Manage Revenue Recognition Rules
Revenue rules are instances of revenue rule models. These rules are associated with product rate plan charges. Rules help manage revenue recognition on subscription charges. This article explains how to manage a revenue rule, including how to associate the rule with a charge.
Revenue Rules
You can do the following when managing revenue rules:
- View the configuration of a rule.
- Create or update a rule.
- Activate or deactivate a rule so that it can be applied to charges.
- Delete a rule from the list.
Zuora provides the following pre-configured revenue rules:
- Recognition upon invoicing
- Recognition daily over time
See Revenue Rule Models for descriptions of rule models and for steps on how to enable them for use.
When is a Revenue Rule In Use?
A revenue rule is in use when it is used by a subscription charge or used in a revenue schedule. A revenue rule is not in use if it is deactivated or associated with a product rate plan charge, but used by a subscription or in a revenue schedule. The status of a rule determines if you can update, delete, or associate the rule with a charge.
The following table summarizes when you can change the status of a rule, edit, or delete a rule.
| Rule Status | Is Associated with Product Charge? | Is in Use? | Can Change Status? | Can Update Rule? | Can Delete? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active |  |
|
Can Deactivate |  |
Must Deactivate First |
| Active | |
|
Cannot Deactivate | |
|
| Active | |
|
Cannot Deactivate | |
|
| Deactivated | |
|
Can Activate | |
|
Manage a Revenue Rule
You can create revenue rules, change rule configurations, activate, deactivate, or delete revenue rule.
Navigation: Click your username at the top right and navigate to Settings > Finance > Manage Revenue Recognition Rules.
The following table describes options available when managing rules:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
|
Revenue Recognition Rule |
The rule name. |
|
Recognition Model |
A rule model is a template with recognition logic. The following rule models are supported: Billing
Custom The following rule mode is supported:
|
|
Active |
Status of the rule.
|
|
Actions |
Click edit to change the rule configuration. See Components and Configuration Options for configuration option details. Click activate or deactivate to change the status. Click delete to delete the rule. You can only delete a deactivated rule. |
A check mark indicates the rule is activated.
An x-mark indicates that the rule is deactivated and must be activated in order to associate with a product rate charge. Create a Revenue Rule
You can create up to 200 unique revenue rules in Zuora.
From the Manage Revenue Recognition Rules page:
- Select a revenue rule model from the drop-down list.
- Click create new revenue recognition rule.
- Configure the rule. See Components and Configuration Options for configuration option details.
- Click update rule to save changes.
Activate, deactivate, and delete a Revenue Rule
You can view the status of a revenue the Manage Revenue Recognition Rules page. The status of a revenue determines whether you can change the status, update the rule, or delete the rule.
- Click activate or deactivate in the actions column to change the status. You can deactivate a rule when it is not in use.
- Click delete from the actions column. You can delete a revenue rule that is deactivated.
Associate a Revenue Rule with a charge in your product catalog
You can apply a revenue rule to each product rate plan charge by editing the charge. By default, all product rate plan changes are associated with the Recognize upon invoicing rule.
The revenue rule that you associate with the product rate plan charge dictates the revenue recognition method and is tracked and managed by a revenue schedule.
The revenue rule must be active to associate with a product rate plan charge.
- Navigate to Products > Product Catalog, and select a rate plan.
- Click edit next to the charge you want to associate with a recognition rule.
- In the Finance section, select a rule from the drop-down list.
- Assign accounting codes for recognized revenue and deferred revenue.
See product catalog for more information on how to access and create products, product rate plans, and charges in your product catalog. See accounting codes for more information on how to create accounting codes in your chart of accounts.
See Revenue Schedules for more information on how revenue rules can assist with creating revenue schedules and distributing revenue.
Override the Revenue Rule on a subscription charge
You can override the revenue rule applied to the product rate plan charge when creating the subscription. A subscription charge is the charge for a product rate plan.
For example, if you have two rate plans in a subscription, and each rate plan has three charges. This subscription has six charges (2 rate plans multiplied by 3 charges). You can override any of the six subscription charges while creating the subscription.
To override the revenue rule on a subscription charge through the SOAP API, you can use the RevenueRecognitionRuleName field on the RatePlanCharge object.
To override the revenue rule from the Zuora UI, click the charge name in the Products & Charges section. Scroll to the Finance section and select the revenue rule from the drop-down.
Override the Revenue Rule on a draft Credit Memo or Debit Memo
You can override the revenue rule applied to the credit and debit memos in Draft status. See Edit Credit and Debit Memos for details.
Note that credit and debit memos are only available if you enable the Advanced AR Settlement feature.
The Invoice Settlement feature is generally available as of Zuora Billing Release 296 (March 2021). This feature includes Unapplied Payments, Credit and Debit Memos, and Invoice Item Settlement. If you want to have access to the feature, see Invoice Settlement Enablement and Checklist Guide for more information. After Invoice Settlement is enabled, the Invoice Item Adjustment feature will be deprecated for your tenant.