Payments & Billing

Overview

Payments and Billing in SalesOS brings financial transaction management directly into your CRM workflow. Rather than switching between your CRM and separate billing systems, your team can process payments, manage recurring subscriptions, and handle complex billing scenarios from within the same interface where deals are closed and customers are managed.

The billing engine supports traditional invoice-based payments, subscription recurring billing, and outcome-based pricing models that tie charges to measurable customer results. This flexibility accommodates everything from straightforward product sales to sophisticated SaaS and usage-based pricing structures.

Payment Methods

SalesOS supports multiple payment methods to accommodate diverse customer preferences and regional requirements.

Supported Methods

Payment Method Configuration

Set up payment methods at Settings > Billing > Payment Methods:

1. Connect your Stripe account for card and ACH processing.
2. Configure bank details for wire transfer instructions.
3. Set up PayPal business account integration.
4. Define which methods are available per customer segment or deal size.

Customer Payment Profiles

Each account can store multiple payment methods:

• Primary method for automatic billing
• Backup method for failed payment retries
• Method preferences per invoice type or amount threshold
• Secure tokenization (SalesOS never stores raw card numbers)

Processing Payments

Payments can be initiated from multiple contexts within SalesOS depending on the business scenario.

From an Invoice

The most common payment flow:

1. Navigate to the invoice record.
2. Click Record Payment.
3. Select payment method (charge stored method or enter new details).
4. Enter amount (defaults to invoice balance, supports partial payments).
5. Add payment reference or notes.
6. Click Process Payment.
7. System confirms success or reports failure with actionable detail.

From an Order

Process payment at order fulfillment:

1. Open the order record.
2. Click Collect Payment in the action bar.
3. System creates an invoice (if not already generated) and initiates payment.
4. Payment status updates both the order and associated invoice.

Standalone Payment

For payments not tied to a specific invoice:

1. Navigate to the account record.
2. Click Payments tab then Record Payment.
3. Select or enter payment method.
4. Enter amount and categorize (deposit, advance, credit purchase).
5. The payment creates a credit balance on the account for future invoice application.

Payment Confirmation

Upon successful processing:

• Payment receipt is generated automatically.
• Customer receives email confirmation (configurable).
• Invoice status updates to PAID (full) or PARTIAL.
• Revenue recognition triggers per configured rules.
• Commission events fire for applicable team members.

Subscription Management

SalesOS handles recurring billing for subscription-based products and services.

Creating a Subscription

1. From an account or closed-won deal, click Create Subscription.
2. Select the pricing plan (or create a custom plan).
3. Set billing frequency (monthly, quarterly, annually).
4. Configure start date and initial billing date.
5. Add any one-time setup fees or credits.
6. Select payment method for recurring charges.
7. Activate the subscription.

Subscription Lifecycle

Plan Changes

SalesOS supports mid-cycle plan modifications:

Plan Change Process

1. Navigate to the subscription record.
2. Click Change Plan.
3. Select new plan or modify quantities.
4. Review prorated charges or credits.
5. Confirm the change.
6. Customer is notified of the plan change and any billing impact.

Renewal Management

Subscriptions approaching renewal are surfaced in the renewal pipeline:

• 90/60/30 day renewal reminders (configurable)
• Automatic renewal for month-to-month (unless cancelled)
• Renewal opportunity creation for annual contracts requiring re-negotiation
• Price increase notifications with configurable advance notice periods

Outcome-Based Billing

SalesOS supports sophisticated billing models where charges are tied to measurable customer outcomes or usage.

Milestone Payments

Configure payment schedules tied to project or implementation milestones:

Usage-Based Billing

For consumption-based pricing:

• Define usage metrics (API calls, users, storage, transactions).
• Set pricing tiers (flat rate, tiered, volume discount).
• Track usage in real-time via API integration.
• Generate invoices at period end based on actual consumption.
• Support committed minimums with overage pricing.

