#Billing Profile

Billing profiles govern how the generated Invoices behave. An organization can have multiple billing profiles defined.

For example, an organization might require two different billing profiles:

1. Default SaaS billing profile:

   • Payment method: Charge automatically via credit card
   • Payment due after: 3 days

2. Enterprise customer billing profile:

   • Payment method: Send invoice for bank transfer
   • Payment due after: 30 days

Billing profiles can be managed in the Billing Settings accessible from the Settings menu or via API.

For assigning customers to different billing profiles please see the Customer Overrides section.

#General settings

A billing profile is linked to a specific App. This association is established during the billing profile's creation and remains immutable. When transitioning to a new app, organizations must create a new billing profile (see Migration section).

Each OpenMeter organization maintains precisely one Default billing profile. All newly created customers, as well as those without an explicitly assigned billing profile, automatically inherit this default profile.

Notable exception: When modifying the default billing profile from Sandbox to a production app, customers with outstanding invoices are automatically retained on the Sandbox-based billing profile to prevent unintended charges from test data.

#Collection

When future billable items exist due to an active subscription, they are aggregated into a Gathering Invoice.

The Collection configuration defines the parameters governing the transformation of gathering invoices into draft invoices. Two primary parameters influence this process: Collection Alignment, which establishes the timing rules for invoice creation, and Collection Period, which implements a buffer interval before invoice generation.

To maintain data integrity and prevent late-arriving events from affecting draft invoices, OpenMeter captures snapshots of all relevant meters upon draft invoice creation. The Collection Period should be configured to accommodate the maximum expected latency between event occurrence and transmission through the ingest API.

For instance, if usage data transmission occurs via hourly batch processing, we recommend implementing a Collection Period of several hours to ensure comprehensive data capture.

Currently, OpenMeter exclusively supports Subscription alignment mode, where the Rate Card's billing cadence parameters govern invoice creation timing. A gathering invoice line (derived from a subscription rate-card for each billing cycle) becomes eligible for billing under the following conditions:

• For In Advance rate cards: when the line's billing period start date has elapsed
• For In Arrears rate cards: when the line's billing period end date plus the Collection Period has elapsed

Notable exceptions:

• Upon subscription initiation, all In Advance Flat Fees are immediately billed, as they are independent of meter readings
  • For subsequent periods, In Advance Flat Fees are consolidated with any usage-based items from the previous billing period on the same invoice
• Progressive billing enables the generation of interim invoices during the billing period to facilitate Threshold Billing

#Invoicing

This section defines the invoice creation process and lifecycle management parameters.

Progressive Billing enables the generation of partial invoices during an active billing cycle. This feature is currently in experimental status - please refer to the documentation for detailed limitations and considerations.

Auto Advance Invoice determines whether invoices automatically transition from draft to issued state after the draft period expires. For streamlined automated invoicing workflows, we recommend enabling this setting with a 0 draft period (immediately issue).

Common scenarios for disabling Auto Advance:

• Initial Billing Configuration Validation: Enables manual verification of charges prior to customer distribution
• Emergency Control Mechanism: Provides immediate invoice control during system integration issues or event reporting anomalies
• External System Integration Requirements: Accommodates scenarios requiring synchronization with external systems prior to invoice finalization

Strategic applications of Auto Advance with extended draft periods:

• Facilitates internal review processes by support and sales teams before customer distribution
• Enables quality assurance checks on high-value accounts

Default Tax Behavior establishes the standard tax handling for invoice line items, unless overridden by subscription-specific Rate Card settings. Available options:

• Inclusive: Price amounts incorporate applicable taxes
• Exclusive: Tax amounts are calculated and added to base prices

Tax Code (Stripe integration only) specifies the default tax classification code applied to invoices processed through the Stripe payment platform.

#Payment settings

Payment method determines the invoice settlement process. OpenMeter currently supports two payment methods:

• Charge automatically: Processes payment immediately using the customer's stored payment card.
• Send invoice: Issues an invoice to the customer for payment via their preferred method (credit card, bank transfer, or other supported payment options)

Invoice due after/Payment due after (period) specifies the duration allowed for invoice payment after finalization. This grace period applies to all payment methods, including credit card payments which may be declined. If payment is not received within this timeframe, the invoice status will transition to overdue.