Flexible billing schedule

Partners can create private offers with plans that include flexible schedules to align with their customers’ budget cycles and purchasing preferences. This approach enables personalized billing without affecting invoice cycles. The following video provides an overview of the capability and shares a couple example scenarios.

Supported scenarios

Configure flexible billing schedules within both customer private offers and multiparty private offers.

Flexible billing supports plans within the following offer types:

• SaaS with flat-rate pricing model

• Dragon Copilot with flat-rate pricing model

• Virtual machines with software reservations

• Professional services

Flexible billing is available globally in all Microsoft Marketplace-supported currencies.

Creating a flexible billing schedule

The flexible billing capability allows you to set up a schedule with up to 70 installments for the selected contract duration. For each installment, you must specify a unique charge date and amount. You can also add notes about each installment to provide more context for both the customer and the partner. Flexible schedules are supported for contract terms longer than one month when the selected base plan is publicly listed. They're also supported for SaaS and Professional Services private offers that use absolute pricing with a contract term longer than one month. Supported terms range from 1 to 120 months, or 1 to 10 years, and all scheduled charges must fall within the selected contract term.”

This demo video shows how to create a flexible billing schedule for plans within a private offer.

The following table is an example of a flexible schedule with five installments over a contract duration of two years.

Immediate charge when billing starts

You create a flexible schedule by defining the amount for an immediate charge when billing starts. This charge transacts as soon as the billing starts, with the charge date being the same as the contract start date. Set the amount to zero USD if you don't want an immediate charge upon subscription.

Charge dates (UTC)

For each subsequent installment, define a unique charge date in the UTC time zone for each transaction. The charge date is the date when Microsoft executes the transaction and records the purchase. Each charge date must fall within the length of the chosen contract duration.

• If the private offer starts on a specific month, the charge dates must fall within the length of the contract starting from the first date of that month. For example, if the private offer starts in January 2024 and you select a contract duration of two years, all charge dates must be between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025.

• If the private offer starts when the customer accepts it, the charge dates must fall within the length of the contract starting from the date (in the UTC time zone) when the private offer is created. For example, if the private offer is created on July 1, 2025, and you select a duration of two years, all charge dates must be between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2027.

If the customer delays subscribing to the plan, bill any overdue charges immediately once the contract and billing start. This approach ensures you don't miss collecting any configured installment amounts.

Amount

Set the amount for each installment to zero USD or higher, but not greater than 100,000,000 USD. Use the calculator in the web UI to tally the total amount in USD at any time while creating a flexible schedule.

Market pricing

Define the amount in the customer’s billing currency (if non-USD) by using the export/import functionality under the Market Pricing section on the pricing page. By default, Microsoft converts the entered USD price to the local currency for each market where the plan is available. Review the converted pricing by selecting Export pricing data after saving the flexible schedule. You can optionally override the converted pricing within defined limits and import it back. Learn more about currency conversion.

Add brief notes for each installment to provide more context for both the customer and the channel partner. The customer sees these notes when they accept, purchase, and manage private offers. Partners can access the notes when viewing the private offer or the purchase status in the private offers dashboard.

Creating a flexible schedule for a multiparty private offer

For multiparty private offers, the software partner is responsible for creating a flexible schedule that includes charge dates, partner price, and optional notes for each product plan. The channel partner applies a customer adjustment percentage at the plan level, applying the same percentage increase to each charge amount. You can enter different customer adjustment percentages for each plan.

This demo video shows how to create flexible billing schedules for plans within multiparty private offers. It explores both the software company and channel partner experience.

Select View partner price to review the schedule set up by the software partner. Select View customer price to review the price after the adjustment. The following table is an example of how a 10% adjustment to the partner price applies to the flexible schedule:

Customer experience

This demo video shows the customer perspective when reviewing a private offer with plans that have a flexible billing schedule, and the customer purchase experience.

Viewing status of each installment

For plans with flexible billing schedules, the transaction dates, amounts, and notes can be viewed by clicking on "flexible schedule" in the purchase status in private offers dashboard. The amounts are displayed in the customer’s billing currency. The status "charged" indicates that the transaction is executed by Microsoft and will be invoiced to the customers in their next invoice cycle.

To view the unbilled charges or the full charge schedule, select the private offer name in the private offer dashboard. Also, use Marketplace Insights Reporting in Partner Center to gain deeper insights into orders and revenue reporting. Learn more about orders and revenue reporting.

Requesting cancellations and refunds

Cancellation and refund policies remain unchanged for plans with flexible billing schedules. To learn more, see refund policies for Microsoft Marketplace.

Managing automatic renewals

SaaS plans with flexible billing schedules renew at the public price and billing frequency if auto-renew (recurring billing) is enabled by the customer, with the contract duration remaining unchanged. Professional services plans and VM software reservations won't automatically renew. Customers should be advised to turn off auto-renewal for flexible billing subscriptions if rolling over to public pricing isn't desired. The customer's status can be monitored using the private offer dashboard by viewing the purchase status.

Mid-term plan changes

Neither the partner nor the customer can change plans with a flexible schedule. To learn more, see Customer initiated change plan and software partner-initiated change plan.

FAQs for flexible billing schedules

Are there any changes to my customer’s private offer acceptance, purchase, and configuration steps?

There are no changes to the customer purchase process beyond viewing flexible schedules in the pricing section for each plan within a private offer. See Private offers overview for customer guidance.

Can we use flexible billing to transact deals with a custom contract duration (for example, nine months, 19 months)?

Yes, for SaaS, Professional Services, and Dragon Copilot private offers created by using the "Create private offer with absolute pricing as a new SaaS, Professional Services, or Dragon Copilot plan" experience. Publishers can combine flexible billing schedules with custom contract term lengths ranging from 1 to 120 months or 1 to 10 years, including non-standard terms such as nine months, 19 months, or 45 months. All scheduled charges must fall within the selected contract term length.

Can I delay the start of my customers’ subscription or billing?

Billing starts at the time of purchase and subscription activation. You can't delay or schedule the subscription activation date. If you have a specific contract start date negotiated, you might ask your customer to wait to complete the purchase on that date. Alternatively, you can set the "immediate charge" amount to zero USD and schedule the first non-zero charge amount to be billed on any future date within the contract duration.

What happens if the contract duration goes beyond the chosen end date of my private offer?

A private offer determines the timeframe for which included plans are eligible for purchase at a custom price. When you purchase the plans, the private offer expires and locks in the subscription with all scheduled future charges for the full duration.

Can a channel partner assign a different customer adjustment percentage for each charge in a flexible schedule?

The customer adjustment percentage that the channel partner enters applies equally to every charge in the flexible schedule. Partners can review the final customer price schedule after adjustment is applied before submitting the private offer.

Can I modify a flexible schedule after my customer purchases it?

Once a private offer is accepted by your customer, the flexible schedules for all included plans are locked and can no longer be modified. You may need to file a support request with Microsoft to cancel the customer’s active subscription(s) and should re-issue a new private offer. Customers can self-serve cancellation and are eligible for a full refund if they cancel within 72 hours of purchase. See Refund policies