Billing cycle
How often a subscription is charged, monthly, quarterly or annually, which sets both when the cash leaves and the multiplier needed to compare tools.
Also known as: Renewal cycle, Billing frequency
The billing cycle is how often a subscription charges: monthly, quarterly, annually, or as a single one-off payment. It is a separate question from the contract term, and the two frequently disagree, because an annual commitment billed monthly is common and leaving one part way through can still mean paying out the rest of the committed year.
The cycle matters twice over. It sets when cash actually leaves, which is what a forecast needs, and it sets the multiplier required to compare one tool against another: a monthly cost times twelve, a quarterly cost times four. Without that step a register of mixed cycles cannot be added up at all, which is why the annualised figure is the one worth holding beside the raw price.
Related terms
- Annualised costA tool's cost expressed as a yearly figure, so monthly and annual subscriptions can be compared and totalled on one basis.
- Total cost of ownership (TCO)The full cost of a piece of software over its life, including support, implementation, and admin, not just the headline price.
- Renewal upliftThe price increase a vendor applies when a contract renews, often built into the agreement as a fixed annual percentage.