This article will explain what subscriptions are and present a case study.

One of the convenient ways to bill a client on a recurring monthly basis is by using a subscription. A subscription allows you to automatically bill for services you offer your clients.

****For example:**** Most of us subscribe to cable TV services. Some us simply subscribe to the basic package(service), while others pay additional monthly fees by subscribing to premium channels like HBO or EPIX ( both are separate services ). In exchange for your cable company allowing you to view the channels you subscribe to, you agree to pay them a monthly fee. To collect that fee, your cable company automatically sends you a monthly bill.

Similarly, in your business you may sell recurring monthly services to your clients. When you sell a client a service(s) on a recurring monthly basis, they become subscribers of that service, … and in exchange for you providing that service, they agree to pay you a monthly fee.

By using subscriptions, BILLWAZE allows you to add the services you wish to sell on a monthly basis, -- and automatically bills for them. Once entered, you simply assign that service to your client. When assigning a subscription to a client, you simply answer a few questions to better instruct us on how to properly charge your client moving forward. In turn and without further involvement from your side, BILLWAZE will automatically invoice your clients every month for that service.

****Case Study ( IT Consultant ):****  
Let’s assume you’re an IT consultant and you’ve decided to include “Email” as one of your service offerings. Your client Balatie Inc is excited about this new service availability and decides to become a monthly subscriber. Woohoo! You’ve agreed to provide four email mailboxes at $25 per month/mailbox ( total $100/month ). Once entered into the system, BILLWAZE will automatically bill Balatie every month.

How to add subscription services into BILLWAZE?

1. On the left menu, click 'clients' and follow steps as shown below:
2. Click “Add” underneath the subscription table.

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_28_2022_07_17_28_81_PM.png)

The****Add a New / Edit Subscription**** form appears.

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_28_2022_07_18_24_86_PM.png)

****Using this form, you will be able to:****

* Add a new service
* Assign this service to a client
* Set initial ( billing ) starting date to begin charging the client
* Charge for this service either by device or flat fee
* Enter the amount to charge for this service
* Set and charge initial setup fee
* Set a reminder to notify you when this service will expire

3\. After completing the above steps, click "Add new" and the "Add a New Service" form will appear:

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_28_2022_07_20_22_90_PM.png)

Here, you will enter your ‘Service Name’, ‘The Monthly fee’ you charge for this service, and the ‘Setup Fee’ (if any). If there is no ‘Setup Fee’, make sure you enter 0.

4\. Click Save to save and add the new service.

Since your new service has now been added into BILLWAZE, you will now be able to assign this service to any one of your current and future clients.

5\. Next, on Add a New / Edit Subscription form, click on Select a Client to select the client you wish to assign this service to.

Assigning this service to a client means that BILLWAZE will now begin billing this client for the service.**\* If this is a new client, simply click Add New to add a new client.**

6\. Using the calendar under “Initial Start Date”, select the date in which to start billing for this  
service subscription.**\* The default date is the current date**. However, you can always set the ‘Initial Start Date’ to:

* The client’s prior billing date
* Any future starting date -- If you select a ‘Future’ starting date that is begins past current billing date for this client, the charges will not appear in the automated invoice ( Invoices -> View Upcoming Invoice \[ EUI \] ) for this billing period. Charges will appear in the automated invoice respective to the month the “Starting Date” begins.

7\. Next, select how you wish to bill this service to the client. Are you charging this client based on ‘x’ amount of devices / items, or are you billing them based on a flat fee?

****How the ‘Charge By’ dropdown works:****

****By | Device / Item****

When you select this option, EZBILLING360 will automatically bill for the selected service by multiplying the total amount of ‘devices / items’ times the ‘Monthly Fee / Unit’.

****For Example:**** using our previous example of the IT Consultant. If you sold four mailboxes @ $25 / each per month, BILLWAZE will take the total amount of ‘Assigned devices / items’ ( 4 ) and multiply that times the ‘Monthly Fee / Unit’ ( $25 ) and automatically know to bill your client $100 per month.

****What is ‘Device / Item’ and how does it apply to me?**** – Device / Item names are names ( identifiers ) that BILLWAZE uses to reference which devices / items are being serviced under this subscription. While it is ultimately up to you to decide the names to use, we have seen people use computer names, a person’s first or last name, appliance name, location, device name, or a combination of identifiers, etc. This is strictly to help you reference what you’re servicing for the client.

