Auto Actions

Introduction

Auto Actions are billing automation settings used to manage subscriber accounts at scale. They help reduce manual work by automatically applying rules for:

• Auto-suspension of subscribers based on billing status or activity
• Grace periods before suspension takes effect
• Exclusions for new subscribers
• Bad debt write-offs for archived subscribers

When configured correctly, Auto Actions support consistent billing enforcement, smoother customer onboarding, and cleaner financial records.

Prerequisites

Before configuring Auto Actions, ensure that you have:

• Access to the Billing area of the system
• Permission to modify billing automation settings
• A defined policy for:
  • When subscribers should be suspended
  • How long grace periods should last
  • Whether small outstanding balances should be tolerated
  • How archived subscriber balances should be written off
• Approval from your finance or billing operations team before enabling automated write-offs

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1. Access the Auto Actions Settings

1. Click the 9-dot menu or app launcher.
2. Select Billing.
3. Click Auto Actions.

The Auto Actions page contains configuration sections for suspension rules, new subscriber exclusions, grace periods, and write-off settings.

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2. Configure Default Auto Actions for Auto-Suspend

The Default Auto Actions section controls when subscribers are automatically suspended.

1. Locate the Default Auto Actions section.
2. Enable the option labeled Set the following default Auto Action for Auto Suspend.
3. Select the desired suspension rule.

Available options may include:

• At the end of term, if Past Due
  Suspends subscribers at the end of their billing term if they have an outstanding past-due balance.

• On a specified date
  Suspends subscribers on a specific calendar date.

• On a specified day of the month, if Past Due
  Suspends subscribers on a recurring monthly day only if they are past due.

• On a specified day of the month
  Suspends subscribers on a recurring monthly day regardless of past-due status, depending on system behavior and policy configuration.

• On a specified number of days after invoice generation, if Past Due
  Suspends subscribers a defined number of days after an invoice is generated if payment has not been received.

• After specified number of inactive days
  Suspends subscribers after a defined period of account inactivity.

Recommended Use

For most billing operations, the safest and most common configuration is:

At the end of term, if Past Due

This option aligns suspension with the subscriber’s billing cycle and avoids suspending active customers prematurely.

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3. Apply Auto-Suspend Settings to Subscribers

After selecting an auto-suspend rule, an Auto Action Settings link or option may appear.

1. Click Auto Action Settings.
2. Choose how the setting should be applied:
   • To all subscribers
     Applies the selected auto-suspend rule to every subscriber.
   • To all subscribers except those that already have custom settings
     Applies the rule only to subscribers without individual custom settings.
3. Click Apply Now to confirm.
4. Click Cancel if you do not want to apply the changes.

Best Practice

Use to all subscribers except those that already have custom settings when you want to preserve special arrangements, negotiated billing terms, or account-specific exceptions.

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4. Exclude New Subscribers from Auto Actions

The Exclude New Subscribers setting prevents recently activated subscribers from being automatically suspended or deleted for a defined number of days after billing starts.

1. Locate the Exclude New Subscribers option.
2. Enable the setting.
3. Enter the number of days new subscribers should be excluded from auto-suspension and auto-deletion.

A common value is:

30 days

Recommended Use

Use this setting to protect new customers during onboarding. This gives them time to complete setup, understand billing expectations, and resolve initial payment issues without immediate automated enforcement.

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5. Configure the Default Grace Period for Auto-Suspends

The Default Grace Period for Auto-suspends allows subscribers to remain active for a defined period even if they are past due.

1. Locate the Default Grace Period for Auto-suspends section.
2. Enable Allow subscribers [X] day(s) grace period.
3. Enter the number of grace period days.

Example:

Allow subscribers 10 day(s) grace period

This means the system waits 10 days before applying auto-suspension, assuming the subscriber still meets the suspension criteria.

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6. Configure a Grace Amount

A grace amount allows subscribers to remain active if their outstanding balance is below a configured threshold.

1. Enter the allowed grace amount.
2. Choose whether the amount applies to:
   • Total Balance Due
   • Balance Forward

Definitions

• Total Balance Due
  The subscriber’s total outstanding balance.

• Balance Forward
  A previous unpaid balance carried forward from an earlier billing period.

Example configuration:

• Grace period: 10 days
• Grace amount: $5
• Applies to: Total Balance Due

With this setup, a subscriber may avoid suspension if they are only slightly overdue or within the allowed grace window.

Recommended Use

Grace amounts are useful for avoiding unnecessary suspension caused by minor rounding differences, small unpaid fees, or payment timing issues.

