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Subscription Invoice Template

A subscription invoice bills a customer for access to a plan for a period: a software seat, a membership, a support tier. What makes it different from an ordinary recurring invoice is that the plan can change in the middle of a period. A customer upgrades on the 13th, adds three seats in week two or downgrades before renewal, and the invoice has to show who owes what for which days. This template is laid out for that: plan name and tier, the account or subscription ID, the billing period with start and end dates, seats or units, a proration line with the days used and the days in the period, credits from a downgrade, usage billed in arrears, and the renewal date with how to cancel. The download is an editable HTML invoice with invoice number, dates, a line table and totals, so you can fill it in your browser and print it or save it as PDF. If your billing is a fixed fee that never changes mid-period, the recurring invoice template is the simpler fit.

Draft this invoice
Preview this editable document

Download the HTML file to edit its fields, then print or save as PDF. Totals are entered manually.

What This Template Includes

  • Plan name and tier
  • Account or subscription ID
  • Billing period start and end dates
  • Billing interval (monthly or annual)
  • Seats, users or units included
  • Proration for mid-period changes (days remaining ÷ days in period)
  • Credits from a downgrade or cancellation
  • Usage or overage billed in arrears
  • Renewal date and auto-renew status
  • How to cancel and the notice period

How to Create Your Subscription Invoice

  1. 01

    Describe your work

    Type a plain English description of the services you provided, the client, and the amount.

  2. 02

    AI generates your invoice

    InvoiceQuickly's AI drafts the client, line items, dates, and totals for you to review before saving.

  3. 03

    Review, download, and send

    Check every detail, download the PDF, or use Pro to email the PDF directly to your client.

Recommended Payment Terms

Subscriptions are normally billed in advance at the start of each period: due on receipt when a card or debit is on file, or on short terms (7 to 15 days) for customers who pay by bank transfer. Usage and overage are billed in arrears, at the end of the period in which they were used. Annual plans paid up front should state the renewal date and price on every invoice. In the United States, the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act requires online sellers using automatic renewal to disclose the material terms clearly before taking billing information, get the customer's express informed consent before charging, and provide a simple way to stop recurring charges. Put the renewal, price-change and cancellation terms in the agreement, and repeat the renewal date and how to cancel on the invoice.

Need help writing payment terms? Read our guide to invoice payment terms for best practices and templates.

Tax Information

Whether a subscription is taxed depends on what it is and where the customer is. In the United States, software subscriptions are taxable in some states and not others. New York's Department of Taxation and Finance (bulletin TB-ST-128) treats prewritten software as taxable whether it is delivered electronically or accessed remotely. Washington's Department of Revenue classifies sales of digital automated services, including software as a service, and remote access software as retail sales, and from 1 October 2025 also taxes information technology services. Other states exempt them. Since South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018), states can require out-of-state sellers above their economic thresholds to collect. In the European Union, business customers usually account for VAT themselves under the reverse charge, while sales of electronic services to consumers are taxed in the customer's country. InvoiceQuickly applies one tax percentage to a whole invoice, has no tax-by-location lookup, and copies your saved business tax ID to new invoice PDFs. General information, not tax advice.

Industry context (2026)

What InvoiceQuickly does and does not do for subscriptions, checked 28 October 2026: there is no subscription or proration engine for your customers. It cannot store plans, seat counts or a customer's card, cannot calculate proration or credits, and cannot charge a customer automatically. Its Pro recurring invoices repeat a fixed invoice: one line item and price, weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly, created as a draft for review by default or emailed automatically if you choose, due after the saved payment period, with the saved tax and discount rates. They are created when InvoiceQuickly's automation runs, so check your drafts on the run date. You can add a payment link for each sent invoice through your own Stripe or PayPal account, record partial payments, and issue credit notes against an invoice. That suits a fixed monthly membership or support plan billed by invoice; plan changes, proration, metered usage and automatic card renewal need a dedicated subscription billing system. Legal background for US sellers: the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (15 U.S.C. 8403) sets disclosure, consent and cancellation duties for online automatic renewals, summarised by the Federal Trade Commission.

