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What Are the Billing Frequencies Supported by Work 365

Applies To: Work 365 Billing & Invoicing
Audience: System Administrators, Billing Teams, Implementation Engineers

Overview

In Work 365, the Billing Contract controls how often invoices are generated for a customer. The platform supports multiple recurring frequencies commonly used by CSPs and subscription businesses. Your chosen frequency drives invoice dates, renewals, proration for partial terms, and how mid-cycle changes are captured.

Reference: Work 365 Support Portal – Billing Configuration

Supported Billing Frequencies

1) Monthly

  • What it does: Generates one invoice each month based on the contract’s Next Invoice Date.

  • Example: Start Jan 1 → Invoices: Feb 1, Mar 1, Apr 1, …

  • Typical use: Cloud subscriptions and usage-based services.

Reference: Work 365 Documentation – Monthly Billing Setup

2) Quarterly

  • What it does: Invoices every three months from the contract cadence (start date / next invoice date).

  • Example: Start Jan 1 → Invoices: Apr 1 → Jul 1 → Oct 1 → Jan 1 (next year)

  • Notes: Mid-term changes can raise License Change Log (LCL) invoices if configured. Popular for customers preferring quarterly prepayment or consolidation.

3) Annual

  • What it does: One invoice per year on the contract anniversary.

  • Example: Start Jan 1, 2024 → Invoices: Jan 1, 2025 → Jan 1, 2026 → …

  • Typical use: Annual prepaid subscriptions and long-term contracts. Mid-term seat or price changes can be invoiced immediately (via LCL) or deferred to renewal, per configuration.

Reference: Work 365 Support Portal – Annual Invoicing

4) Triennial (36 Months)

  • What it does: Invoices once every 36 months (common for multi-year enterprise agreements).

  • Example: Start Jan 1, 2024 → Next invoices: Jan 1, 2027 → Jan 1, 2030

  • Notes: Ensure Unit Mapping is configured (Triennial = 36× Monthly) and that pricing/terms reflect the full multi-year commitment.

Custom or Non-Standard Cadences

Work 365 can support additional cadences (e.g., Semi-Annual / Biannual) by adding a unit and mapping it in Administration → Application Settings → Unit Mapping. Always validate end-to-end with a test invoice before production.

How the Billing Engine Uses Frequency

  • Cadence & Dates: The Billing Frequency and Next Invoice Date on the Billing Contract determine when the next recurring invoice is created; the date advances by the chosen frequency after each run.

  • Proration: If Start/End Dates don’t align to whole periods, Work 365 prorates the first or final term as needed. (NRIs are not prorated; usage is billed based on actual consumption intervals.)

  • Mid-Cycle Changes: Quantity/price changes are captured as LCLs, which can be invoiced immediately or on the next cycle per your configuration.

  • Usage-Based Items: Billed for the actual usage period imported from the provider. (Provider rules may require monthly cycles for usage, even if the contract is annual.)

Quick Reference Table

  • Frequency: Monthly Period Length: 1 month Typical Use Case: Most SaaS & Azure usage Example Cadence: Feb 1, Mar 1, Apr 1, …
  • Frequency: Quarterly Period Length: 3 months Typical Use Case: Prepaid/consolidated B2B billing Example Cadence: Apr 1, Jul 1, Oct 1, Jan 1
  • Frequency: Annual Period Length: 12 months Typical Use Case: Prepaid annual subscriptions Example Cadence: Jan 1 each year
  • Frequency: Triennial Period Length: 36 months Typical Use Case: Multi-year enterprise agreements Example Cadence: Jan 1, 2024 → Jan 1, 2027 → 2030
  • Frequency: Custom Period Length: Configurable Typical Use Case: Semi-Annual/Biannual or other cadences Example Cadence: Depends on Unit Mapping setup

Best Practices

Choose the right cadence

  • Monthly for flexibility & steady cash flow

  • Quarterly to balance admin effort and flexibility

  • Annual/Triennial for upfront revenue and lower renewal churn

Operational tips

  • Document billing terms in customer agreements to match system setup.

  • Monitor Next Invoice Date before each run.

  • Decide whether LCLs should bill immediately or next cycle.

  • Keep Units/Unit Mapping aligned (Monthly, Quarterly, Annual, Triennial).

  • For custom cadences, test in sandbox and validate proration & taxes.