Module Area: Billing & Invoicing Procedures
Audience: Visp.net End-Users / Administrators
Applies To: Subscriber Profile → Billing Options (Admin View)
Purpose
This guide explains how the core billing day fields — Invoice Day, Invoice Due Day, Term Start Day, and Past Due After — control a subscriber’s invoicing schedule, and what happens when you adjust them. Understanding the downstream effects of these changes is critical to avoiding billing errors, proration surprises, and misaligned automated enforcement actions.
Prerequisites
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Visp.net Login | You are logged in with Admin-level permissions |
| Subscriber Access | You have navigated to the target subscriber’s profile |
| Billing Options Visible | The Billing Options section is accessible in the subscriber profile |
| Package Review | You have reviewed the subscriber’s active packages under Packages & Invoices and noted each package’s proration settings |
Section 1: Billing Days — Field Definitions
Before making adjustments, understand what each field controls. The table below defines each field, its role, and its operational impact.
| Field | Definition | Example | Operational Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoice Day | The day of the month the system generates the subscriber’s invoice. | Set to 1st → invoices generate on the 1st of each billing period. | Controls when the invoice is created. Changing this shifts the generation date, which may produce a shortened or lengthened billing period. |
| Invoice Due Day | The day of the month by which payment must be received. | Set to 10th → the customer must pay by the 10th. | Directly sets the payment deadline. Adjusting this changes when late fees, grace periods, and past-due calculations begin to accrue. |
| Term Start Day | The official beginning of the billing cycle for services on the account. | Set to 1st → services are billed from the 1st to end-of-month. | Anchors all proration calculations. Changing this resets the billing cycle boundary for the entire account. |
| Past Due After | Number of days after the Invoice Due Day before the invoice is considered past due. | Set to 5 with Invoice Due Day on the 10th → account is past due on the 15th. | Triggers late fee assessments and auto-actions (e.g., Auto-Suspend). |
Section 2: Impact of Changing Each Billing Day
2.1 Changing the Invoice Day
What Happens:
- The next invoice will be generated on the newly selected day instead of the previous day.
- If the gap between the old and new Invoice Day creates a partial billing period, the system will prorate charges for the bridging interval.
- All recurring charges on active packages are included in the shifted invoice for the full term they cover — or prorated if the period is partial.
Scenario:
A subscriber has Invoice Day set to the 1st. You change it to the 15th on June 10th.
| Event | Date | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Last invoice under old schedule | June 1st | Invoice generated on the 1st as usual |
| Change effective | June 10th | Invoice Day changed to 15th |
| Next invoice under new schedule | June 15th | May be prorated to cover only June 1–15, or include a full month plus a credit, depending on package proration settings |
⚠️ Warning: Always review the Packages & Invoices section for each active package’s proration setting before changing the Invoice Day. The proration option selected (Do not prorate, Add prorated amount only, Add full amount plus prorate, or Add full amount to both invoices) directly controls the dollar amount on the next invoice.
2.2 Changing the Invoice Due Day
What Happens:
- The payment deadline for all future invoices shifts to the new date. Existing invoices retain their original due dates.
- The Past Due After countdown resets relative to the new due day.
- If Late Fee or Grace Period & Amount settings are configured, their trigger dates shift accordingly.
Scenario:
A subscriber has Invoice Due Day on the 10th and Past Due After of 5 days. You change the Invoice Due Day to the 20th.
| Parameter | Before Change | After Change |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice Due Day | 10th | 20th |
| Past Due After | 5 days | 5 days (unchanged) |
| Account becomes past due | 15th of the month | 25th of the month |
| Late fee trigger | 15th | 25th |
💡 Pro-Tip: Communicate any change to the Invoice Due Day directly to the customer before it takes effect. A shifted due date can disrupt their payment routines and lead to inadvertent late payments.
2.3 Changing the Term Start Day
What Happens:
- The billing cycle boundary for all recurring services on the account is recalibrated to the new Term Start Day.
- This typically generates a one-time prorated charge or credit on the next invoice to bridge the gap between the old and new cycle.
- Any future mid-cycle service additions or package changes will use the new Term Start Day as the proration anchor.
Scenario:
A subscriber has Term Start Day on the 1st. On June 18th, you change it to the 15th.
| Event | Impact |
|---|---|
| Old cycle | Services billed 1st → end of month |
| New cycle | Services billed 15th → 14th of following month |
| Bridging invoice | Next invoice includes a prorated charge for June 1–14 (already covered) and a prorated credit or adjustment for the overlap |
| Going forward | All proration for future changes references the 15th |
⚠️ Warning: Changing the Term Start Day affects every active recurring package on the account simultaneously. Always audit the subscriber’s Packages & Invoices section before making this change to anticipate the total financial impact.
2.4 Changing the Past Due After Value
What Happens:
- The delinquency threshold moves closer to or further from the Invoice Due Day.
- All automated actions tied to past-due status (Auto-Suspend, Auto-Delete, Late Fees) trigger on the new timeline.
Scenario:
Invoice Due Day is the 5th. You change Past Due After from 5 days to 10 days.
| Parameter | Old Value | New Value |
|---|---|---|
| Past due trigger date | 10th of the month | 15th of the month |
| Auto-Suspend (if set to "if past due") | Triggers ~10th | Triggers ~15th |
💡 Pro-Tip: Extending the Past Due After window can give customers more breathing room, but it also delays automated enforcement. Ensure this aligns with your organization’s collections policy before adjusting.
