#sandra_subscription-outstanding-invoice-payment
cursive hatchBOT
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- sandra_docs, 4 days ago, 12 messages
terse chasm
Hi! I hope you're doing well!
If it helps, my question is related to the other discussion we had the other day but while the other day was about what we could do, today is about what we should do
fresh saffron
Hi there, looking over this now!
Broadly speaking it's up to you, I think allowing customers to pay their outstanding invoices is the most straightforward approach (you would need to implement your own logic to make sure they no longer have access to your service). Trying to find a guide that goes over this specifically
cursive hatchBOT
terse chasm
Thank you! We’ve considered different options, such as voiding the outstanding invoice or creating a new invoice for only the days the customer had access without paying. But we’re not sure if these approaches make sense, and we haven’t been able to find information on what the industry standard is, which is why we decided to ask for your advice
noble minnow
Hi đź‘‹
I'm stepping in as my colleague needs to go soon. Ultimately the decision about how to proceed is up to you and what delivers the results you want for your customers.
But my question for you is, when a subscription is canceled that is a terminal state and you will need to create a new subscription for your customers, so does it make sense to pay the outstanding Invoice? Is this about recouping the cost of the subscription during the retry period?
I'm trying to understand what it is you would be charging the customer for in that case.
terse chasm
Yes, let me explain
We would like to use the Customer Portal, but it currently renders the button to pay outstanding invoices even when the subscription has already been cancelled.
If we void the invoice, the button disappears—which is perfect for us—but then the invoice also disappears, so the customer would not see that the subscription was cancelled due to non-payment.
We could implement a custom UI to work around this, but honestly, our intention was to rely on the Customer Portal
noble minnow
Okay, so the issue is that you want to retain the existence of the old Invoice but not allow the customer to pay it, since you cannot restart that Subscription (since it was canceled). What if you mark the Invoice as uncollectible? Does the Customer Portal still show it as available for payment?
terse chasm
Yes, it does, at least in the sandbox
noble minnow
That behavior will be consistent between the sandbox and live mode.
Okay
Still thinking through this.
Unfortunately the Customer Portal configuration options are not very granular
And yes, the uncollectible status is not terminal, You can still transition to either void or paid so that is why the option is available to the customer
So then we will want to consider, what would be the impact to your business if they paid their Invoice? Would that be the same as paying the first Invoice of a new Subscription?
terse chasm
Initially we thought it would be the same, but then we considered the scenario where someone pays months or even years later, at which point the subscription price might be different. Ofc we could implement all the necessary logic on our side, but we are mainly validating whether simpler solutions would make sense
cursive hatchBOT
sandra_subscription-outstanding-invoice-payment
noble minnow
Unfortunately, I think you would either need to allow outstanding Inovice payment (which seems like it would be difficult), be okay with voiding outstanding Invoices, or not use the Customer Portal for Invoice payment.
I can file a feature request to allow display, but not payment, of invoices marked uncollectible as this would allow you to display that history but prevent the customer from paying the old invoice.
I think it makes sense that, if the Invoice is for a product/service that doesn't match your current offerrings (price, features, etc.), then the Customer shouldn't be able to pay it.
terse chasm
Thanks a lot for your time and for explaining the options! We get the trade-offs and agree it makes sense to prevent payment for outdated invoices.
If you could file the feature request for showing uncollectible invoices, that’d be super helpful.
Really appreciate your guidance!
noble minnow
Absolutely, happy to help 🙂
I'll file that feature request now
noble minnow
Unfortunately not, as this is purely internal. We generally have a developer digest newsletter where we announce this but I am having trouble finding the page where you can sign up
terse chasm
Ok, got it! Is the newsletter this one? https://stripe.dev/#developer-digest I found this link where I found the link to this Discord
I think is a good idea my team and I subscribe
Well, I don't find how to sign up
noble minnow
Yes I'm having trouble finding that too
terse chasm
Ok, no worries, now that we know it we can take a look from time to time
I will let know my team. Thanks! I really appreciate your help!
noble minnow
Oh , I found where you can sign up
https://go.stripe.global/dev-digest