |
Month 7 (upcoming) | ----- | $8,333 | $8,333 |
Month 8 (upcoming) | ----- | $8,333 | $8,333 |
Month 9 (upcoming) | ----- | $8,333 | $8,333 |
Month 10 (upcoming) | ----- | $8,333 | $8,333 |
Month 11 (upcoming) | ----- | $8,333 | $8,333 |
Month 12 (upcoming) | ----- | $8,333 | $8,333 |
Best Practices for SaaS Revenue Recognition
- Disaggregate Contract Elements: Break down your subscriptions, onboarding, support, and other one-off deliverables as separate individual obligations.
- Use Automated Rules: Configure a Recognition Rule based on the billing method and avoid tracking them manually.
- Handle Modifications: Plan changes and upgrades should trigger reallocation of revenue.
- Monitor Revenue Waterfall: Visual schedules ensure predictable reporting and forecasting.
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
Zoho Creator customer portal limitation | Zoho One
I'm asking you all for any feedback as to the logic or reasoning behind drastically limiting portal users when Zoho already meters based on number of records. I'm a single-seat, Zoho One Enterprise license holder. If my portal users are going to add records, wouldn't that increase revenue for Zoho as that is how Creator is monetized? Why limit my customer portal to only THREE external users when more users would equate to more records being entered into the database?!? (See help ticket reply below.)Link Contacts to Billed Accounts
Hello, I want to do a survey on all my customers of 2025. For that I want to select all contacts linked to accounts who where billed in 2025. How to I create this link to I can then use Zoho Survey with this database of contacts?Export all of our manuals from Zoho Learn in one go
Hi, I know there's a way to export manuals in Zoho Learn, but I want to export everything in one go so it won't take so long. I can't see a way to do this, can I get some assistance or is this a feature in the pipeline? Thanks, HannahBring Zoho Shifts Capabilities into Zoho People Shift Module
Hello Zoho People Product Team, After a deep review of the Zoho People Shift module and a direct comparison with Zoho Shifts, we would like to raise a feature request and serious concern regarding the current state of shift management in Zoho People.Historical Sales Info - Blend with Finance Invoice Line Items, Access in CRM and Desk
My company has been using Zoho One since 2021, with sales data going back through 2020. However, we have been in business much longer, and we have historical sales information that we want to have at our fingertips when talking with customers (usuallyIs there API Doc for Zoho Survey?
Hi everyone, Is there API doc for Zoho Survey? Currently evaluating a solution - use case to automate survey administration especially for internal use. But after a brief search, I couldn't find API doc for this. So I thought I should ask here. ThanPre-Zoho Sales Info - Best Way to Add to Desk / CRM
My company has been using Zoho One since 2021, with sales data going back through 2020. However, we have been in business much longer, and we have historical sales information that we want to have at our fingertips when talking with customers (usuallyShift-Centric View for Assigning and Managing Shifts in Zoho People
Hello Zoho People Product Team, Greetings and hope you are doing well. This feature request is related to Zoho People - please don't move it to zoho one! We would like to submit a feature request regarding the shift assignment and management view in ZohoCRM function REST API response format
Is there a way to control the JSON response returned by the CRM function REST API? If I call a function using either OAuth or an API key it returns a 200 OK response with a string in the format shown below. I am using a particular feature of an externalAdd Employee Availability Functionality to Zoho People Shift Module
Hello Zoho People Product Team, Greetings and hope you are doing well. We would like to submit a feature request to enhance the Zoho People Shift module by adding employee availability management, similar to the functionality available in Zoho Shifts.Using MPN across multiple SKUs and inventory tracking
I have several different SKU's that share a common MPN and would like to track inventory by MPN. SKU1 has MPN1 assigned SKU2 has MPN1 assigned Here is an example If I start with 5 of MPN 1 in stock I want each SKU1 and SKU2 to show as 5 in stock, If IUnable to Access Application:
Whenever I try to access my application from the desktop, say I am editing it and want to test something in the desktop environment I get: An error has occurred. An internal error has occurred. Please check the URL , or try refreshing the page I can editPDF Annotation is here - Mark Up PDFs Your Way!