****For Example:**** using again our previous example of the IT Consultant. Jordan, the owner of the business likes to use first names as references to the services he sales. In this case, he adds Darlene, Steven, Stacey and Matthew as the names of the “Assigned Devices / Items”. This way he always knows: 1. The identity of the people assigned with the four mailboxes @ Balatie Inc, 2. If there is ever a billing dispute, Jordan can always look at the subscription and see who exactly he’s billing for, and so on.

****Note****\- Should you ever delete a ‘device / item’, BILLWAZE will recalculate the amount due per month and adjust accordingly. This includes prorating based on day usage.

****By | Flat Fee****

If you do not need to include ‘friendly names’ or keep record of what specifics you’re servicing with this subscription, use the ‘Flat Fee’ option. Using a flat fee, BILLWAZE will simply charge the ‘flat fee’ every month.

8\. Next, if you selected “Device / Item” in the previous step, you will now need to enter the the “friendly names”. Click “+ Add New Device / Items”

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_28_2022_07_28_28_07_PM.png)

When clicked, you will see the following modal appear on the bottom right of your screen:

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_28_2022_07_29_00_91_PM.png)

9\. Click****Select Category****. If none exist, create a ‘New Category’ by clicking on +****New Category**** within the drop down. When adding a devices / items, you place them into categories. Category make it easier to manage and provide simpler reports.

****For example:**** Continuing with our IT consultant example, we would create an ‘Email’ category and place Darlene, Steven, Stacey and Matthew underneath/within the email category.

10\. Next, enter a “Device / Item Name”. Hit “+” to add as many more “Devices / Item Names” as necessary. When complete, click “Save”.

****Note****\- If you ever need to change device / item name(s), use the ‘Client Inventory” module, located under ‘Clients’ -> ‘Client Inventory’.

Once you enter your ‘device / items’, click on the “Assign Devices / Items” dropdown and select the friendly names you entered in the prior step. By doing so you are telling BILLWAZE to charge for each selection.

****Example:****

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_28_2022_07_32_06_17_PM.png)

11\. If you selected ‘Device / Item’ in the ‘Charge By’ drop down, you will now need to enter the ‘Monthly Fee / Unit’. This is the amount of money you charge per ‘device / item’ you selected in the prior step.

If you selected****Flat Fee**** in the ‘Charge By’ drop down, you will need to enter the****Monthly Fee**** to charge for this service.

12\. If you charge an “Initial Setup Fee”, make sure the check box is selected and enter the setup fee amount in the “Setup Fee” box. This amount is chargeable once and is not repetitive. This amount is never prorated.

13\.****Expiry Date**** – If you would like an alert/reminder of when this subscription is going to expire, make sure to check box is selected and enter an expiration date. BILLWAZE will set off an alert using the “Bell” icon on the top of the screen. The alert will display on the expiry date set.

****Note**** - Once you’ve made your selections and told BILLWAZE how to bill for this service subscription, your “Add a New / Edit Subscription” modal will look something like the following:

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_28_2022_07_34_07_36_PM.png)

14\. To save and add this subscription, click “Save” on the bottom right.

15\. If you selected an “Initial Start Date” that is different than your client’s billing date, you will receive the following pop-up:

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_28_2022_07_35_06_20_PM.png)

If you wish to bill your client on a prorated basis, click “Yes”. At this point, BILLWAZE will charge your client the daily rate ( for this service ) times the number of days left in the month. This occurs only one time. Subsequent months will be billed in full.

If you want to bill the full amount regardless of the ‘Initial Start Date’, select “No”.

After you add a subscription, the subscription will appear in the “Subscription” module. Here you will find all the information about your subscriptions and be able to make changes.

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_28_2022_07_35_58_20_PM.png)

You will also be able to view the “Subscription History Log”. This log maintains all information regarding additions, modifications and deletions so you can always easily track billing questions and know who made changes and when.

****Quick Notes****

* To verify a service has been added to the automated invoice, you can go to “Edit Upcoming Invoice”, located under Invoices -> Edit Upcoming Invoice. Select the client you assigned the service subscription to. When the invoice opens, verify the charges applied.

* Once you set a price for a service, BILLWAZE will always use that price for when you assign this service to another client. However, when you negotiate a different rate or are in need to charge different rate for whatever reason, you would simply click “Add” in the ‘Subscription’ module, select the ‘service’, then ‘client’, and simply enter the custom rate you agreed on. Bottom line, you can assign different rates for the same service to different clients.

What is a Subscription?

All you need to know on how to setup, manage and charge for Service Contracts and Subscriptions.

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