Section 3: Proration Behavior When Billing Days Change
Changes to Invoice Day or Term Start Day frequently trigger proration. The proration outcome depends on the settings configured in Packages & Invoices for each recurring package.
| Proration Option | Behavior When Billing Day Changes |
|---|---|
| Do not prorate | No charge for the partial period. Full billing begins on the next invoice at the new cycle. |
| Add prorated amount only | The subscriber is charged only for the partial bridging period. Full charge resumes on the subsequent invoice. |
| Add full amount plus prorate | The next invoice includes both the partial period charge and the full upcoming period charge. |
| Add full amount to both invoices | Two distinct charges appear — a prorated charge and a full charge — on separate invoices depending on timing. |
⚠️ Warning: Proration settings are package-specific, not account-wide. A subscriber with three active packages may have three different proration outcomes when billing days are changed. Review each package individually.
Section 4: Fixed vs. Flexible Billing Schedules
Billing day changes behave differently depending on whether your system uses a fixed or flexible billing model.
| Schedule Type | Default Behavior | Effect of Changing Subscriber Billing Days |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed Billing | All customers billed on the same system-wide days (e.g., everyone invoiced on the 1st, due on the 15th). | Changing the subscriber’s billing days overrides the global fixed schedule for that customer only. The subscriber is now on a custom schedule. |
| Flexible Billing | Each customer has individually set billing days, often based on activation date or contract terms. | Changing the days adjusts their already-individual schedule. No global override occurs — just a routine adjustment. |
💡 Pro-Tip: In a fixed-billing environment, limit custom billing day overrides to subscribers with a documented business reason. Widespread custom schedules undermine the operational simplicity of a fixed model and increase billing complexity.
Section 5: Interaction with Automated Actions (Auto-Suspend, Late Fees, etc.)
The billing day fields directly feed into the Set Auto Actions logic. Misconfigured values can cause premature or delayed enforcement.
How the Chain Works:
Invoice Day → Invoice Generated
↓
Invoice Due Day → Payment Deadline Set
↓
Past Due After → Delinquency Clock Starts (if unpaid)
↓
Set Auto Actions → Suspension / Hibernation / Deletion / Late Fees Trigger
Common Auto-Action Triggers Affected by Billing Days:
| Auto-Action | Trigger Dependency | Impact of Billing Day Change |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Suspend | "End of term if past due" or "Specified number of days after invoice generation, if past due" | Changing Invoice Due Day or Past Due After shifts the suspension date forward or backward. |
| Late Fee Assessment | Days after Invoice Due Day | Adjusting Invoice Due Day or Past Due After changes when the late fee is applied. |
| Auto-Delete | Extended delinquency conditions | Billing day changes cascade through the entire enforcement timeline. |
| Grace Period | Days after Invoice Due Day before fees apply | Directly tied to the due day. |
⚠️ Critical Warning: Before saving any billing day change, review the Set Auto Actions section (yellow-highlighted text in Billing Options). Confirm that the new dates align with your intended enforcement timeline. An Auto-Suspend configured to fire "at the end of term, if Past Due" may trigger unexpectedly if the Past Due After window is shortened without adjusting the action.
Section 6: Step-by-Step — How to Safely Change Billing Days
- Navigate to the subscriber profile by selecting Subscribers from the left sidebar and clicking the subscriber’s Name or Subscriber ID.
- Scroll to the Billing Options section.
- Review the currently active Auto Actions (highlighted in yellow). Note their trigger conditions and dates.
- Open the Packages & Invoices section and record each active package’s proration setting.
- Return to Billing Options and modify the target field(s) — Invoice Day, Invoice Due Day, Term Start Day, or Past Due After.
- Before saving, mentally walk through the proration and auto-action impacts using the information in Sections 2–5 above.
- Click Save to commit all changes. Changes apply to future invoices immediately; existing invoices are not retroactively modified.
- After saving, verify the changes by reviewing the updated Auto Actions text and, if a next invoice has already been generated, the Transactions section of the subscriber profile.
Summary Table: Change → Impact at a Glance
| Change Made | Immediate Effect | Downstream Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice Day | Next invoice shifts to new day | Possible prorated bridging invoice; all recurring charges adapt |
| Invoice Due Day | Payment deadline moves for future invoices | Late fees, grace periods, and past-due calculations shift |
| Term Start Day | Billing cycle boundary resets for all packages | One-time proration on next invoice; all future mid-cycle additions reference new day |
| Past Due After | Delinquency threshold changes | Auto-Suspend, Auto-Delete, and late fee triggers move forward or backward |
Conclusion
The billing day fields — Invoice Day, Invoice Due Day, Term Start Day, and Past Due After — form an interdependent chain that governs a subscriber’s entire invoicing lifecycle. A change to any single field can propagate through proration calculations, payment deadlines, and automated enforcement actions. Always review the subscriber’s active packages, proration settings, and configured auto-actions before saving any billing day adjustment. When in doubt, simulate the change in a test environment or consult the Transactions and Logs sections after saving to confirm the expected outcome.
Pro-Tips & Warnings (Consolidated)
- Custom billing days override global defaults. A subscriber with custom days is no longer subject to system-wide fixed schedules.
- Auto-Suspend can fire without warning if billing day changes inadvertently accelerate the past-due timeline. Always review Set Auto Actions before saving.
- Proration is package-specific. One subscriber can have multiple proration outcomes across different packages.
- Communicate due-day changes to customers. A shifted payment deadline can cause missed payments and unnecessary late fees.
- Existing invoices are never retroactively modified. All changes apply to future invoices only.
- The Term Start Day is the proration anchor for the entire account. Changing it affects every active recurring package.
- Verify every change after saving. Open the Transactions section and the Logs section to confirm the system is behaving as expected.