Energy companies invoice many customers, every period, at rates that differ per contract. As soon as part of that invoicing is done by hand, the workload grows with the number of contracts. This article describes how to set up recurring invoicing for energy contracts in Salesforce, so invoices come from the contract itself and not from a spreadsheet next to it.
Start with the contract as the source
Recurring invoicing is only reliable when the contract is the single source. Term, rate, invoice interval and renewal date then live in one place, and the invoice follows from it. When a rate changes or a contract renews, nobody has to update a second system.
The Billing Platform works this way: subscriptions are sold from an opportunity and activated as soon as the deal reaches closed-won. From that moment invoices are created automatically, without anyone re-entering them.
Intervals and price changes
Not every contract is invoiced monthly. The Billing Platform supports monthly, quarterly and yearly intervals, with automatic invoicing per interval. On an upgrade or downgrade the price adjusts dynamically. For invoicing based on contract terms and for subscription management you need at least the Flow plan.
A note on scope: the Billing Platform invoices contracts per period. If you have usage-based invoices built on meter readings, discuss up front how that data reaches Salesforce. That is often a matter of connecting your metering or back-office system, and we are happy to give you an honest assessment.
From invoice to payment
A sent invoice is not yet a paid invoice. A good setup therefore also covers what happens next:
- Payment reminders go out automatically at the moments you set, with an overview of open amounts next to the credit limit.
- Direct debit runs through the Payment Collection App, which connects Salesforce to Stripe. That option is part of the Pro plan.
- Dashboards show your Monthly Recurring Revenue and the subscriptions that still have no payment method on file.
That last point matters more at high volumes than it seems. Otherwise a contract without a valid payment method goes unnoticed until the first reminder.
Accounting that keeps up
Invoices in Salesforce must end up in your financial administration. The Billing Platform connects with, among others, Exact Online, Unit4 Multivers, Business Central and QuickBooks Online. Full ERP integration is part of the Pro plan. If your revenue spans several periods, deferred revenue in Pro helps too: invoices are allocated to the right month using start and end dates.
How to approach it
- Record per contract type which fields determine the invoice: rate, interval, term, renewal date.
- Decide which data does not originate in Salesforce, such as meter readings, and how it comes in.
- Set reminders and collection moments before you go live.
- Start with one contract type and expand once the output is right.
You can read more about what Salesforce can do for your sector on the Energy & Utilities page.
Want to know how this fits your contracts and volumes? Get in touch and we will look at your invoicing process together.