#neto-dev_api
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- neto-dev_api, 5 hours ago, 27 messages
lime pike
Need to generate invoices 3 days before subscription billing cycle to avoid payment gaps with boleto payments
Hello Stripe Support,
I work at a company in Brazil and we're using Stripe for our credit card and boleto (bank slip) subscriptions. However, I'm facing the following limitation:
The Problem: Currently, invoices are generated on the subscription's recurring billing date. For boleto payments, the due date is automatically set to 3 days after generation. This creates a total gap of recurring date + 3 days due date for our users.
What I Need: I need invoices to be sent to my clients 3 days BEFORE the subscription's recurring billing date to eliminate this 3-day gap.
What I've Tried:
I attempted to use the invoice.upcoming webhook event to generate an invoice before the subscription billing cycle, but encountered these barriers:
The timing of when I receive the upcoming event is not configurable, so I can't control when the invoice will be generated
Even when I generate an invoice 7 days early using the upcoming event, the automatic subscription invoice is still generated on the recurring billing date
I tried methods to prevent the automatic subscription charge from being generated, including:
Using trial end
Modifying the subscription anchor
But none of these approaches worked
In the upcoming event, I generated a payment intent and when the subscription invoice was generated, I tried to attach it, but it didn't work because to generate the upcoming event, the collection method needs to be "charge automatically", and to attach it, the collection method needs to be "send invoice"
My Question: What other options exist to solve this problem? I need to generate invoices 3 days before the billing cycle while preventing the automatic invoice generation on the actual billing date.
Thank you for your assistance.
fiery sky
hi there, give me awhile to catch up
You can try this workaround:
- Create a one-time invoice to collect the subscription's "first payment"
- If the one-time invoice succeeds, you can provide credits to the Customer Invoice Balance: https://docs.stripe.com/billing/customer/balance
- Then create the subscription, and then pay the first invoice using the credits you've granted under the Customer Invoice Balance
to be clear, the credits you're granting to Customer Invoice Balance is what the customer has already paid for via the one-off invoice created in Step 1.
So if the one-time invoice fails, then no subscription will be created.
lime pike
Would this work for all months throughout the entire subscription period?
The subscriptions are already created, I basically need the client to receive the invoice 3 days before the subscription date
fiery sky
Yes it would work but it could be complex. For every invoice the subscription generates as it progresses through billing cycles, your payment integration will have to generate a one-time invoice to send to the customer for payment 3 days early.
By default, it is currently not possible to trigger a subscription to create invoice early.
lime pike
I couldn't generate this invoice in the upcoming event? I don't want to have to use cron jobs for anything, if I have to use them I'd prefer to manage my subscriptions myself
fiery sky
what do you mean by "generate this invoice in the upcoming event"?
lime pike
A few days before the automatic invoice generation of my subscription, Stripe sends a webhook called upcoming invoice. My question is whether I can generate this individual invoice when my API receives this event
fiery sky
I assume you're referring to this event: https://docs.stripe.com/api/events/types#event_types-invoice.upcoming
Yes, you can create the one-time invoice when you receive this event
I would recommend to test the scenario out using Test Clocks: https://docs.stripe.com/billing/testing/test-clocks
lime pike
Yes, I'm using test clocks a lot, let me ask some general questions and about your solution
One possibility I had thought of was the following:
In the upcoming event, I create the payment intent, and when the subscription invoice is generated on the recurring date, I check if the payment intent was paid and mark it as won/paid via API as soon as the invoice is created. Would this solve my problem?
is possible?
fiery sky
Yup it is possible.
I also want to share that if you're on the Basil API verion, you can attach payment intents to invoices: https://docs.stripe.com/invoicing/partial-payments
lime pike
If it were your application, which solution would you apply?
fiery sky
I can't provide advice for that. It would depend on each individual requirements
lime pike
No problem, could you tell me which solution you think is cleaner and more scalable?
fiery sky
I'm sorry, that's the same question but phrased differently.
lime pike
Perfect, I would like to ask some questions about your solution
in the upcoming event I will generate this invoice that will add the balance to the customer.
how will I ensure that in the create event, the invoice that is created is paid with the balance that was added?
fiery sky
The invoice balance automatically applies toward the next invoice finalized to a customer. You'd want to be familiar with the logic of how the invoice balance is applied, stated here: https://docs.stripe.com/billing/customer/balance#details
lime pike
Perfect, would there be any other documentation link that would help me with this implementation?
fiery sky
Not as of now unless you have other specific questions
lime pike
Sure, thank you very much for your attention and patience
fiery sky
you're welcome