Performance-Based Billing

Link charges to measurable business outcomes:

• Define success metrics and measurement methodology.
• Set base fee plus performance bonus structure.
• Automated data collection for metric tracking.
• Transparent reporting shared with customer.
• Dispute resolution workflow for contested measurements.

Configuring Outcome Billing

1. Navigate to Settings > Billing > Pricing Models.
2. Click Create Model and select "Outcome-Based."
3. Define the billing components (base, milestone, usage, performance).
4. Set measurement criteria and data sources.
5. Configure invoice generation rules.
6. Assign to products or quote line items.

Payment Statuses

Every payment progresses through a defined status workflow.

Status Transitions

Pending -> Processing -> Succeeded -> Refunded
                      -> Failed -> (Retry) -> Processing
Pending -> Cancelled
Succeeded -> Disputed -> (Won) -> Succeeded
                      -> (Lost) -> Refunded

Failed Payment Handling

When a payment fails, the system:

1. Records the failure reason (insufficient funds, expired card, bank decline).
2. Notifies the assigned account owner.
3. Optionally notifies the customer with a payment update link.
4. Queues for retry per dunning configuration.
5. Updates invoice status to reflect the outstanding balance.

Refunds and Credits

SalesOS provides flexible tools for processing refunds and managing account credits.

Processing a Refund

1. Navigate to the original payment record.
2. Click Refund.
3. Select refund type (full or partial).
4. Enter refund amount (for partial refunds).
5. Provide reason for refund (required for audit trail).
6. Select refund destination (original method or account credit).
7. Confirm and process.

Refund Policies

Configure refund guardrails at Settings > Billing > Refund Policy:

Account Credits

Credits can be issued for various reasons:

• Service disruptions or SLA violations
• Goodwill gestures for customer satisfaction
• Billing errors or overcharges
• Promotional offers
• Referral rewards

Credits are stored as a balance on the account and automatically applied to the next invoice (or manually applied to a specific invoice).

Dunning (Automated Retry)

The dunning system automates failed payment recovery to minimize revenue loss from payment failures.

Dunning Schedule

Configure retry logic at Settings > Billing > Dunning:

Dunning Communications

Each step can trigger customized communications:

• Email templates with branding and payment update links
• SMS notifications (optional)
• In-app banners for the customer (if using customer portal)
• Internal alerts to account owner for high-value accounts

Smart Retry

SalesOS uses intelligent retry logic:

• Retries on different days of the week (avoiding weekends for business cards)
• Adjusts retry timing based on failure reason (immediate for soft declines, delayed for insufficient funds)
• Attempts backup payment method before final escalation
• Skips retry if customer has already updated their payment method

Dunning Metrics

Track dunning effectiveness:

• Recovery rate by attempt number
• Average days to recovery
• Revenue saved by dunning automation
• Involuntary churn rate (customers lost to payment failure)

Payment History per Account

Every account maintains a comprehensive payment ledger accessible from the account record.

Payment Ledger View

The Payments tab on each account shows:

Account Balance

The account balance summary shows:

• Total paid (lifetime)
• Outstanding balance (unpaid invoices)
• Credit balance (unused credits)
• Upcoming charges (scheduled recurring)
• Payment trend (month-over-month spend)

Payment Timeline

A visual timeline shows payment activity alongside other account events (deals closed, support tickets, product usage) to provide context for billing patterns and identify accounts at risk.

Revenue Recognition

SalesOS supports configurable revenue recognition rules to align billing with accounting standards.

MRR and ARR Tracking

Recognition Rules

Configure how revenue is recognized at Settings > Billing > Revenue Recognition:

Deferred Revenue

For annual or multi-year contracts paid upfront:

• System automatically calculates deferred revenue balance
• Monthly recognition entries generated per schedule
• Dashboard shows recognized vs. deferred breakdown
• Supports ASC 606 and IFRS 15 compliance

Integration with Accounting

SalesOS connects with major accounting platforms to ensure financial data flows seamlessly.

