Billing cycle

What is a billing cycle?

A billing cycle is the recurring period during which a customer is charged for a product or service. In ecommerce and subscription models, it refers to the time between each payment, such as weekly, monthly, or annually.

It’s the schedule your business follows to bill customers. For example, if someone subscribes to a product on a monthly basis, their billing cycle is 30 days, and they are charged automatically at the end or beginning of each cycle.

How does a billing cycle work?

Here’s how a typical billing cycle works:

• A customer signs up for a subscription and selects a plan (e.g., monthly).
• The first charge is processed immediately or on a scheduled date.
• Services or products are delivered during the cycle.
• At the end of the cycle, the next payment is automatically triggered.
• The cycle then repeats until canceled or paused.

Example of a billing cycle in action

A person subscribes to a $20/month candy box on January 1st. He’ll be charged again on February 1st, then March 1st, and so on, that’s his monthly billing cycle in action.

Driftcharge Tip

Clear communication about billing cycles reduces customer confusion and churn. With Driftcharge, you can easily customize billing cycles, set up reminders, and automate the entire process to keep revenue flowing.

Ganesh Pawar

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Ganesh Pawar is the founder of Driftcharge, a subscription management app designed to help Shopify merchants streamline and scale their subscription businesses. With a deep focus on solving real-world pain points—like legacy account page support, flexible subscription options, and advanced analytics—Ganesh is passionate about building tools that drive growth and retention.