Reviewing PDFs just got a whole lot easier. You can now annotate PDFs directly in Zoho Notebook. Highlight important sections, add text, insert images, apply watermarks, and mark up documents in detail without leaving your notes. No app switching. NoCRM gets location smart with the all new Map View: visualize records, locate records within any radius, and more
Hello all, We've introduced a new way to work with location data in Zoho CRM: the Map View. Instead of scrolling through endless lists, your records now appear as pins on a map. Built on top of the all-new address field and powered by Mappls (MapMyIndia),Filter in fields from Jira extension
We have installed the Jira extension so we can maken Jira issues from Zoho desk. In Zoho desk I can also see the Jira issue status for example but I can not filter on this field. I would like to setup an filter showing me the closed Jira issues. How canCannot see Application from Lookup field
Hi all, I am trying to access data for an application on our account via a lookup field; however, the application doesn't appear in the dropdown at all. Can anyone shed any light on this, please? I have asked Zoho support; however, they're just as confused,Cannot see correct DNS config for mail after moving domain to another provider
I have moved my domain from one provider to another and after that zoho mail stopped working (expected). Problem is, zoho mail admin panel still shows (10 hours after move) that all records are correct while I haven't changed anything in my domain DNSZoho CRM Meetings Module Issues
We have a use-case that is very common in today's world, but won't work in Zoho CRM. We have an SDR (Sales Development Rep) who makes many calls per day to Leads and Contacts, and schedules meetings for our primary Sales Reps. He does this by loggingZoho Books integration sync from Zoho CRM does not work
Hi Zoho Community & Zoho Support We just tried to get a sync some products into Zoho Books from CRM using the native sync and we're getting an error: "It looks like some mandatory fields you're trying to map are empty. Please provide valid field namesP & L Sub-categorized accounts
How can I show sub-categorized Income and Expense accounts on the P & L report?Report showing Bill Details with Project and Sales Invoice Number
Hi There, I am hoping that someone can help, I am looking for report that can show the bill and expense details along with project its as assigned to and the invoice number that the sales has been raised in. The goal is I can filter a customer/projectAdvanced Payment for Inventory Items with serial numbers
Hello, We sell equipment that we track the unique serial numbers on using Sales Orders. We can charge the customers an advanced payment, then the balance on delivery. We cannot figure out a way to do this in Books/Inventory: - Cannot part invoice a SOIs it possible to restrict ZCRM user to see only custom views created by administrator
I have segmented data in my CRM and I want to allow different users to be able to see only parts of it based on some criteria. I've tried to create and share a custom view, but then there is always an option for user to see all open lead for example.Issues Logging into ZOHO
Hello, one of my coworkers is having issues logging into ZOHO, she has requested a code when entering and the email is correct but she has not received the code. can you help us with this?Google Fonts Integration in Pagesense Popup Editor
Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request to enhance Zoho Pagesense’s popup editor with Google Fonts support. Current Limitation: Currently, Pagesense offers a limited set of default fonts. Google FontsAdd Popup Rejection Metrics to Reports
Hello Zoho PageSense Team, We would like to request improved reporting for popup interactions. Current Limitation: PageSense currently provides conversion data, but there is no clear visibility into: Popup rejections Popup closes (✕ button clicks) DismissalsAbility to Reset / Reinitialize Popup Cookies
Hello Zoho PageSense Team, We would like to request the ability to manually reset popup cookies. Current Limitation: At the moment, it is not possible to initiate a new popup cookie from the our side. Visitors who rejected or closed a popup will not seeControl Popup Cookie Expiration Duration
Hello Zoho PageSense Team, We would like to request an enhancement related to popup cookie management. Current Limitation: Currently, PageSense popup cookies remain active for 365 days, and this duration cannot be modified by us. If a visitor closes orClone / Export Popup Design Across PageSense Projects
Hello Zoho PageSense Team, We hope you’re doing well. We would like to request an enhancement that allows popup designs to be reused across different PageSense projects. Problem Statement: Currently, Zoho PageSense allows popups to be duplicated onlyAre there settings for hyperlinks?
Clicking a hyperlinked cell in Sheet creates this little pop-up with the actual hyperlink inside. Is it possible to have a 1-click link where if you click the cell it opens the link directly with no pop-up?Automatically include all ticket attachments in the ticket resolution email
Hello Zoho Community, We are implementing Zoho Desk in a real customer-facing production environment and have run into a limitation that is becoming a blocking requirement for our clients. The problem When a ticket is closed or resolved, Zoho Desk sendsadding several team members to an Opportunity
How can we add several team members to one opportunity for collaboration? I have researched and only found something called Deal Team which I cannot find in my CRM to configure.Finding text within a ticket: Expand All or Search this Ticket
The auto-collapse feature within a ticket is nice for screen scrolling, however it makes it difficult to find text within the ticket if the email is collapsed. In fact you cannot find text if it is collapsed. I would like to propose a feature that allowsBooks & Desk. Client mapping
Hi, I’ve been using Zoho Books for several years and am now looking to improve my customer service. I'm experimenting with Zoho Desk and want to sync and map my client data from Zoho Books. However, it seems that mapping requires both contacts to haveBulk update Profile Permissions
Dears, What should we do if we add new forms or reports and need to update more than 20 permissions? Updating them one by one feels pretty harsh, doesn’t it?String handling
If I cut a currency string from a quote and try and paste it into the Deal "Amount", it will fail unless I manually delete any commas. Dollar signs are no problem, but comma's seem to fail. Please correct this Input Validation error.text length in list report mobile/tablet
Is there a way to make the full text of a text field appear in the list report on mobile and tablet? With custom layouts, the text is always truncated after a certain number of characters.email address somehow still not verified (?!)
L.S. After creating a new email template in CRM I was about to send a group email to my clients, then Zoho CRM announced that they would change the sender address to some kind of Zoho-e-ddress because my email address "has not been verified". Not onlyWhat's new in Zoho Sheet: Simplify data entry and collaboration
Hello, Zoho Sheet community! Last year, our team was focused on research and development so we could deliver updates that enhance your spreadsheet experience. This year, we’re excited to deliver those enhancements—but we'll be rolling them out incrementallyWebDAV / FTP / SFTP protocols for syncing
I believe the Zoho for Desktop app is built using a proprietary protocol. For the growing number of people using services such as odrive to sync multiple accounts from various providers (Google, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, etc.) it would be really helpfulNext Page