#Nstripe0-duplicate-Invoice
sand trout
Hi Pompey, yes, sending another invoice manually could be one option, but I'm wondering if there is are alternatives or a way to facilitate that (e.g. duplicating a previous invoice to a new draft invoice so that the subscription invoice items are all set).
One scenario is where a customer was charged on Payment Method A for a billing cycle, but they want the payment to be processed by a different Payment Method B.
- We would refund the charge on Payment Method A, and then want to generate a new duplicate invoice to then charge on Payment Method B.
amber phoenix
Ah so this is for scenarios where the previous invoice was refunded essentially?
sand trout
Yes, that's one use case for having this type of functionality to duplicate or regenerate an invoice.
Generally, we need to re-bill or create a new similar invoice with some adjustments and then bill the customer again.
A way to take Invoice X and duplicate it to Invoice Y would help to handle those cases.
Another real world use case is when a customer issues a chargeback on a payment.
If the funds are not recovered, but the customer still wants to use the service, we need to re-bill them for the billing cycle that was affected.
amber phoenix
Is there a reason you cannot modify the subscription and invoice on the changes?
sand trout
What type of subscription modifications are you thinking?
Let's say the customer is on a monthly subscription, and has:
Invoice 1: September 2021 - paid with Payment Method A
Invoice 2: October 2021 - paid with Payment Method A
And requests that Invoice 2's charge be placed on a Payment Method B.
We:
- Ask the customer to supply Payment Method B
- Set Payment Method B as the payment method for the subscription
- Refund the charge for Invoice 2 on Payment Method A
- now need to re-bill for October 2021 billing cycle
How do we re-bill for October 2021?
• Do we need to re-build the invoice with all the same invoice items?
• Or is there a way Stripe can help facilitate this (duplicating/regenerating October 2021 invoice)?
timid swallow
Hello! I'm honestly not sure what the best way to approach this would be, but let me ask internally, hang on...
sand trout
Thanks, appreciate any advice.
It may just be that we need to handle recreating the invoice (and specify all the items as needed) ourselves. Was just making sure there wasn't an easier route before we do that work.
timid swallow
Okay, so once the Invoice paid for with Payment Method A is paid it can't be "unpaid". You would need to refund that payment and then separately collect payment from Payment Method B using either a one-off Invoice or Payment Intent not associated with the Subscription.
One thing to note is that you're describing an unusual use case. Typically merchants will switch future payments to the new payment method, but not retroactively refund previous payments and charge the new payment method the way you're describing. It's certainly possible, but requires more work and will result in more fees.
sand trout
Thanks. This particular use case may be specific, but just highlighting a use case for the ability to duplicate or regenerate an invoice for a billing cycle.
It sounds like the answer is that there is no easier way than to recreate invoices ourselves via the API.
normal aurora
we support duplicating an invoice in the Dashboard I think
but yeah otherwise no plan to support the flow you described, it would mess up analytics and revenue recognition and you end up paying the fee twice too. I do understand it makes sense as a one-off, but less as a product/feature to build
sand trout
I do see the option "Duplicate Invoice" in the menu option for an invoice... but it's always disabled (greyed out) in the various invoices I'm looking through.
Do you know when that option would be available? Maybe only in Draft state?
Nope, looking at a Draft invoice, it's still disabled.
Oh, "You can now duplicate an invoice from your Dashboard. This feature is available for invoices in any status, but only for one-off invoices"
(So not possible with Subscription Invoices)