When does a billing cycle start?

When does a billing cycle start?

• A. Only at the end of the month.
• B. By default when the subscription is created or the free trial ends.
• C. Only when an invoice is paid.
• D. When the customer updates their payment method.

Answer: (B)

A billing cycle in Stripe is the time window Stripe uses to determine what period to bill a customer for a subscription. It starts when the subscription is created. If there’s a free trial, the cycle begins when the trial ends, so charges start at that moment. It doesn’t wait for a calendar month boundary, it doesn’t depend on an invoice being paid to start the cycle, and it isn’t triggered by updating the payment method. This means the first charge date is either the creation date (for no-trial subscriptions) or the end of the trial (for subscriptions with a trial). For example, a subscription created on January 10 with a 14-day trial will begin its billing cycle on January 24, when the trial ends.

A billing cycle in Stripe is the time window Stripe uses to determine what period to bill a customer for a subscription. It starts when the subscription is created. If there’s a free trial, the cycle begins when the trial ends, so charges start at that moment. It doesn’t wait for a calendar month boundary, it doesn’t depend on an invoice being paid to start the cycle, and it isn’t triggered by updating the payment method. This means the first charge date is either the creation date (for no-trial subscriptions) or the end of the trial (for subscriptions with a trial). For example, a subscription created on January 10 with a 14-day trial will begin its billing cycle on January 24, when the trial ends.