Subscriptions

How Do Subscriptions Work?

Subscriptions act as a template for invoices which need to be generated on a specific frequency (once a month, twice a year, etc). Subscriptions are almost identical to invoices. The difference is that Subscriptions aren't sent directly to a client (the generated invoice is) and payments aren't made to a subscription (payments are made to the generated invoice).

Once a subscription has been created, the Task Scheduler will cycle through each day and check for any subscriptions that are due to generate invoices from. Any subscriptions that are due to be generated will be. Depending on the "Automatically Email Subscriptions" setting in System Settings on the Invoices tab, the generated invoice will email itself to the client.

Important note

The Task Scheduler needs to be set up before any subscriptions will actually generate.

Creating a Subscription

Click the Subscriptions menu item and press the New button.

The Create Subscription screen will prompt you for the Client Name, Company Profile, Document Number Scheme, Start Date, frequency, and a Stop Date if applicable.

If the subscription is for a new client, type the client's name in full. You will be able to edit the other details for this client record from the next screen. If the subscription is for an existing client, start typing the client's name and you will be able to select your existing client from the list that appears.

The Company Profile is where the subscription will pull your company name, address, phone number, and other company specific details from.

The Document Number Scheme controls the format of the number assigned to each generated invoice.

Set the start date to the date the invoice should first be generated.

Set the frequency for the invoice.

Press Submit when done and you'll be taken to the Subscription Edit screen.

The Subscription Edit screen is where you'll add line items as well as define further properties and options for your subscription.

1. Summary

Entering a brief summary or description of the subscription will make it to find and search for.

2. From/To

The From and To areas display who the invoice is issued from and who the invoice is being sent to. If you created the invoice with the wrong company profile selected by mistake, you can easily change that by pressing the Change button on the From area and choose the correct company profile. Similarly, if you created the invoice with the wrong client selected, you can easily correct that by pressing the Change button on the To area and choose the correct client.

3. Items

This is where you'll enter each of your line items. Press the Add Item button to add additional lines for your items.

4. Additional Tab

Terms and conditions as well as text to appear in the footer of your invoice may be entered on the Additional tab. Defaults for these fields may be set in System Settings on the Invoices tab (default values for these fields will not appear on subscriptions already created).

5. Options

A number of other options and values are defined in the options area.

Next Date - The date the next invoice will be generated.
Every - The frequency in which the invoice will generate.
Stop Date - If invoices should generate up to a specific date and stop afterward, the stop date can be entered.
Discount - A percentage based discount can be applied to the invoice.
Currency - The currency the invoice will be issued and paid in. The default currency can be changed on both the client record and in System Settings. If the client record has a different currency than System Settings, the currency on the client record will override System Settings.
Exchange Rate - If a currency other than your base currency is selected, the exchange rate will automatically update itself based on the current rate.
Template - This is the template the invoice will use when viewed using the public link or when generating the invoice PDF. The default template can be changed on both the client record and in System Settings. If the client record has a different default template than System Settings, the client record will override System Settings. This behavior allows you use a specific template as default for most of your invoices while specifying a different template for a particular client or clients.