Subscription Billing with Revenue Recognition
Project and Service customers who must bill subscription-type services or products need a way to break out invoicing over multiple invoicing terms. Those customers may also have a requirement to recognize revenue based on specified invoicing schedules, other than just when invoiced. The Subscription Billing feature lets you generate a Sales Invoice with a deferred billing and revenue schedule, using the Dynamics 365 Business Central Deferral Templates. Using a Deferral Code on the Scheduled Billing page, revenue can be automatically recognized over a period of time.
Deferral Templates
- Choose the
icon, enter deferral templates, and then choose the related link for Deferral Templates.
General FastTab
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Deferral Code |
Specifies a code to identify the Deferral Code |
| Description | Specifies descriptive information about the Deferral Code. |
| Deferral Account | Specifies the G/L Account to which the deferred expenses are posted. |
Deferral Schedule FastTab
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Deferral % |
Specifies the percentage of the total amount that is being deferred. |
| Calc Method | Specifies the calculation method for recognizing revenue. Options: |
| - Straight-Line: The periodic deferral amounts are calculated according to the number of periods, distributed according to period length. | |
| - Equal Per Period: The periodic deferral amounts are calculated according to the number of periods, distributed evenly on periods. | |
| - Days Per Period: The periodic deferral amounts are calculated according to the number of days in the period. | |
| - User-Defined: The periodic deferral amounts are not calculated. You must manually fill the Amount field for each period in the Deferral Schedule page. | |
| Start Date | Specifies when to start calculating deferral amounts. Options: |
| Posting Date | |
| Beginning of Period | |
| Beginning of Next Period | |
| Beginning of Next Calendar Year | |
| No. of Periods | Specifies how many accounting periods the total amounts will be deferred. |
| Period Desc. | Specifies a description that will be shown on entries for the deferral posting. |
Subscription Periods
Subscription Periods enable the creation of recurring billing periods (for example: monthly, quarterly, etc.) for Subscription Billing, based on user-defined time periods. Users select these periods from a pre-defined list in Subscription Orders which reduces the risk of incorrectly set periods.
To create new Subscription Periods:
In the search bar, enter Subscription Periods and select the related link.
Click New.
Enter the following information:
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Code | Specifies the code that identifies the Subscription Period. |
| Description | Specifies information about the Subscription Period. |
| Next Date Formula | Specifies the formula to find the next date for the Subscription Billing. For more information on Date Formulas in Business Central, see: DateFormula Data Type. |
| Period Unit of Measure | Specifies the Unit of Measure for the period. For more information on setting up Units of Measure in Business Central, see: Set up Units of Measure |
Subscription Order Types
When a Subscription Order is related to an agreement or external reference, additional information may be needed on the Subscription Order. On the line level, a reference to an external document can also make referencing specific terms easier. Subscription Order Types are similar to Project Categories. The Order Type value is selected on the Subscription Order header.
To create new Subscription Order Types:
In the search bar, enter Subscription Order types and select the related link.
Click New.
Enter the following information:
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Code | Specifies a unique user-defined identifier to classify the Subscription Order by type. |
| Description | Specifies user-defined information about the Subscription Order Type. |
More Information
Adjust Prices on Subscription Orders
Subscription Description Templates