Backdating Beyond Current Term

Backdating beyond the current term allows you to apply subscription changes retroactively across multiple billing terms, including past billing periods.

This feature enables you to:

• Update existing subscriptions from a date earlier than the current billing term
• Recalculate charges across multiple past billing cycles

When a backdated change is applied beyond the current term:

• Previously generated invoices for the affected period are adjusted (credited or adjusted)
• A new consolidated invoice is generated based on the updated subscription state
• Charges are recalculated from the backdated date through the current date (or the current term boundary).
• The new invoice will be raised as per the new tax rate during the backdating of a subscription.
• Use a custom field to capture the reason for backdating.

Benefits

Backdating beyond the current term helps you:

• Handle long sales and approval cycles

  Support enterprise workflows where agreements are finalized after several billing terms.

• Reduce manual corrections

  Avoid issuing multiple credits, refunds, or manual adjustments.

• Maintain accurate and auditable billing history

  Generate clear invoices that reflect updated subscription state across time.

• Missed changes during subscription creation

  You can also use this feature to apply missing details during subscription creation process.

Use Cases

Backdated subscription updates

You can update a subscription and apply the change from a past date, including dates before the current term.

Behavior

• Existing invoices for impacted periods are credited back, adjusted, or refunded.
• A new consolidated invoice is generated
• Charges are recalculated from the backdated date to the current date
• Each billing cycle is represented as a separate line item

Example: Backdating a Price Change

Scenario

• Subscription created on Jan 1 with a plan priced at $100/month

On April 15:

• Price is updated to $200/month
• Change is backdated to Jan 15

A new consolidated invoice is generated:

Backdating with quantity change

Scenario

• Subscription start: June 15, 2024
• Update date: Aug 25, 2024
• Backdated change effective: June 20, 2024
• Change: Addon quantity reduced from 10 → 8

Previously generated invoices are voided, and a new consolidated invoice is generated:

Change frequency while backdating

If a plan is changed to a new plan within the same billing period, billing will continue until the end of the current term. If the new plan has a different billing period, the new current term end will be changed to a future date that aligns with the frequency change.

Example 1: Yearly → Monthly Plan

Scenario

• Subscription created on Jan 1 with a yearly plan ($1200/year)

On April 15:

• Plan is changed to a monthly plan ($100/month)
• Change is backdated to Feb 1

A new consolidated invoice is generated:

Example 2: Monthly → Yearly Plan with Addon

Scenario

• Subscription created on Jan 1, 2024
• Plan: $100/month
• Addon: $30/month

On April 15:

• Plan is changed to a yearly plan ($1200/year)
• Change is backdated to Feb 1, 2024

A new consolidated invoice is generated:

Example 3: Multi-Term Backdating with Frequency Change

Scenario

• Subscription created on Jan 1, 2024 with a $100/month plan

On April 15, 2025:

• Plan is changed to a yearly plan ($1200/year)
• Change is backdated to Feb 1, 2024

A new consolidated invoice is generated:

Unbilled charges

Refundable credits will be issued for the previous invoices, and unbilled charges will be created, which will be invoiced on renewal.

Advance invoice behaviour

Advance invoices can be created after the backdating operation is performed successfully. Any unbilled charges created while backdating can also be added to the advance invoice.

Limitations

Backdating range

• Subscription updates:
  • For yearly subscriptions, backdating is allowed up to one billing cycle prior to the current term start date. For all other subscriptions, backdating is allowed up to one year from today.

If the limit is exceeded, an error is returned indicating that the start date is outside the supported range.

Subscription boundaries

• Backdating is only allowed for dates after the subscription start date (started_at)
• Dates before the subscription start date are not supported

Supported actions

• Currently supports subscription updates only. Subscription cancellation and creation are not supported today.

Behavior within the current term

• When backdating within the current term:
  • Backdating remains restricted to the date on which the last scheduled change occurred, given prior updates exist.

For details, see backdating document

Coupons and discounts

• One-time and limited-period coupons are applied across all terms from the backdated date
• Fixed amount coupons are not prorated when applied mid-term

Invoicing behavior

• Advance invoices are not automatically created
• Promotional credits are applied to the new invoice

Unsupported features

• Multi-frequency billing is not supported.
• Multiple plans on a subscription is not supported.
• Contract terms are not supported.
• RevRec is not supported.

Subscription state

• Subscription must be active to perform backdated updates.