Keep recurring revenue with the rest of the business.
Contracts, renewals and billing in one account history.
Manage subscription billing alongside one-off sales. Review renewals, changes and invoices in the customer’s account, with reporting that explains the movement in recurring revenue.
What changed in recurring revenue this month?
Separate new business and upgrades from downgrades and cancellations. Follow the change back to the subscriptions behind the closing figure.
Why did monthly recurring revenue grow?
Separate the movements behind the closing figure and trace them to the subscriptions.
Recurring revenueIllustrative records| Movement | Change | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| Opening MRR | — | £160,000 |
| New subscriptions | +£42,000 | £202,000 |
| Upgrades | +£18,000 | £220,000 |
| Downgrades | −£12,000 | £208,000 |
| Cancellations | −£22,000 | £186,000 |
Closing MRR is £186,000.
New business and upgrades added £60,000. Downgrades and cancellations reduced that by £34,000, leaving net growth of £26,000.
Subscription billing is available now, including price plans, subscriptions, usage-based billing, billing runs, failed-payment follow-up and the revenue screen. Two usage-billing cases are handled manually. Usage that comes in after a period has been billed isn't billed automatically, and cancelling a subscription doesn't create a final usage invoice. In both cases you raise the invoice yourself.
- Price plans — six ways to price: flat, per unit, volume, graduated, metered and manual. Put a customer on a plan and Cobalt ERP warns you if their fixed price has drifted from the plan.
- The subscription record — what's billed, usage so far this period, billing runs, a Plan diverged badge where it applies, and Change, Pause, Resume and Cancel in one place.
- Usage-based billing — record usage against a subscription and total it one of four ways: sum, highest, latest or unique count.
- A revenue screen — monthly and annual recurring revenue, active subscriptions, net change in monthly recurring revenue, cash collected, and what's in collections or at risk, all on one screen.
- Failed card payments — a list of failed payments with a charge-now button and three automatic retries, three days apart.
- Recurring invoices and orders — on Growth and above, invoices and sales orders are created on a schedule, with a history of what was created and options to pause, resume or create one now.
Billing and accounts in the same place.
Many small teams run subscriptions in one tool and accounting in another, then spend the first week of every month making the two agree.
A subscriber is the same customer you invoice and ship to, so recurring and one-off sales end up in the same books.
A list shows which payments failed, retries each one three times, three days apart, and lets you charge a saved card straight away.
On Growth and above, deferred revenue schedules show how advance billings are spread over time. Review the schedules alongside your accounting policy; they are not a complete revenue-recognition framework.
Switch subscriptions on when you need them.
The Subscription pack is included on every plan. The underlying features still follow your plan's limits.
Turning on the Subscription pack sets the workspace up for recurring revenue. Customer becomes Subscriber, catalogue becomes Plans, the subscription pages appear in the menu, and the home screen shows monthly and annual recurring revenue, active subscriptions, net change in monthly recurring revenue, failed payments and cash collected. Switch it off and the workspace goes back to how it was.
Packs are included on every plan, but turning one on does not unlock higher-plan features or change a person's permissions. Recurring invoices and sales orders, and deferred revenue schedules, require Growth or above. If you sell subscriptions and one-off orders, the usual quote-to-cash process keeps working alongside them.
Frequently asked questions.
What does Cobalt ERP's subscription billing actually do?
You set up price plans, put customers on them, and manage scheduled subscription charges and usage-based billing. The revenue screen shows monthly and annual recurring revenue, with failed card payments to follow up and a self-service page for buyers. Recurring invoices and sales orders, and deferred revenue schedules, are additional capabilities available on Growth and above.
Which usage-billing cases need manual handling?
Two usage-billing cases need manual handling. Usage that arrives late, after a period has been billed, isn't billed automatically. And cancelling a subscription doesn't create a final usage invoice. In both cases you raise the invoice yourself. We'd rather tell you now than have you find out in month two.
Does it handle revenue recognition?
Partly. Growth and above include deferred revenue schedules for advance billings, showing what's been billed but not yet earned. Cobalt ERP doesn't do full ASC 606 or IFRS 15 accounting. There are no performance obligations, no deferred revenue waterfall and no report of remaining performance obligations. A credit note also doesn't reverse revenue automatically, so that needs a manual journal.
Can I bill on metered usage?
Yes. You record usage against a subscription and Cobalt ERP totals it for the period (sum, highest, latest or unique count), then bills the usage part of the plan. Usage so far this period shows on the subscription as it builds up, so the invoice is never the first time you see the number.
How do card payments and failed payments work?
Card payments only, through a payment provider. Card details are entered on the provider's own secure page, so Cobalt ERP never sees them. Buyers get a self-service page for their subscription and saved cards. When a payment fails it goes on the failed-payments list, which retries three times, three days apart, and lets you charge the card straight away in the meantime.
Which plan do I need for subscription billing?
The Subscription pack is included at no extra cost on every plan. Turning it on configures the workspace; it does not override plan limits. Recurring invoices and sales orders, and deferred revenue schedules, require Growth or above. Check the pricing comparison for the individual features you need.
Related pages.
Bill the recurring part properly.
Plans, usage, billing runs and failed-payment follow-up in the same system as the rest of your trading, with the manual handling requirements explained above.
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