#franck_trial-period-subscription-schedule
versed snowBOT
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sharp harbor
Hm what is the next invoice's start date then?
This shouldn't change billing cycle anchor
lime pecan
Hi, on the Stripe Dashboard i have :
Upcoming Invoice
This is a preview of the invoice that will be issued on January 1, 2026. It is subject to change if the subscription is updated.
Instead of the 11st January (this is an exemple on Test Mode)
I mean, it should be the 11st, because i offered 10 days (by pausing the invoice for 10 days)
sharp harbor
That's not how pause collection works though
It still keeps the same billing cycle anchor
So it's expected that it'll continue to be charged on the 1st
lime pecan
Maybe i'm doing it wrong. The thing is i just want to offer days to my client.
lime pecan
Trial subscriptions are not in the MRR stats, so i cant use it
I have annual subscriptions. If I use trial periods, I might end up with a subscription in trial for almost the entire year. Additionally, trial subscriptions are not counted in the MRR.
sharp harbor
If I use trial periods, I might end up with a subscription in trial for almost the entire year
Why? You would only trial for the number of days you want to give them for free.
versed snowBOT
sharp harbor
I don't understand exactly. You should be able to do: https://docs.stripe.com/billing/subscriptions/billing-cycle#add-a-trial-to-change-the-billing-cycle
To just give them a few days free and change billing cycle
MRR should also be calculated accurately
Since they're getting a few days free
That would be taken into account
lime pecan
Here is an example:
I have a subscription from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2026.
On February 12, I offer 10 trial days. I send Stripe the 'trial_end' with the new date + 10 days.
The behavior on Stripe's side: When I send the request, my subscription generates a $0 invoice for the period from February 12, 2025, to January 10, 2026. The good point is that the days are correctly offered. The problem is that from this point onward, the subscription enters a "trial period."
languid grail
Hi 👋
I'm stepping in as my colleague needs to go soon. GIve me a sec to catch up
lime pecan
Hi, thanks @sharp harbor for your help
languid grail
So you don't want the status of the Subscription to be trialing during the free period?
What is the problem there?
lime pecan
My problem with the Trialing is for the stats
Look, here is some doc from stripe :
How do we perform these calculations?
MRR is the sum of the normalized monthly value of all your subscriptions in the "active" or "past_due" state. Subscriptions in trial period, any taxes on subscriptions, free offers, and usage-based products are not included in the MRR calculation.
If my subscription is on trial for many months, i will not know my gains
Maybe I'm going about it the wrong way.
languid grail
Do you plan to give your customers many months free?
lime pecan
Here is an example:
I have a subscription from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2026.
On February 12, I offer 10 trial days. I send Stripe the 'trial_end' with the new date + 10 days.
The behavior on Stripe's side: When I send the request, my subscription generates a $0 invoice for the period from February 12, 2025, to January 10, 2026. The good point is that the days are correctly offered. The problem is that from this point onward, the subscription enters a "trial period."
This was an example that i tried
languid grail
Do you have the API request ID for that change? It will start with req_
Here's how you can find a request ID: https://support.stripe.com/questions/finding-the-id-for-an-api-request
lime pecan
Give me 2 minutes, I'll code the scenario again in development.
languid grail
Okay, thanks!
lime pecan
req_qP631aUjwoa6jf
here is the ID
{
"proration_behavior": "none",
"trial_end": "1774972840"
}
Okay, that trial_end is in 2026
So what it your intention to provide free service from now until 3/31/2026?
lime pecan
I told you, i offered 10 days
But form the moment that i offer days
All my subscription goes into trial mode
languid grail
no, you didn't
the data you provided to the API said you wanted to extend a trial until 3/31/2026
lime pecan
Earlier i wrote down an example
languid grail
That is the trail_end value you sent to the API
lime pecan
So explain to me, how am i supposed to offer days with your trial parameters ?
languid grail
Are you intending to add a trail at the end of the current billing period?
lime pecan
Yes that is a possibility yes.
languid grail
If you make the Update to a Subscription, the change takes effect immediately
If you want to set up a trial period after the current billing period, you would need to leverage our Subscription Schedules API. Adding a trial period between billing cycles is one of the common use cases.
https://docs.stripe.com/billing/subscriptions/subscription-schedules
This would allow you to create a 10 day free trial after the current billing cycle. If you don't want to leave your Subscription in a trialing state, you would want to specify an additional phase after the trial period to resume normal billing.
lime pecan
Yes that seems to be good solution. I will try this. Thank you
languid grail
Happy to help 🙂