This article on Invoices is specific to the Advanced Billing workflow only. It explains how invoices are generated automatically during subscription events and billing cycles, including their statuses, collection methods, and key dates.
For managing Invoices using the Maxio Platform workflow, refer to this article.
In the Advanced Billing workflow of Maxio, the invoicing process plays a crucial role in managing your subscription‑based revenues. An Invoice represents a sale from your company (Merchant) to a Customer and contains details such as line items, discounts, taxes, payment terms, and Invoice status. This article explains how Invoices are created, the possible statuses they can hold, the available collection methods (Automatic, Remittance, or Prepaid), and the key dates of Issue Date and Due Date for revenue and billing teams. Invoices are commonly created during Subscription sign‑ups, renewals, prorated upgrades, and ad‑hoc charges, with triggers that vary based on your configuration.
- Merchant details (contact and business information)
- Customer details (name, contact information, addresses)
- Line items detailing items sold (quantity, price, description)
- Applied discounts from coupons
- Applicable taxes on items sold
- Totals and payment summaries
- Invoice status (Open, Paid, Processing, etc.)
- Invoice payment and credit history
Anatomy of an Invoice
Invoices contain key data, including status, line items, discounts, taxes, and payment details. These details aid visibility but are not prioritized in backend processing.
| Data | Description |
| Status | Invoices seen by the customer are usually either Paid or Open (unpaid). See Invoice Statuses below. |
| Line Items | Store product name, description, service dates, quantity, unit price, and subtotal. A single product or component may generate multiple line items depending on the pricing configuration. |
| Taxes | Tax amounts are stored with the invoice and displayed at the bottom of the UI. |
| Payment Details | Tracks payment, credit, and adjustment histories within the invoice. |
| Discounts | Discounts are derived from coupons applied to the invoice, and superscript displays in the UI are for presentation only. |
| Credit Notes | Formally reverse invoice charges by referencing prior invoices, credit notes reduce current or future invoices. They are typically created for plan downgrades, partial reversals, or applying service credits. |
| Line Item Break Downs | Tiered and volume‑based pricing may generate multiple line items or detailed breakdowns. Prepaid usage components are modeled in the system, while UI box displays remain presentation‑specific. |
Invoice Statuses
Invoices in Advanced Billing can have the following statuses:
- Open — Issued and awaiting payment.
- Pending — Scheduled but not yet issued, often during proration accumulation.
- Paid — Fully paid, no further action required.
- Processing — Payment initiated, confirmation pending (for example, Direct Debit).
- Canceled — Uncollected revenue from a canceled subscription.
- Collections — Unpaid after dunning, moved to collections.
- Disputed — Under payment dispute or chargeback review.
Collection Methods
Advanced Billing supports three collection types at the Invoice level:
- Automatic and Remittance, which apply to all invoices;
- and Prepaid, which applies only to usage-based subscriptions.
Each Subscription inherits a default collection method from site settings, which can be overridden at creation or per Subscription.
| Collection Type | Description |
| Automatic Collection | Advanced Billing attempts to collect payment automatically from a payment method on file (credit card or ACH) when the invoice is issued. |
| Remittance Collection | Advanced Billing does not attempt to automatically collect payment. Instead, your customer remits payment on the invoice, often in the form of check or bank draft, in response to receiving the invoice. |
| Prepaid Collection | Advanced Billing collects an initial prepayment which is used to fund a usage‑based subscription. Further usage will pull from the prepayment balance until it reaches $0 and suspends, or auto‑replenishes. The renewal invoice is marked as ‘automatic’. |
The default collection method is controlled in your site’s invoice settings. The collection method may also be set on a per‑subscription basis from the Subscription Summary page.
To change an individual subscriptions payment method after signup, from the Subscription Summary page, on the line item Payment Method, select Change. While viewing Edit Payment Method, you will be prompted to toggle between Automatic and Manual.
The exception to this are Prepaid Subscriptions. A Prepaid Subscription cannot have its collection method changed, and Subscriptions with other collection methods cannot change to prepaid.
For invoices that are in the open or canceled status, you may shift the payment method from automatic to remittance. When viewing an invoice that falls into one of these categories, select More Options -> Change Collection Method.
This workflow is not available for invoices that are consolidated, and cannot change a remittance invoice to automatic.
When Invoices Are Generated
Advanced Billing generates invoices when the following events occur:
- Subscription Creation
- Start of a new billing period (of at least one Product or Component)
- Component allocation increases (provided proration is selected)
- Product Migrations
- Ad hoc invoices
Issue Date and Due Date
Invoices advertise two main dates, the issue date and the due date.
- Issue Date is the date the invoice is made available for payment. This happens after all line items have been added and the invoice is not expected to change after this date.
- Due Date is the date the invoice payment is due.
The Due Date field may be controlled for renewals through the Net Terms functionality, and optionally for remittance signups. This means payment won’t be attempted until the specified date and dunning will follow if the payment fails. When creating Ad Hoc Invoices, you may set a due date of your choice.
Invoices and Dunning
Each Invoice follows its own payment and dunning process. If a Subscription’s payment method changes, new Invoices will follow the updated method, while existing Invoices continue under their original terms. Automatic Invoices enter dunning only if a payment attempt fails.
As an example, let’s say a subscription is set to remittance billing upon sign up. The first Invoice generated, INV‑A, is treated as remittance. Then, soon after, the Subscription is changed to automatic while INV‑A is still not paid. When the next renewal comes around, if the payment fails for INV‑B, the Subscription is pushed into dunning. This Customer would only be responsible for paying INV‑B to return to an active state. This is because INV-A is remittance and is not included in the count of open automatic Invoices.
Automatic Invoices may be modified to remittance through an option that appears on the Invoice. For more information, please review the payment collection section above.
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