Custom Billing Cycles and Schedules
Learn to create highly customized billing cycles and schedules to meet unique business requirements and customer agreements.
Custom Billing Cycles and Schedules is a free Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems lesson on CoddyKit — lesson 3 of 4. You can read the complete lesson below for free — then practise it hands-on in the browser with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems learning path, one of 4 lessons in the course, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app.
Beyond Monthly: Custom Billing
Not all businesses fit a simple monthly or yearly billing plan. Imagine you need to bill clients quarterly, bi-weekly, or on a specific day of the month.
Stripe's flexible API allows you to define highly customized billing cycles and schedules to match unique business requirements and customer agreements.
Defining Custom Intervals
Stripe uses two key properties to define billing intervals for a Price object:
interval: The unit of time (e.g.,day,week,month,year).interval_count: How many of theintervalunits.
For example, interval: 'month', interval_count: 3 means 'every three months' (quarterly).
Price with Custom Interval
Here's how you might create a new Price in Stripe that bills every two weeks. Notice the interval and interval_count.
// This is a simplified example.
// In a real application, you'd require and
// initialize the Stripe library.
// const stripe = require('stripe')('sk_test_YOUR_KEY');
async function createCustomPrice() {
console.log("Simulating Stripe API call to create a Price.");
const priceData = {
unit_amount: 1500, // $15.00
currency: 'usd',
recurring: {
interval: 'week',
interval_count: 2 // Bill every two weeks
},
product_data: {
name: 'Bi-Weekly Service Plan',
},
nickname: 'Bi-Weekly Service Plan - $15',
};
console.log("Attempting to create Price with:", priceData);
// await stripe.prices.create(priceData);
console.log("Price creation simulated successfully.");
}
createCustomPrice();Introducing Billing Cycle Anchor
Beyond just the interval, sometimes you need to control when the billing cycle starts. This is where the billing_cycle_anchor comes in.
- It's a Unix timestamp representing the exact date and time when the subscription's billing cycle should begin.
- It's crucial for aligning billing dates across multiple customers or specific business requirements.
Subscription with Future Anchor
Let's say a customer signs up today but wants their first bill to always be on the 1st of the next month. You can set a billing_cycle_anchor when creating the subscription.
Stripe will automatically prorate (if applicable) or delay the first invoice until this date.
// This is a simplified example.
// const stripe = require('stripe')('sk_test_YOUR_KEY');
async function createSubscriptionWithAnchor() {
console.log("Simulating Stripe API call to create Subscription.");
const now = new Date();
const nextMonth = new Date(now.getFullYear(), now.getMonth() + 1, 1); // 1st of next month
const anchorTimestamp = Math.floor(nextMonth.getTime() / 1000); // Unix timestamp
const subscriptionData = {
customer: 'cus_xyz123', // Replace with a real customer ID
items: [{ price: 'price_abc456' }], // Replace with your price ID
billing_cycle_anchor: anchorTimestamp,
// You might also add trial_end here if applicable
};
console.log("Attempting to create Subscription with anchor:", subscriptionData);
// await stripe.subscriptions.create(subscriptionData);
console.log("Subscription creation simulated successfully.");
}
createSubscriptionWithAnchor();Aligning Billing Dates
A common use case for billing_cycle_anchor is to ensure all your customers are billed on a specific day of the month (e.g., the 1st or the 15th), regardless of their signup date.
This simplifies financial reconciliation and provides a predictable billing schedule for your operations.
Anchor & Trial Periods
billing_cycle_anchor works well with trial periods. You can set a trial to end, and then have the first billing cycle after the trial begin on a specific anchor date.
This provides a smooth transition from trial to paid, aligned with your custom billing schedule.
Proration with Anchors
When you set or change a billing_cycle_anchor for an existing subscription, Stripe often calculates a proration.
- Proration is a partial charge or credit for the period between the change and the new billing cycle start.
- Stripe handles this automatically, but it's important to be aware of how it impacts customer invoices.
Modifying Subscription Anchor
You can also update an existing subscription's billing_cycle_anchor. This is useful if a customer requests a change to their billing date or if you need to realign schedules.
Remember to handle potential prorations if you're moving the date mid-cycle.
// This is a simplified example.
// const stripe = require('stripe')('sk_test_YOUR_KEY');
async function updateSubscriptionAnchor() {
console.log("Simulating Stripe API call to update Subscription.");
const subscriptionId = 'sub_def789'; // Replace with a real subscription ID
const newAnchorDate = new Date();
newAnchorDate.setDate(newAnchorDate.getDate() + 30); // Anchor 30 days from now
const newAnchorTimestamp = Math.floor(newAnchorDate.getTime() / 1000);
const updateData = {
billing_cycle_anchor: newAnchorTimestamp,
proration_behavior: 'always_invoice', // Or 'create_prorations'
};
console.log(`Attempting to update Subscription ${subscriptionId} with anchor:`, updateData);
// await stripe.subscriptions.update(subscriptionId, updateData);
console.log("Subscription update simulated successfully.");
}
updateSubscriptionAnchor();Custom Cycle Check
You want to create a new Stripe Price that bills customers every three months. Which combination of parameters should you use?
Recap: Custom Billing Cycles
In this lesson, we explored how to create highly customized billing cycles and schedules using Stripe:
- We learned to define custom intervals for
Priceobjects usingintervalandinterval_count. - We understood the role of
billing_cycle_anchorfor fixing specific billing dates. - We saw how to set future anchors for new subscriptions and update them for existing ones, while considering prorations.
This flexibility allows you to tailor your billing to diverse business needs.
Frequently asked questions
Is the “Custom Billing Cycles and Schedules” lesson free?
Yes — the full text of “Custom Billing Cycles and Schedules” is free to read here on the web, and the Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems course includes 4 lessons in total. To practise it interactively (a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor) and unlock the rest of the Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems course, upgrade to CoddyKit PRO.
What will I learn in “Custom Billing Cycles and Schedules”?
Learn to create highly customized billing cycles and schedules to meet unique business requirements and customer agreements. You practise Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.
Do I need any experience to start Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems?
No prior experience is required. Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems on CoddyKit is structured for beginners through advanced learners; this is — lesson 3 of 4, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace.
How long does the “Custom Billing Cycles and Schedules” lesson take?
Most CoddyKit lessons take about 5–10 minutes. Each one is bite-sized and interactive, so you make steady progress and pick up exactly where you left off across the web and the app.
Can I write and run code in this Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems lesson?
Yes. Every Stripe Payments & SaaS Billing Systems lesson includes a built-in code editor, so you write and run real code right in your browser and get instant AI feedback — no local setup required.
All lessons in this course
- Implementing Usage-Based Billing Systems
- Configuring Seat-Based and Tiered Pricing
- Custom Billing Cycles and Schedules
- Volume and Graduated Pricing Tiers in Depth