Consolidate Invoices

Invoice consolidation in Maxio Advanced Billing lets you merge multiple Subscriptions into a single, consolidated invoice—reducing Transaction fees and enhancing the customer experience. By grouping Subscriptions under a primary Subscription, you centralize billing, collection, and dunning processes. This guide shows you how to create Subscription Groups, manage billing timing rules, handle dunning, and follow best practices for seamless, efficient consolidated invoicing.

A sample consolidated invoice with charges from three different Subscriptions.

Subscription Groups

To consolidate invoices, you must first group your Subscriptions so the system knows which to invoice together.

Each group requires a primary Subscription, with other Subscriptions designated as member Subscriptions. For example, a group of ten Subscriptions includes one primary Subscription and nine member Subscriptions.

The primary Subscription controls key functions for the group:

• Invoice issuance timing—consolidated invoices are issued within an hour of the primary Subscription’s processing (see [Consolidated Invoice Timing] target="_blank").
• Collection method (automatic vs. remittance) is controlled by the primary Subscription.
• Payment method (credit card, ACH, or other) inherits from the primary Subscription.
• Dunning is performed from the perspective of the primary Subscription.

Additional considerations:

• Each Subscription can belong to only one group at a time.
• Billing dates need not match across Subscriptions.
• All Subscriptions in a group must belong to the same customer hierarchy—linked via a parent‑child configuration in the Customer Hierarchies settings.

How To Create Subscription Groups – Existing Subscriptions

To create a Subscription Group, choose a Subscription as the primary. Navigate to the subscription, then select “Create Subscription Group” from the Subscription Actions drop‑down.

Use “Create Subscription Group” from the Subscription Actions drop‑down on your designated primary Subscription.

Alternatively, you can create the group from the “Actions” drop‑down in the Subscriptions listing.

“Create Subscription Group” is also available in the Actions drop‑down on the Subscriptions list.

Once created, you can view the group by selecting “View Subscription Group” from the same drop‑downs, or by clicking the blue “a group” link on the subscription.

Click the blue “a group” link on a Subscription to access its group page.

How To Create Subscription Groups – New Subscriptions

After enabling Customer Hierarchies, your Relationship Invoicing site’s Subscription Creation screen will allow grouping during setup. See the Customer Hierarchies & WhoPays section for details.

Avoiding Signup Charges When Grouping New Subscriptions

Example Scenario:

You want to group three new Subscriptions under a customer:

• Set each billing date to several minutes in the future.
• Each Subscription enters “Awaiting Signup” status.
• Create a Subscription Group—one as primary, others as members.
• At the scheduled time, a single consolidated invoice is generated with no signup charges.

1. Create Each Subscription:
   • Go to the Subscription Creation page.
   • Enter plan, product, and customer details.
   • Set a future billing date (5–10 minutes ahead).
   • Save—the Subscription remains in “Awaiting Signup.”
2. Repeat for Additional Subscriptions:
   • Ensure all intended Subscriptions are in “Awaiting Signup” with future billing dates.
3. Create the Subscription Group:
   • From one “Awaiting Signup” Subscription, select “Create Subscription Group” from the Subscription Actions drop‑down.
   • Add the remaining “Awaiting Signup” Subscriptions as members.
4. Reach the Start Date:
   • At the scheduled time, Subscriptions process and trigger one consolidated invoice.
   • No unwanted initial charges are generated.

Invoice Hierarchy

When Subscriptions are consolidated, each still generates an invoice segment at signup and each billing—visible in the subscription’s history but not payable individually. Customers can only view and pay through the consolidated invoice, which rolls up all segments.

Consolidated Invoice Timing

Because Subscriptions need not share billing dates, the system follows timing rules for consolidation.

The first Subscription to reach periodic billing—primary or member—creates a pending consolidated invoice. As other Subscriptions process within the one‑hour window, their segments are added. Finalization begins one hour after the primary Subscription processes, or sooner if no further segments are pending.

For sites with the Multifrequency feature enabled, finalization waits for all member Subscriptions scheduled to bill on the same calendar day.

Once finalized, the pending consolidated invoice is issued. If the primary Subscription has Automatic Collection enabled, payment is attempted immediately.

With monthly billing cycles, each group Subscription contributes exactly one invoice segment per consolidated invoice.

You can mix different billing frequencies—just ensure the primary Subscription follows the fastest schedule. Earlier segments remain pending until the primary issues the consolidated invoice. Use Advanced Billing tools to adjust billing dates if desired.

Dunning for Invoice Consolidation

When payment fails on a consolidated invoice with Automatic Collection:

• The system follows dunning rules based on the primary Subscription and attempts to collect on the consolidated total.
• The customer receives a single dunning email.
• All Subscriptions in the group move into the same dunning state (“past due”).
• If dunning ultimately fails, all Subscriptions and the consolidated invoice transition to “canceled.”
• If payment succeeds, all Subscriptions reactivate to “active.”

Group Management

On the group screen, you can:

• View both the primary and member Subscriptions in the group.
• See the consolidated invoices generated by the group.
• Add or remove members from the group.

The group screen allows managing members and viewing associated invoices.

Click “Manage Group” to add or remove Subscriptions within the same hierarchy. Select under “Available Subscriptions” to add or choose existing group members to remove. Then click “Update Subscription Group” to apply changes.

Changes take effect at the next scheduled processing. Any pending consolidated invoices will still include segments from removed Subscriptions.

Viewing Consolidated Invoices

You can access consolidated invoices from:

• The group screen under “Invoices,” which lists all consolidated invoices for that group.
• The global invoice listing, which includes both consolidated and normal invoices (invoice segments do not appear here).

From a single Subscription’s invoice listing, you’ll only see normal invoices and invoice segments—consolidated invoices are only accessible via the group or global listings.