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Measure automates the invoice creation and payment tracking process for recurring subscription or one-time charges. Invoices typically include the product or service purchased, the price, any applicable taxes or fees, and payment terms. Invoices are used to track sales, ensure payment, and provide documentation for accounting purposes. Measure also tracks the payment status of each invoice, providing real-time visibility into payment history and outstanding balances. If a payment is missed, Measure can automatically send payment reminders to the customer, reducing the need for manual follow-up. Measure invoices can be accessed from the dashboard or the API.

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Lifecycle

Measure invoices start out in PENDING status and then transition to PAID status on successful complete payment. When subscriptions are paused, invoices can be generated in VOID status or DRAFT status.

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Billing Cadence

Measure provides the flexibility to bill for different line items on an invoice either in advance (pre-billing) or in arrears (post-billing). This allows you to combine fixed recurring fees and variable usage charges on a single invoice.
  • Billing in Advance (Pre-billing): Charges are invoiced at the start of a billing period for services that will be provided during that period. This is ideal for recurring platform fees, seat licenses, and other predictable costs.
  • Billing in Arrears (Post-billing): Charges are invoiced at the end of a billing period based on consumption during that period. This is essential for metered, usage-based items.
For example, a customer on a monthly plan could receive a single invoice on May 1st that includes:
  • A recurring platform fee for the month of May (billed in advance).
  • Usage charges based on consumption during the month of April (billed in arrears).

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Minimum Commitments

Measure allows you to set minimum spending commitments on subscriptions. This guarantees a minimum revenue amount per billing period, regardless of the customer’s actual usage. If a customer’s usage-based charges are less than the minimum commitment, they are billed the minimum amount. If their usage exceeds the minimum, they are billed for their actual usage. This is particularly useful for:
  • Ensuring predictable revenue from usage-based plans.
  • Covering the base costs of providing a service.
For example, if you set a minimum commitment of $100 per month:
  • If the customer’s usage totals 60,theywillbeinvoicedfor60, they will be invoiced for 100.
  • If their usage totals 150,theywillbeinvoicedfor150, they will be invoiced for 150.

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Grace Period

Measure enables customization of the time window in which invoices are finalized after the billing period. This is particularly for usage-based billing where there might be a lag in events being pushed to Measure. For example, if a billing period ends on April 30th, you can set a 3-day grace period. This ensures that any usage events that occurred in April but are received by Measure up to May 3rd are included in the April invoice before it is finalized.

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Taxes

Standard taxes for invoices can be set at a company level or be overridden at the customer level. Automatic tax collection can also be enabled with third-party integrations. For example, you can set a default 5% GST for all Canadian customers at the company level, but override it for a specific tax-exempt customer by setting their tax rate to 0%.

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Metadata and Additional Fields

Metadata on invoices for internal purposes or additional fields can be set on a per-invoice basis or can be set at the company level to display on every invoice. This is typically used for standard properties like tax registration numbers. For example, you can add a vat_id: "2342342" key-value pair to an invoice’s metadata to track the VAT ID for the customer.

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Branding

Measure allows you to customize invoices with your own branding to provide a consistent and professional experience for your customers. You can configure your company logo and messaging, which will automatically appear on all invoices sent from Measure, whether they are delivered via email or through a hosted payment link.

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Credit Notes

A credit note can be used to decrease the amount due or provide a credit for an already issued invoice. This is typically done when there are duplicate or fraudulent charges on an invoice. Credit notes will also handle any tax associated with an invoice that included tax. Tax will be calculated when the credit note is issued. Once a credit note is issued, the adjusted amount due is available on the invoice. Click here to learn more about using Credit Notes in Measure.