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title: About Period Boundaries and Billing Day of Month
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portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/ind/264-0-0/billing_understand_period_boundaries_and_billing_day_of_month.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ind.billing_understand_period_boundaries_and_billing_day_of_month.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
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description: You can adjust when billing periods start and how charges are calculated by using flexible date settings that align with your business model and customer preferences. You can use the Period Boundary, Period Boundary Day, and Period Boundary Start Month fields on the order product, to define when billing begins, how billing periods are segmented, and how proration is applied. The period boundary on the order product ‌defines how the billing period is calculated. The Billing Day of the Month field on the Billing Schedule record specifies the day you expect to bill the customer. Together, these fields define how billing periods align with the transaction timeline and how Billing in Revenue Management calculates and groups charges on invoice lines.
products:
  - Revenue Cloud
release: "264"
---
# About Period Boundaries and Billing Day of Month

You can adjust when billing periods start and how charges are calculated by using flexible date settings that align with your business model and customer preferences. You can use the Period Boundary, Period Boundary Day, and Period Boundary Start Month fields on the order product, to define when billing begins, how billing periods are segmented, and how proration is applied. The period boundary on the order product ‌defines how the billing period is calculated. The Billing Day of the Month field on the Billing Schedule record specifies the day you expect to bill the customer. Together, these fields define how billing periods align with the transaction timeline and how Billing in Revenue Management calculates and groups charges on invoice lines.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition"><colgroup><col></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: Lightning Experience</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Unlimited</strong>, and <strong>Developer</strong> Editions with <a href="https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=ind.revenue_licenses_areas_and_features.htm&amp;release=264.0.0&amp;type=5">the Revenue Cloud Advanced license or the Revenue Cloud Billing license</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Period Boundaries and Their Impact on Billing Cycles

Consider monthly advance billing of an order product that starts on August 5 with period boundary set to anniversary. When the billing schedule is created, the next billing date is set to August 5.

Billing periods follow the order start date and run from August 5 to September 4, September 5 to October 4, and so on.

If the period boundary is set to align to calendar, the first billing period covers August 5 to August 31. After the first billing cycle, the next billing date is updated to September 1. Then, billing follows calendar months from that point onward, such as September 1 to September 30, October 1 to October 31, and so on.

If the period boundary is set to the last day of the period, the first billing period spans August 5 to August 30. The next billing date is then updated to August 31. Each new billing period starts the day after the previous one ends. It continues through the day before the next period begins.

If the period boundary is set to day of period, and the period boundary day is 8 with period boundary start month as August, then the first billing period spans from August 5 to August 7. The day of month offers greater flexibility because it allows you to define the exact day for the billing period to begin. For example, if you specify the day as 8, the first billing cycle covers August 5 to August 7. After that, the next billing date is set to August 8 and billing continues from the 8th day of each period based on the configured billing frequency.

For quarterly, semiannual, or annual billing frequencies, the period boundary, period boundary day, and period boundary start month fields work together to determine when billing cycles begin.

For example, take the same order starting on August 5 with billing frequency set to quarterly and period boundary set to anniversary. In this setup, the initial next billing date is August 5, and the first billing period runs from August 5 to November 4. Once this period ends, the next billing date shifts to November 5 and billing recurs every three months, such as from November 5 to February 4, February 5 to May 4, and so on.

## Choose the Right Period Boundary for Your Billing Needs

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small ">
        <colgroup>
          <col style="width:21.14164904862579%">
          <col style="width:21.775898520084567%">
          <col style="width:28.541226215644823%">
          <col style="width:28.541226215644823%">
        </colgroup>
        <thead class="slds-text-title_caps ">
          <tr class="">
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d204030e110">Period Boundary</th>
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d204030e113">Description</th>
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d204030e116">Billing Scenarios</th>
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d204030e119">Use Case</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="Period Boundary" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e110 ">Align to Calendar</td>

            <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e113 ">Billing periods follow the calendar month or year.</td>

            <td data-label="Billing Scenarios" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e116 ">
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Useful when billing needs to align to standard calendar-based cycles, such as
                monthly or yearly.</p>
            </td>

            <td data-label="Use Case" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e119 ">
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Acme Company sells B2B cloud licenses and recognizes revenue annually. They
                configure the Period Boundary to Align to Calendar, with October as the Period
                Boundary Start Month. An order starts on August 1. The first billing period spans
                from August 1 to December 31. If the subscription ends early, say on November 2,
                the billing schedule adjusts to cover August 1 through November 2. Otherwise,
                starting January 1, billing continues in full annual periods. This setup ensures
                invoices and revenue schedules stay aligned with calendar-based business
                processes.</p>
            </td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="Period Boundary" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e110 ">Anniversary</td>

            <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e113 ">Billing periods align with the order start day.</td>

            <td data-label="Billing Scenarios" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e116 ">
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Ideal if customers expect billing to occur on the day the subscription began.</p>
            </td>

            <td data-label="Use Case" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e119 ">
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Acme Fitness supports multiple billing models to suit different customer needs.
                One of their clients uses anniversary-based billing period with a monthly billing
                frequency. When a customer signs up on August 10, their billing periods run from
                August 10 to September 9, September 10 to October 9, and so on. Each invoice
                covers one full month starting from the customer’s sign-up date, ensuring
                consistent and personalized billing throughout the subscription.</p>
            </td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="Period Boundary" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e110 ">Day of Period</td>

            <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e113 ">Billing begins on a specific day of the billing period. The billing period can
              be a month, quarter, semiannual, or annual.</td>

            <td data-label="Billing Scenarios" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e116 ">
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Recommended for use cases where customers want to be billed on a specific day in
                the billing period.</p>
            </td>

            <td data-label="Use Case" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e119 ">
              <p>Acme Telecom sells termed products and prefers billing periods that align with
                standard quarterly cycles. For one such product, the billing period begins on
                August 1, 2025. It’s configured with Billing Frequency set to Quarterly, Period
                Boundary as Day of Period, Period Boundary Day as 1, and Period Boundary Start
                Month as March.</p>
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">With this setup, quarterly billing periods are aligned to start in March, June,
                September, and December. The first billing period item covers the partial period
                from August 1 to August 31, before the regular quarterly cycle begins in
                September.</p>
            </td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="Period Boundary" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e110 ">Last Day of Period</td>

            <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e113 ">Billing periods end on the last day of each period, based on the order start
              date.</td>

            <td data-label="Billing Scenarios" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e116 ">
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Useful for companies that consolidate all charges and usage data before issuing a
                final invoice, especially when dealing with variable consumption or compliance
                rules.</p>
            </td>

            <td data-label="Use Case" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d204030e119 ">
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Acme Insights, a data analytics platform, bills customers monthly based on the
                volume of data processed, with invoices generated on the last day of each billing
                period. For example, if a customer signs up on August 17, their billing periods
                run from August 17 to August 30, August 31 to September 29, September 30 to
                October 29, and so on. Invoices are issued on the last day of each billing period,
                such as August 30 or September 29, to ensure all data usage is captured before
                billing. This setup provides accurate and transparent invoicing aligned with each
                customer’s subscription start date and billing cycle.</p>
            </td>

          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>

## Relation Between Billing Day of Month and Invoice Generation Day

The billing day of the month on the billing schedule determines the day invoices are generated for that month.

- If billed in advance, invoices are generated at the start of each billing period.
- If billed in arrears, invoices are generated on the last day of each billing period.