What is Cycle Billing?
Cycle billing is a way to automatically create repeat rental orders on a schedule you choose, whether that’s every 3 days, every week, every 28 days, or something else entirely. It’s designed for ongoing rentals where you want to bill customers at regular intervals without creating each order manually. In TapGoods PRO, the Cycle Billing functionality falls under "Contracts".
Instead of setting an end date upfront, you can keep the order open and let TapGoods generate new orders automatically, as often as needed. When the rental ends, you simply add an end date to stop the billing.
How does cycle billing work?
Cycle billing works by grouping repeating rental orders into a Contract. That contract controls how often new orders are created using the Recurrence Period.
Things to know:
- When you create a Contract, you have the option to leave the Event End Date blank, which keeps the billing open indefinitely.
- The first order you create inside the Contract becomes the template for billing. TapGoods uses this as the base to generate each future order on your selected schedule.
- TapGoods will automatically generate a new order on the cadence you set with all the same items and details as the original.
- You can edit the recurring template before the next cycle is created. If you make a change to the current cycle, that change will carry forward to the next one.
- Auto-billing works the same way as standard orders. If you use auto-billing, just set it up like you normally would — TapGoods will apply those same billing rules to each cycle.
- If you want to start with an existing order as the recurring template, you can use the Start From Rental section to select an order.
- You can also add one-off orders to the same Contract. These won’t repeat; they’re useful if you need to deliver extra equipment mid-cycle or add a short-term order related to the same job. You can do this within the Event section of a New Order.
- Once you're ready to end a recurring billing cycle, simply edit the Contract and set an End Date. TapGoods will generate the final order and stop billing after that.
Behind the scenes, TapGoods handles logistics to ensure smooth drop-offs and pickups.
- You’ll typically do one delivery at the start and one pickup at the end.
- If a rental ends mid-billing cycle (like halfway through a 28-day cycle), TapGoods will automatically prorate the charges for that final period.
How do I create an order that bills on a cycle?
Creating a recurring billing order in TapGoods PRO is simple. Just follow these steps:
- Hover over "Orders" in the TapGoods PRO menu.
- Click “Create New Contract.”
- Use the calendar to set the Event Start Date.
- You can also set an Event End Date, or leave it blank to keep the billing open.
- In Recurrence Period, enter the number of days you want between each billing cycle (for example, enter “28” for a 28-day cycle).
**NOTE: If you want monthly billing to follow the same rules you've set in your Pricing Settings, make sure the number of days you enter here matches your monthly pricing setup. For example, if you've set monthly pricing to use a 28-day cycle, enter 28 here to maintain consistent billing.
- Give your Contract a name.
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If you want to use an existing order as the template for the recurring bill, click "Start from Rental" and select the order from the slide-out.
- Click “Create Event.”
If you did not select an existing Order, the Contract is created and you'll be taken to the Order Form to create the first Order in the recurrence.
A few things will look different:
- The Order Dates will be greyed out — TapGoods PRO controls those based on the cycle you set.
- You’ll see a notice at the top letting you know this order is part of a recurring event.
From there, just fill out the order like you normally would. TapGoods will take care of generating future orders based on your settings.
Here is how your Contract will look once you have finished creating your recurring order:
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