Subscription Agreement
A recurring agreement with one customer or one vendor: what services, at what price, from when to when, and how often it is billed. The agreement does not raise invoices; it records them as a schedule.
What it is for
The agreement holds the terms of a subscription and, through the Subscription Agreement Scheduled list, shows each billing date it implies with its amounts.
The rule people get wrong: no invoice is created from an agreement. Nothing in Businessflo bills a subscription automatically. Raise the invoices as usual on Customer Invoice in Receivables (or record the vendor's bills on Vendor Invoice in Payables) on the dates the schedule shows.
Every field in plain words
Header
Fill Subscription Agreement date, Agreement for, Agreement Partner, Currency and Exchange Rate before pressing Create; they are locked afterwards.
| Field | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription Agreement | The number | Given on Create |
| Subscription Agreement date | The date of the agreement | Required |
| Subscription Agreement Type | The kind of agreement | Picked from Subscription Agreement Type |
| Subscription Agreement Status | Where it stands | Picked from the list. A label: nothing stops or starts with it |
| Agreement for | Whether the partner is a customer or a vendor | Required. Customer or Vendor. Changing it empties the partner |
| Agreement Partner, Name | The customer or vendor | Required. Offered from the customers or the vendors of the company, according to Agreement for |
| Currency | The agreement's currency | Required |
| Exchange Rate | Rate to the company's currency | Required. Set to 1 by itself for the company's own currency; typed otherwise |
| Billing Plan | The billing plan | Optional. Picked from Billing Plan. A label: the schedule does not read it |
| Billing Interval | Months between two bills | 1 for monthly, 3 for quarterly, 12 for yearly. The schedule is built from this |
| Billing Time | When in the period it is billed | Picked from the list. Recorded only |
| Date From, Date To | The agreement's period | The schedule stops at Date To |
| First Invoice date | The first billing date | The schedule starts here |
| Notes | Optional | |
| Customer Reference, Customer Reference Date | The partner's own reference | Optional |
| Project | A CRM project | Optional. Picked from Project |
Basic Data: the lines
At least one line is required.
| Column | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription Services | The service | Picking it fills Unit, Price and Tax Group: for a customer the service's sale price and sales tax group, for a vendor its cost price and purchase tax group |
| Quantity | How many | |
| Unit | The unit | From the service |
| Price | The price of one, per billing | Typed or from the service |
| Gross Amount | Quantity × Price | Worked out |
| Discount %, Discount Amount | The discount | Type either; the other is worked out |
| Net Amount | Gross Amount less Discount Amount | Worked out |
| Net Price | Net Amount ÷ Quantity | Worked out |
| Tax Group, Tax Zone | The tax on the line | Tax Lines on the grid toolbar shows the tax worked out |
| Line Text | A note | Optional |
On Save the tax lines of each line are worked out from its Tax Zone and Tax Group on the agreement date.
Scenarios
- An annual maintenance contract billed quarterly. Agreement for Customer, Date From and Date To a year apart, First Invoice date the first quarter's date, Billing Interval 3. The schedule shows four billing dates.
- A software licence bought monthly from a vendor. Agreement for Vendor, Billing Interval 1.
What it is connected to
- Subscription Services - the services on the lines.
- Subscription Agreement Scheduled - the billing dates this agreement implies.
- Project - an optional CRM project.
If something looks wrong
- "Subscription Agreement Lines cannot be empty" Add at least one line.
- The Price comes up empty for a customer. The service's sale price cannot be set on Subscription Services as shipped. Type the price.