Recurring billing
In short. Recurring billing covers two things. Subscriptions record what a client pays on a schedule. Recurring invoices create a new draft invoice every cycle. Both are set up through the API for now.
Who it is for. Admins and finance staff with retainer or licence clients, and developers who connect Pitch2Sale to a billing system.
- Where it lives
- Opens from a record or another screen
- Plans
- SoloEssentialsGrowthScale
- Permission
- Subscriptions
What it does
Section titled “What it does”- Subscriptions. Records a client’s recurring plan: line items, a billing interval, a start date, an optional end date, discount, tax and notes. Each subscription is Active, Paused or Cancelled. You can pause, resume and cancel it.
- Recurring invoices. Marks an invoice as recurring with an interval. Every hour, Pitch2Sale checks for invoices that are due to repeat. For each one, it creates a new draft invoice with the same lines and a fresh due date based on your payment terms.
- Supports weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly intervals for both.
- Counts subscriptions in the client revenue figures returned by the API.
What it does not do
Section titled “What it does not do”- It has no screen in the app yet. You cannot create or see subscriptions or recurring invoices from the app; the invoice editor has no recurring option.
- Subscriptions do not create invoices. A subscription is a record of the agreement, even when it is set to generate invoices. To bill on a schedule, use a recurring invoice.
- Recurring invoices are not sent automatically. Each new invoice is a draft. Someone has to open Billing → Invoices and send it.
- A subscription does not stop by itself on its end date. Cancel it when it ends.
- It does not charge a saved card. Clients pay each invoice, online or otherwise; see Online payments.
Set it up
Section titled “Set it up”- Check the plan and role. Subscriptions are included on Growth and Scale; recurring invoices are part of Invoices. By default, only Admin and Super User can manage subscriptions.
- Create a personal access token; see API access.
- Call the subscriptions part of the REST API, or set the recurring fields on an invoice through the API. Both are described on the developer site.
Works the same on mobile.
Use it day to day
Section titled “Use it day to day”Say Northwind Traders pays $2,000 a month for a support retainer, starting on the 1st.
- Bill it every month. Create an invoice for Northwind Traders with one line, “Monthly support retainer”, for 2,000. Mark it recurring with a monthly interval. Each month a new draft invoice appears in Billing → Invoices.
- Send each invoice. Open the new draft, check it and click Send; see Invoices.
- Keep a record of the plan. Optionally, create a subscription for Northwind Traders with the same line and a monthly interval, starting on the 1st.
- Pause or cancel. If the client takes a break, pause the subscription and stop the recurring invoice; resume both when they come back. When the contract ends, cancel the subscription.
Rules and limits
Section titled “Rules and limits”| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Plans | subscriptions on Growth and Scale; recurring invoices with Invoices |
| Who can manage subscriptions | Admin and Super User by default |
| Where | REST API only |
| Intervals | weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly |
| Subscription statuses | Active, Paused, Cancelled |
| Pause | Active subscriptions only |
| Resume | Paused subscriptions only |
| Line items | at least one; description up to 1,000 characters |
| Subscription name | 1 to 500 characters |
| Currency | three-letter code; US dollars by default |
| Recurring invoice check | hourly |
| New recurring invoices | created as drafts |
Troubleshooting and FAQ
Section titled “Troubleshooting and FAQ”My subscription did not create an invoice. Subscriptions do not create invoices. Use a recurring invoice for scheduled billing.
A recurring invoice was created but the client did not get it. New recurring invoices are drafts. Open it under Billing → Invoices and click Send.
“Cannot resume a subscription with status ‘active’.” Only paused subscriptions can be resumed.
“Subscription is already cancelled”. Cancelled subscriptions cannot be changed. Create a new one if the client comes back.
Where do I see subscriptions in the app? There is no screen for them yet. Read them through the API.