Worked example

Worked example (illustrative prices): a customer is on a $49 monthly plan billed in advance on the 1st. On 13 November 2026 they upgrade to the $99 plan. November has 30 days and the upgrade covers 13 to 30 November, 18 days. Credit for unused Basic: $49.00 × 18 ÷ 30 = $29.40. Charge for Pro for the same days: $99.00 × 18 ÷ 30 = $59.40. Net proration: $30.00, the same as ($99.00 − $49.00) × 18 ÷ 30. Many billing systems add that to the next invoice, so INV-0418, dated 1 December 2026, reads: Line 1: Pro plan, 1 to 31 December 2026, $99.00. Line 2: upgrade from Basic to Pro, 13 to 30 November, prorated difference ($99.00 − $49.00) × 18 ÷ 30, $30.00. Total $129.00. Footer: 'Renews monthly on the 1st at $99.00. Cancel any time in account settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid period.' Had the customer upgraded on the 1st instead, the proration line would be $0.00 and the December invoice $99.00. Seats work the same way: on an annual plan running 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027 (365 days), three seats at $120 a year added on 16 November leave 289 days, so the charge is 3 × $120.00 × 289 ÷ 365 = $285.04. In InvoiceQuickly you would enter these as single positive lines with the calculation in the description, since it does not calculate proration or allow negative lines.

Common mistakes to avoid

A month name instead of dates

'November plan' cannot be prorated or refunded accurately. Show the first and last day of the billing period.

Unexplained adjustment lines

'Adjustment $30.00' prompts a query. Show the old and new price and the days used, so the customer can check the arithmetic.

Usage mixed into the plan fee

Plan fees run in advance and usage in arrears. Combining them on one line hides which period each charge belongs to.

Renewal terms only in the small print

Automatic renewals to consumers online carry disclosure and cancellation duties in the United States. Repeat the renewal date and how to cancel on the invoice.

Assuming software is never taxed

Some states, including New York and Washington, tax software subscriptions. Check the rules where your customers are before leaving tax off.

Invoicing Tips

  • 1Print the billing period as dates ('1 to 30 November 2026'), not 'November plan'. Proration and refunds are counted from those dates.
  • 2Show proration as days remaining over days in the period, with both prices. The customer can check '($99 − $49) × 18 ÷ 30' in their head; a bare 'adjustment $30.00' starts a support ticket.
  • 3Keep usage and overage on their own lines, billed for the period they were used, separate from the plan fee billed in advance.
  • 4Put the renewal date, renewal price and how to cancel on every invoice, not only in the terms of service.
  • 5When a price changes at renewal, quote the notice you gave and the date it applies on the last invoice at the old price.
  • 6Decide whether credits from a downgrade are refunded or carried forward, write that into your terms, and show any carried-forward credit as a line on the next invoice.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a subscription invoice?

An invoice for access to a plan for a set period, such as a month or a year of software, membership or support. It shows the plan, the billing period, any seats or units, mid-period changes such as upgrades or added seats, credits, usage charges and the renewal date.

How is a subscription invoice different from a recurring invoice?

A recurring invoice repeats the same fixed fee on a schedule. A subscription invoice has to handle plan changes inside a period, so it adds proration, credits, seat counts, usage and renewal terms. If nothing ever changes mid-period, a recurring invoice is enough.

How do you calculate proration on a subscription?

Multiply the price difference by the share of the period left. Upgrading from a $49 to a $99 monthly plan with 18 of 30 days remaining costs ($99 − $49) × 18 ÷ 30 = $30.00. Adding three seats at $120 a seat per year with 289 of 365 days left costs 3 × $120 × 289 ÷ 365 = $285.04.

Should subscriptions be billed in advance or in arrears?

Plan fees are usually billed in advance for the coming period. Usage, overage and metered charges are billed in arrears for the period just ended. Many subscription invoices carry both: next month's plan and last month's usage.

Do I charge sales tax on a software subscription?

It depends on the state. New York and Washington treat software subscriptions as taxable; other states do not tax them. Out-of-state sellers may need to collect once they pass a state's economic threshold. Check each state where you have customers.

Can InvoiceQuickly bill subscriptions?

Not as a subscription system. InvoiceQuickly has no plans, seats, proration or card-on-file billing for your customers. On Pro ($9 a month) you can schedule a recurring invoice that repeats one fixed line weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly, created as a draft for review by default, and add a Stripe or PayPal payment link through your own account. For prorated, automatically charged subscriptions, use a dedicated subscription billing tool.