QuickBooks Integration

Configuration:

1. Navigate to Settings > Integrations > QuickBooks.
2. Authenticate with your QuickBooks Online account.
3. Map SalesOS fields to QuickBooks chart of accounts.
4. Configure sync frequency (real-time or batch).
5. Set up revenue account mappings per product line.

Xero Integration

NetSuite Integration

For enterprise organizations using NetSuite:

• Full invoice and payment sync
• Multi-subsidiary support
• Advanced revenue recognition alignment
• Custom field mapping
• Approval workflow integration

Sync Conflict Resolution

When discrepancies arise between systems:

• SalesOS flags conflicts for manual review
• Configurable "source of truth" per data type
• Audit log of all sync operations
• Automated reconciliation reports

PCI Compliance

SalesOS maintains PCI DSS compliance for all payment card handling.

Compliance Measures

Your Responsibilities

As a SalesOS customer, your PCI scope is minimized because:

• Card numbers are entered directly into Stripe's hosted fields (never touch your servers).
• SalesOS stores only tokenized references.
• Payment processing is delegated to PCI Level 1 certified processors.
• You should still maintain compliance for your organizational policies around payment handling.

Security Features

• Tokenization: All stored payment methods are tokenized; no raw card data in the database.
• Encryption: Payment-related fields encrypted at rest with AES-256.
• Role-based access: Only users with billing permissions can view or process payments.
• Audit trail: Every payment action logged with full context.
• Fraud detection: Stripe Radar integration for real-time fraud scoring.
• 3D Secure: Supports SCA (Strong Customer Authentication) for European transactions.

Payment Notifications

SalesOS sends configurable notifications throughout the payment lifecycle.

Customer Notifications

Internal Notifications

Reporting and Analytics

The billing module provides comprehensive financial reporting.

Standard Reports

Custom Reports

Build custom billing reports using the report builder:

• Combine billing data with CRM data (deal source, territory, segment)
• Schedule automated delivery to stakeholders
• Export in multiple formats (PDF, CSV, Excel)
• Create dashboard widgets for real-time monitoring

Best Practices

1. Enable automatic backup payment methods. Require customers to provide a secondary payment method during onboarding. This single step dramatically reduces involuntary churn from expired or declined primary methods.

2. Tune your dunning schedule to your customer base. B2B customers with procurement processes need longer retry windows than self-serve consumers. Analyze your recovery data and adjust timing accordingly.

3. Separate billing contacts from decision-makers. Ensure invoices and payment notifications reach the accounts payable team, not just the executive who signed the deal. Misrouted billing communications are a leading cause of late payments.

4. Reconcile between SalesOS and your accounting system weekly. Even with real-time sync, discrepancies can emerge from timing differences, manual entries, or sync failures. Weekly reconciliation catches issues before month-end close.

5. Use outcome-based billing strategically. Performance-based pricing aligns incentives with customers but requires clear, measurable, and mutually agreed metrics. Define measurement methodology in the contract to prevent disputes.

6. Monitor MRR movement metrics, not just totals. A flat MRR number can mask offsetting problems (high new MRR masking high churn). Track each component separately to identify issues early.

7. Automate revenue recognition rules at setup. Configuring recognition rules after the fact creates retroactive accounting adjustments. Set rules when creating products and pricing plans, not after invoices are issued.

8. Keep refund authority limited but accessible. Empower frontline reps to issue small refunds (below a threshold) without approval delays, but require manager sign-off for larger amounts. Speed in resolving billing issues preserves customer relationships.

9. Review failed payment patterns monthly. If specific payment methods, banks, or customer segments show elevated failure rates, proactively reach out to affected customers or adjust your processing configuration.

10. Maintain PCI scope awareness as you grow. As you add payment capabilities or integrations, reassess your PCI compliance scope. New functionality (like storing payment preferences in custom fields) can inadvertently expand your compliance obligations.