Automate Subscription & Recurring Billing in Dynamics 365 CRM – The Complete Guide

You: Our subscription billing is chaos – chasing renewals, fixing invoices, figuring out who’s paid.

Sound familiar.

If you run a SaaS business, membership program, or service-based company, you know messy billing costs both revenue and customer trust

You: So, is there a fix without adding yet another complicated tool?

Yes. Subscription and Recurring Billing Managementin Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM acts like a built-in smart assistant – 

• Automating manual billing and invoicing tasks
• Eliminating costly human errors
• Delivering real-time insights into your subscription health

— all without leaving Dynamics 365.

Why Businesses Need Automated Subscription Billing in Dynamics 365 CRM

In a subscription-based business, revenue depends on recurring payments, not just one-time sales. While the income is predictable, manual billing processes are anything but—they’re slow, error-prone, and hard to scale.

With Subscription & Recurring Billing Management in Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, you can:

• Convert sales into subscription schedules automatically
• Set flexible start dates and custom billing cycles
• Generate invoices or orders automatically or on demand
• Track payments—including partial payments—in real time

Provide transparent pricing breakdowns to customers

In short, you eliminate bottlenecks, improve accuracy, and keep your cash flow healthy—all without leaving Dynamics 365 CRM.

Step-by-Step: From Sales Opportunity to Subscription Schedule

One of the biggest time-savers in Subscription & Recurring Billing Management for Dynamics 365 CRM is the ability to convert an Opportunity, Quote, or Order into a Subscription Schedule in just one click—no manual re-entry required.

Here’s how it works in detail:

1. Create an Opportunity

• Navigate to: Subscription and Recurring Billing Management app → Billing → Opportunities → New
• Enter the key details:
  • Bill to Customer – Who’s paying the invoice (could be a reseller, customer, or third party). If you bill the end customer directly, “Bill To” and “Ship To” will be the same.
  • Ship to Customer – The end user of the product/service.
  • Margin Schedule – Auto-populates from the “Bill To Customer” if defined.
  • Margin Percentage – Taken from the Margin Schedule. Editable only by users with the System Administrator or Subscription Management Admin role.

2. Set the Subscription Start Date

• In the Subscription Management tab of your Opportunity/Quote/Order, set the Start Date.
• If the start date is in the past:

A field Create Transaction for this Billing Cycle appears.

• If No → The next billing date will start from the next cycle (e.g., start date 1 May, today 26 May → next date 1 June).
• If Yes → The next billing date starts from the current cycle (e.g., 1 May start → next date 1 May).

3. Add Products

• Choose an Existing Product.
• Set Show Subscription Fields to Yes to view subscription-related options:
  • Plan – Determines pricing calculation.
  • Commitment Period – Duration of subscription.
  • Subscriber Count – Number of users (auto-set to 1 if plan is Flat Fee).
  • Price Per Billing Period/Unit – Auto-calculated based on plan and subscriber count.
  • Convert to Subscription – Must be set to Yes to include in the schedule.
  • Tax Fields – “Is Taxable” or “Tax Schedule” depending on your tax setup.

4. Add Add-Ons (Optional)

• Select a product → click Add Add-Ons.
• Choose from available add-ons (must match billing frequency of the parent line).
• Click Add To List.

5. Convert to Subscription Schedule

• Once the Opportunity is Won → Convert to Subscription Schedule button appears.
• On Quotes, this button appears after activating the quote.
• On Orders, it’s always visible.
• Click it → Your subscription schedule is instantly created.

6. Transparent Pricing with Price Breakdown

If you use tiered pricing, it can be tricky to see how final amounts are calculated.

The Price Breakdown feature:

• Creates a detailed record for each product line
• Shows exactly how much is charged for each subscriber count tier
• Links directly to Opportunities, Quotes, Orders, and Subscription Lines

This ensures both sales teams and customers can understand the charges clearly.

7. Generating Invoices & Orders

The system uses Dynamics 365’s native Invoices and Sales Orders to generate billing documents. You can:

• Automate via workflow triggers
• Generate on-demand via the workflow SM – Generate Document from Subscription Schedule

On-demand steps:

1. Go to Schedules → Subscription Schedules
2. Select the schedule
3. In the ribbon, click Flow → SM – Generate Document from Subscription Schedule
4. Confirm in the pop-up
5. Invoice/Order is created

Extra Fields on Invoices/Orders:

• Document Date – Creation date
• Payment Terms – Payment deadlines
• Due Date – When payment is due
• Paid Amount – Amount received
• Remaining Amount – Auto-updates when payments are made

Handling Payments:

• Create payment records linked to the Invoice.
• Choose payment mode: Cash, Credit Card, Cheque, Others.
• Partial payments are supported — system updates remaining balance.
• Clicking Invoice Paid creates a payment record for the remaining balance and sets remaining to $0.

Subscription Tab in Invoice/Order:

Holds all subscription-related info:

• Start Date / End Date
• Next Billing Date
• Subscription Schedule link
• Reminder Schedule
• Delayed Charge Schedule & Date

How This Drives ROI

By combining automation + transparency, you:

• Save time (no manual conversions or invoice generation)
• Improve renewal rates with timely billing
• Keep customers informed and confident
• Reduce billing errors

Whether you’re scaling up your subscriptions or just tired of billing headaches, this feature ensures accuracy, speed, and peace of mind.

To Wrap Up:

Subscription and Recurring Billing Management for Dynamics 365 CRM isn’t just a finance tool—it’s a complete business enabler. From sales to invoicing to payment tracking, it transforms subscription management into a streamlined, automated process that keeps revenue predictable and cash flow healthy—without the manual chaos.

If you’re ready to automate subscription billing in Dynamics 365 CRM, now is the perfect time to implement it and unlock faster, error-free, and scalable billing operations.

Want to try it firsthand? Get a 15-day free trial directly from our website or Microsoft Appsource.

Prefer a guided walkthrough? Book a personalized demo and watch the difference unfold in real time. Have questions? Reach out to us at [email protected]– we’re always happy to help.

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