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7. Apply Grace Period Settings to Subscribers

If custom subscriber-level grace period settings are allowed, you can apply the default grace period broadly.

1. Enable Allow custom settings for individual subscribers, if applicable.
2. Click Grace Period Settings.
3. Choose one of the following:
   • To all subscribers
   • To all subscribers except those that already have custom settings
4. Click Apply Now to save the application choice.
5. Click Cancel to discard the change.

Best Practice

If some subscribers have special payment arrangements, avoid overwriting them. Select:

To all subscribers except those that already have custom settings

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8. Configure Write-Off Settings for Archived Subscribers

The Write-off Settings section enables automatic bad debt write-offs for subscribers who have been archived.

This feature is intended for accounts that are no longer active and whose remaining balances need to be cleared or adjusted for accounting purposes.

1. Locate the Write-off Settings section.
2. Enable the setting for auto bad debt write-off for archived subscribers.
3. Review the default Balance Write-off Item.
4. Click the Balance Write-off item if you need to edit the invoice description or label.

Example description:

Balance Write-off for archived customers

Important Note

Write-offs affect financial records. Confirm your organization’s accounting policy before enabling or applying this feature.

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9. Choose How Prepaid Balances Are Handled

For archived subscribers with prepaid balances, choose how the system should process remaining credits.

Available options may include:

• Create Invoice Items/Credit Memo
• Create refunds if applicable

Recommended Use

• Use Create Invoice Items/Credit Memo when you want the system to adjust the account balance internally.
• Use Create refunds if applicable when customers should receive money back for unused prepaid amounts.

Consult your finance team before selecting the refund option.

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10. Understand How Outstanding Balances Are Handled

For archived subscribers with outstanding balances, the system creates credit memo items to adjust or clear the unpaid balance.

This helps close out archived accounts and prevents old receivables from remaining open indefinitely.

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11. Apply Write-Offs to Existing Archived Subscribers

If you want the write-off settings to apply to subscribers who are already archived:

1. Click Apply Write-Off To Existing Archived Subscribers.
2. Review the impact of the action.
3. Confirm that:
   • Archived subscribers with prepaid balances may receive automatically created invoice items, credit memos, or refunds depending on your configuration.
   • Archived subscribers with outstanding balances may receive automatically created credit memo items.
4. Click Apply Now to proceed.

Best Practice

Before applying write-offs in bulk:

• Export or review the list of archived subscribers.
• Validate outstanding and prepaid balances.
• Confirm the action with finance or accounting stakeholders.
• Test the process on a small group if your system supports it.

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12. Save or Restore Your Auto Actions Configuration

After configuring Auto Actions:

1. Review all selected settings.
2. Click Save to apply the configuration.
3. Use Restore if you need to revert changes before finalizing.

Do not leave the page without saving if you want your changes to take effect.

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Common Use Cases

Automating Past-Due Suspensions

Use Auto Actions to suspend subscribers who remain unpaid after their billing term ends.

Recommended configuration:

• Auto-suspend: At the end of term, if Past Due
• Grace period: 10 days
• Grace amount: $5

This balances revenue protection with customer flexibility.

Protecting New Subscribers

Use Exclude New Subscribers to prevent new customers from being suspended too soon.

Recommended configuration:

• Exclusion period: 30 days

This creates a better onboarding experience and reduces support escalations.

Preserving Custom Subscriber Arrangements

When applying settings, choose:

To all subscribers except those that already have custom settings

This helps maintain account-specific payment plans, negotiated grace periods, or special handling rules.

Managing Bad Debt for Archived Subscribers

Use write-off automation to clear balances for subscribers who are no longer active and have been archived.

This helps:

• Reduce manual accounting work
• Keep receivables accurate
• Close out inactive accounts cleanly
• Standardize bad debt handling

Handling Prepaid Balances for Archived Subscribers

If archived subscribers have prepaid balances, configure whether the system should:

• Create invoice items or credit memos, or
• Create refunds if applicable

This ensures prepaid balances are resolved appropriately.

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Conclusion

Auto Actions provide a structured way to automate subscriber suspension, grace periods, new subscriber protections, and archived account write-offs. To use them effectively, define your billing policies first, apply settings carefully, and preserve custom subscriber arrangements where needed.

Before enabling bulk write-offs or broad suspension rules, review the financial and customer impact with the appropriate stakeholders. Once configured and saved, Auto Actions can significantly reduce manual billing administration while improving consistency across subscriber accounts.