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Next Bill Date

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Jaime Wong

06 Jan, 2018 09:49 PM

Hello,

Our policy is to charge our clients on the 21st of every month.. so our customers are expecting that.

We have clients that have their subscription cancelled (Credit card invalid, or no credit card).

However, when these clients re-activate their subscription by providing a valid credit card, the "next bill date" to changes to a different date. Is it possible to charge the customers right way for overdue invoices, but then change back the "next bill date" for the 21st?

tks.

1. Support Staff 1 Posted by Meghan Turner on 08 Jan, 2018 04:51 PM

   

   Hey Jamie,

   Yes, specifying the customer's bill date on reactivation will let you bill the outstanding invoice immediately and set the customer's next bill date for the 21st.

   Before I tell you how to do that, though, it's important to note that Cheddar only changes the customer's bill date in some reactivation situations. For a short cancel, which is when a canceled customer reactivates before their existing next bill date, their bill date should remain the same. However, for a long cancel, which is when a canceled customer reactivates after their existing next bill date, Cheddar will treat it like a new sign-up and begin a new billing period on the date of reactivation.

   To override this behavior, you'll want to change the bill date on reactivation by specifying a date for the changeBillDate parameter in the customers/edit-subscription or customers/edit API calls. The method outlined in this example is probably what you'll want to do. Check out the rest of the linked article if you'd like additional details about Cheddar's behavior in different reactivation scenarios.

   Hope that's helpful, Jamie, but let me know if I can answer any follow-up questions!

   Meghan

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2. 2 Posted by Jaime Wong on 17 Jan, 2018 04:33 PM

   

   Meghan,

   For a long cancel.. is there a way to avoid chaning the next bill date?. I
   hate to make another API call for those "long cancels" to have it
   readjusted back to the original biling date.

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3. Support Staff 3 Posted by Meghan Turner on 17 Jan, 2018 07:04 PM

   

   Hi Jamie,

   Changing the bill date after a long cancel is the only way to ensure that a customer is billed on a specific date after reactivation. If you don't change the bill date, the customer will begin a new billing cycle on the day they reactivate.

   Using the API to reactivate and change the bill date for the customer in one call is the most efficient way to change the bill date. You also have the option to reactivate and change the bill date in the Cheddar user interface by visiting the customer's edit subscription page, but that would be a completely manual process for your team.

   Meghan

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