Billing
Billing is the operational hub of Subscription and Billing — where invoices are tracked, payment statuses are monitored, and bulk billing files are submitted. Every invoice generated by a subscription or a bulk upload flows through here.
If Subscriptions is where you configure what and when to bill, Billing is where you see what happened and what's outstanding.
Bill Types
Before creating a bill, you need to decide which bill type fits your use case. FlexiBill supports two bill types, and the choice affects how the billing schedule is configured and how long the billing relationship with a customer lasts.
Recurring Bill
A recurring bill is an invoice issued automatically on a repeating schedule — daily, weekly, monthly, or on a specific calendar date — until the subscription ends or is stopped manually.
Use recurring billing when:
You charge customers the same service regularly (tuition, rent, membership, internet subscription)
Billing continues over multiple cycles without manual intervention
You want to define a fixed end — after X times, on a specific date, or unlimited
Example: A gym charges members IDR 200,000 every month. The invoice arrives automatically on the same date each cycle until the subscription ends.
One-Off Charge Bill
A one-off charge bill is a single, non-repeating invoice issued once for a specific transaction. It does not generate future invoices after the customer pays.
Use one-off charging when:
You need to bill a customer for something outside their regular subscription (registration fee, penalty, event fee, ad hoc service)
The charge is not expected to recur on a schedule
You want to issue a standalone invoice without creating a subscription
Example: A school charges a student IDR 300,000 for a study tour. This is issued once — the student pays it, and no further invoices are generated for this bill.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Invoice frequency
Repeats on schedule
Issued once only
Billing cycle
Daily, weekly, monthly, specific date
No cycle — single transaction
End condition
After X times, specific date, or unlimited
Ends after one payment
Common use cases
Tuition, rent, memberships, internet packages
Registration fees, penalties, event fees, ad hoc charges
Available via
Bulk Bill Upload, Subscriptions (Recurring plan)
Bulk Bill Upload, Subscriptions (One-Off Charge plan)
Both bill types can be issued through Bulk Bill Upload (file-based) or through Subscriptions (plan-based). The bill type is selected during setup — not after the invoice is issued.
How to Generate a Bill
Once you know your bill type, choose how you want to submit it to FlexiBill. Bills can be generated through two channels — use whichever fits your technical setup and operational workflow.
Back Office (No-Code)
Generate bills directly from the DOKU Dashboard without any technical integration. Suitable for merchants who manage billing manually or want to get started quickly without engineering resources.
Via Bulk Bill Upload: Navigate to Subscription and Billing → Bill → Create Bill → Upload File, prepare your customer data in a CSV or XLSX template, and upload. FlexiBill processes the file and delivers all invoices automatically.
Via Subscriptions: Navigate to Subscription and Billing → Subscription → Create Subscription, select the member and plan, configure the billing schedule, and confirm. The system manages all subsequent invoice issuance automatically.
Best for:
Teams without engineering resources
Low-to-medium volume operations
Businesses migrating from manual billing and not yet ready for API integration
API (Host-to-Host Integration)
Generate bills programmatically by integrating the FlexiBill API directly into your application or backend system. Suitable for merchants who want billing to be triggered automatically as part of their existing platform workflows — without dashboard interaction.
Generate Bill API: Call the bill generation endpoint from your backend with the customer's billing details. FlexiBill creates the invoice and delivers it immediately. Supports both one-time and recurring bill types with full schedule configuration.
Create Subscription API: Register a customer subscription programmatically — linking the customer to a plan and schedule — so that all subsequent invoice cycles are managed automatically by FlexiBill.
Best for:
Platforms with existing customer onboarding flows (e.g., activate account → trigger first bill)
High-volume operations where dashboard upload is impractical
Businesses requiring real-time billing triggers based on system events
Both channels produce the same output — invoices delivered to customers via Email or WhatsApp, tracked in the Bill list with the same activity log and payment status visibility. → API Reference
Features & Benefits
📤 Bulk Bill Upload
Submit a CSV or XLSX file containing billing data for hundreds of customers at once. FlexiBill generates and delivers all invoices simultaneously — no per-customer setup required. Supports one-time and recurring bill types.
📊 Billing Summary Dashboard
At a glance, see your total expected revenue, revenue already collected, and all outstanding invoices split into current (within term) and overdue (past due date).
🔍 Bill List with Activity Log
Every invoice is tracked with a full activity log — from Invoice In Process through Invoice Sent to Receipt Sent. Filter by payment status or activity state to quickly identify what needs attention.
🧾 Invoice and Receipt Management
Each billing cycle generates a branded invoice delivered to the customer. After payment, a receipt is issued automatically. Merchants can customize invoice templates, logo, colors, and signature through System Preference.
How It Works
What's in This Section
Upload a billing data file to generate invoices for many customers at once — without configuring individual plans or subscriptions.
