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How to set up recurring billing for clients
Recurring billing charges a client's card automatically on each billing cycle, so invoices are generated, paid, and recorded without manual intervention. This guide walks through setting up a subscription with auto billing enabled.
Creating the subscription
- Open Financials > Subscriptions, or press
Cto open global create and select Subscription. - Add the recurring service as a line item. Set the amount, description, quantity, and tax.
- In the details panel, set the Subscriber (the contact who will be billed) and optionally link the subscription to a project.
Setting the schedule
- Under Schedule, set the repeat interval. You can choose every X days, weeks, months, or years. For example, "every 1 month" for monthly billing, or "every 3 months" for quarterly.
- Set the Start date. This is when the first invoice will be generated.
- Optionally, toggle End subscription and set the number of recurrences after which the subscription should stop.
Choosing auto billing
- Under Billing method, select Subscription (auto billing). The other option, Subscription (manual billing), sends invoices but waits for the client to pay each one manually.
- Select a payment method that supports recurring payments. Stripe and Square both support auto billing. PayPal and bank transfer do not.
- Click Create subscription. A confirmation dialog shows the amount, billing type, repeat schedule, and start date.
How the first payment works
Once the subscription is created, the client receives the first invoice with a payment link. The client pays and their card details are stored securely by the payment provider. From that point on, every future billing cycle charges the stored card automatically, and the client receives a receipt instead of an invoice.
Recurring invoicing vs recurring billing
Recurring invoicing (manual billing) generates and sends an invoice each cycle, but the client pays manually every time. Recurring billing (auto billing) charges the saved card the moment the invoice is generated, with no client action needed. Both use the same subscription setup; the only difference is the Billing method you select.
Failed payment handling
When an auto-charge fails (expired card, insufficient funds, or a bank decline), the invoice is still generated and sent to the client with a payment link so they can pay manually or update their card. You can also retry a failed charge from the subscription detail page using the Retry option. After repeated failures (up to 10 retries), the subscription status changes to Failed.
Subscription statuses
- Draft - the subscription is set up but not yet activated.
- Active - invoices are being generated on schedule.
- Paused - billing is on hold; no invoices are generated until you resume.
- Past due - a payment is overdue.
- Failed - repeated charge failures.
- Cancelled - the subscription has been permanently stopped.
