Subscription

Overview

Subscription – Business Overview

Subscription is used to manage recurring billing relationships with customers. It allows a business to automatically generate invoices on a defined schedule for ongoing products or services, such as monthly service fees, annual maintenance contracts, memberships, or usage-based offerings.

Instead of creating invoices manually each time, Subscription ensures billing happens consistently, accurately, and on time, supporting predictable revenue and smoother customer relationships.

What Subscription Is Used For

In day-to-day operations, Subscription helps businesses:

Bill customers on a recurring basis (monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc.)
Manage long-term service agreements and contracts
Ensure continuous invoicing without manual effort
Track active, paused, or cancelled customer subscriptions
Maintain steady cash flow and revenue predictability

It is especially valuable for businesses offering ongoing services rather than one-time sales.

Prerequisites Before Using Subscription

Before creating a Subscription, the following should already be in place:

Customer records for all subscription clients
Products or services that will be billed repeatedly
Pricing and billing frequency clearly defined
Invoice and payment rules aligned with company policies
Accounting setup to record recurring revenue properly

Having these foundations ensures subscriptions run smoothly without billing errors or customer disputes.

Typical Workflow and Business Process Fit

A common business workflow using Subscription looks like this:

Agreement with the customer
A recurring service or product is agreed upon, including price, billing cycle, and duration.
Create the Subscription
The Subscription is set up with the customer details, items or services, billing frequency, and start date.
Automatic invoice generation
Invoices are created automatically based on the defined schedule.
Customer payment
The customer pays according to agreed terms.
Ongoing management
The Subscription can be reviewed, updated, paused, or cancelled as the business relationship changes.

This process reduces administrative work and ensures no billing cycles are missed.

Key Business Scenarios Where Subscription Is Essential

Subscription is particularly important in the following scenarios:

Service-based businesses charging monthly or annual fees
Maintenance and support contracts
Memberships and retainers
Software or digital service access fees
Training, consulting, or advisory services billed periodically

Any business that relies on repeat billing for the same customer benefits from Subscription.

Important Considerations for Users

When working with Subscription, users should keep in mind:

Accurate billing schedules are critical to avoid overcharging or missed invoices
Clear communication with customers about billing dates and amounts builds trust
Regular review of active subscriptions helps identify expired, unused, or underperforming agreements
Proper handling of changes (price updates, pauses, cancellations) ensures financial accuracy
Monitoring payment behavior helps manage cash flow and customer follow-ups

Used correctly, Subscription supports long-term customer relationships, reduces manual work, and creates stable, predictable revenue for the business.

In summary, Subscription is a powerful business tool in Dafater for managing recurring revenue, strengthening customer relationships, and ensuring reliable billing operations.

Basic Information

Module: Accounts
Document Type: Other

Fields

Field Name	Label	Type	Required	Options	Description
party_type	Party Type	Link	✓	DocType	Type of subscribing party in Dafater, such as Customer or Supplier
party	Party	Dynamic Link	✓	party_type	Specific party linked to this subscription in Dafater
company	Company	Link		Company	Company responsible for managing and billing the subscription
status	Status	Select		, Trialling, Active, Past Due Date, Cancelled, ...	Current lifecycle status of the subscription
start_date	Subscription Start Date	Date		-	Date when the subscription becomes effective
end_date	Subscription End Date	Date		-	Date when the subscription is scheduled to end
cancelation_date	Cancelation Date	Date		-	Date when the subscription was cancelled
trialperiodstart	Trial Period Start Date	Date		-	Start date of the free or trial subscription period
trialperiodend	Trial Period End Date	Date		-	End date of the free or trial subscription period
followcalendarmonths	Follow Calendar Months	Check		-	Align subscription periods with calendar months
generatenewinvoicespastdue_date	Generate New Invoices Past Due Date	Check		-	Allow invoice generation after subscription due date
submit_invoice	Submit Generated Invoices	Check		-	Automatically submit generated invoices in Dafater
currentinvoicestart	Current Invoice Start Date	Date		-	Start date covered by the current invoice
currentinvoiceend	Current Invoice End Date	Date		-	End date covered by the current invoice
daysuntildue	Days Until Due	Int		-	Number of days before invoice payment is due
generateinvoiceat	Generate Invoice At	Select	✓	End of the current subscription period, Beginni...	Defines when invoices are generated within subscription period
numberofdays	Number of Days	Int		-	Days offset used for invoice generation timing
cancelatperiod_end	Cancel At End Of Period	Check		-	Cancel subscription automatically at period end
plans	Plans	Table	✓	Subscription Plan Detail	Subscription plans included in this subscription
salestaxtemplate	Sales Taxes and Charges Template	Link		Sales Taxes and Charges Template	Sales tax template applied to subscription invoices
purchasetaxtemplate	Purchase Taxes and Charges Template	Link		Purchase Taxes and Charges Template	Purchase tax template applied to subscription expenses
applyadditionaldiscount	Apply Additional Discount On	Select		, Grand Total, Net Total	Base amount on which additional discount applies
additionaldiscountpercentage	Additional Discount Percentage	Percent		-	Percentage discount applied to the subscription total
additionaldiscountamount	Additional Discount Amount	Currency		-	Fixed discount amount applied to the subscription
cost_center	Cost Center	Link		Cost Center	Cost center for tracking subscription financials

Child Tables

Plans (Subscription Plan Detail)

Field Name	Label	Type	Required	Options	Description
plan	Plan	Link	✓	Subscription Plan	Selected subscription plan offered within Dafater
qty	Quantity	Int	✓	-	Number of units subscribed for this plan

Permissions

Role	Read	Write	Create	Delete
System Manager	✓	✓	✓	✓
Accounts Manager	✓	✓	✓	✓
Accounts User	✓	✓	✓	✓

DocType	Relationship	Module
Process Subscription	Linked from	Accounts
Purchase Invoice	Linked from	Accounts
Sales Invoice	Linked from	Accounts
Company	Links to	Setup
Cost Center	Links to	Accounts
Purchase Taxes and Charges Template	Links to	Accounts
Sales Taxes and Charges Template	Links to	Accounts