Use when:
You have an existing customer list managed in Excel or a spreadsheet
You need to issue one-time bills (e.g., event fees, setup charges, ad hoc billing)
You are onboarding recurring billing for a large customer base quickly
Supports:
One-Time and Recurring bill types
Email and/or WhatsApp delivery
Up to 1,000 customer records per file (CSV, XLS, XLSX, max 50 MB)
Interval or specific date billing cycles for recurring bills
The Bill list shows every invoice registered in FlexiBill — whether from a bulk upload or a subscription. From here you can:
Monitor invoice delivery status per customer (Activity Log)
Track payment status: Unpaid, Paid, or Overdue
View the full billing summary: expected revenue, received, current outstanding, and overdue
Open any bill to see member details, payment history, bill cycle configuration, and timestamped activity
Every active subscription and bulk upload bill automatically generates a branded invoice sent to the customer. After payment, a receipt is issued automatically.
Merchants can configure:
Invoice layout template (4 standard templates)
Company logo, brand name, and color scheme
Footer text, Terms & Conditions, and signature image
Webhook notifications for real-time payment event updates
Merchant & Customer Experience
Merchant View
Navigate to Subscription and Billing → Bill to access the Billing hub
Use Create Bill → Upload File to submit a bulk billing file
Monitor all invoices in the Bill list — search by member name, bill identifier, or file name
Use the Billing Summary at the top of the page to track revenue and outstanding invoices at a glance
Click any bill row to open the full detail view: member data, payment details, bill cycle, and activity log
Customer View
Receives an invoice via Email or WhatsApp containing a payment link and billing details
Clicks the link to review the invoice, select a payment method, and complete payment
Receives a receipt via Email after each successful payment
Terms & Conditions
Bulk upload files must follow the required column format — download the template from the dashboard
Each upload must use a unique file name; file names cannot be reused across uploads
WhatsApp delivery requires DOKU PayChat to be activated
Auto-debit on invoices requires Account Billing to be activated → Activate Account Billing
FAQ
What is the difference between Bulk Bill Upload and using Subscriptions?
Bulk Bill Upload is file-driven — billing details (amount, customer, schedule) are defined per row in an uploaded file. No plan or collection configuration is required. It is best for high-volume, fast onboarding or businesses that manage data in Excel.
Subscriptions are plan-driven — you configure a product catalog (Collection + Plan) once, then link customers to plans. The system manages each customer's billing lifecycle independently, including renewals, upgrades, and status tracking.
Use Bulk Upload for volume and speed. Use Subscriptions for lifecycle control and product structure.
What is the difference between FlexiBill Billing and a Payment Link?
Both tools collect payments, but they serve different needs. FlexiBill Billing is built for recurring billing at scale — it automates invoice delivery, tracks payment status across your entire customer base, and runs billing cycles without manual effort. Payment Link is best for quick, one-time collections where no ongoing billing relationship is needed. See how they compare in real scenarios:
Bill 50 members every 5th of the month for 12 consecutive months.
Set once — invoices issued and delivered automatically every cycle, stops after 12 times.
Better suited for one-time or irregular billing, not repeated cycles.
Each customer has a different billing schedule
Each customer's cycle runs independently and automatically.
Works best when schedules are simple and volume is low.
Service fee paid by the customer, not the merchant
Configurable during setup — fee is passed through automatically.
Not supported. The merchant absorbs the service fee on all transactions.
One-time charge outside regular billing
Supported as a standalone bill alongside existing subscriptions.
Ideal — quick to create, no setup needed. But FlexiBill can cover this also.
Track who has paid across 200 customers
Dashboard shows expected, received, and overdue in real time.
Suitable for low volume — easy to track manually.
Can I mix Bulk Bill Upload and Subscriptions in the same account?
Yes. Both coexist in the same account and all resulting invoices are visible together in the Bill list. There is no conflict between the two approaches — use whichever is appropriate for each segment of your customers.
What is the difference between interval billing and specific date billing?
Interval billing schedules the next invoice a fixed number of days or months after the previous billing date — anchored to the customer's start date. For example, a customer who starts on January 15 with a monthly cycle is billed on February 15, March 15, and so on.
Specific date billing issues invoices on a fixed calendar date each month, regardless of when the customer started. For example, all customers on a "5th of the month" cycle are billed on the 5th — whether they joined on the 1st or the 28th.
Use interval billing for per-customer anniversary billing. Use specific date billing when your business runs batch billing on a fixed calendar date for all customers.
How do I know if an invoice was successfully delivered to the customer?
Check the Activity Log column in the Bill list. An invoice that has been successfully sent will show Invoice Sent status. If delivery failed (e.g., due to insufficient deposit balance), the status shows Invoice Error — top up your deposit and the system retries automatically.
Can I customize what the invoice looks like?
Yes. Navigate to Subscription and Billing → System Preference → Template Preference to configure the invoice layout (4 templates available), upload a company logo, set brand colors, add a footer message, Terms & Conditions, and an authorized signature image.
Can I change a recurring bill to a one-off charge after it has been created?
No. The bill type is set at the time of creation and cannot be changed after the invoice is issued. If you need to switch a customer from recurring to a one-off charge, stop or cancel the recurring bill and create a new one-off charge bill for the specific amount.
Can a customer have both a recurring bill and a one-off charge at the same time?
Yes. A customer can have multiple active bills of different types simultaneously. For example, a student can have a recurring monthly tuition bill running alongside a one-off study tour fee bill. Both appear in the Bill list and are tracked independently.
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