Recurring Subscription Plans Odoo 18

Subscription managers tracking renewals in spreadsheets create revenue loss: monthly plans invoice on random dates because setup happened whenever customer signed up (15th, 23rd, any day), finance spends hours manually creating invoices each cycle, customers confused why "monthly" subscription charged $99 one month then $105 next because pricing changed but nobody updated plan, and churn spikes when auto-renewal fails but team doesn't know until customer complains 3 weeks later.

Odoo 18 Recurring Plans automate subscription lifecycle with configurable billing periods (weekly/monthly/yearly), period alignment syncing all invoices to month-start regardless of signup date, automatic invoice generation eliminating manual work, optional plan upgrades/downgrades with self-service customer portal, pricing rules per product/pricelist, and auto-closure settings for expired subscriptions—ensuring predictable MRR and zero missed renewals.

Creating Recurring Plans

1. Go to Subscriptions → Configuration → Recurring Plans
2. Click New
3. Configure: Name (e.g., "Monthly Premium Plan"), Billing Period (Weekly/Monthly/Yearly), Align to Period Start (sync all invoices to 1st of month), Automatic Closing (days after expiration to close)
4. Self-service options: Closable, Add Products, Renew
5. Add pricing rules under Pricing tab

Applying Plans to Subscriptions

1. Go to Subscriptions → Subscriptions → New
2. Select Customer
3. Choose Recurring Plan
4. Add products in Order Lines
5. Select pricelist, click Update Prices
6. Set end date in "until" field
7. Save

Best Practices

Always Align to Period Start: Invoicing 500 customers on random dates = finance nightmare. Enable alignment so all monthly invoices generate on 1st—batch process payment collection.

Set Automatic Closing: Configure 30-day grace period after expiration before auto-close. Gives customers time to renew, prevents zombie subscriptions cluttering reports.

Link Optional Plans: Allow customers to upgrade Monthly to Yearly for discount—self-service reduces support tickets, increases ACV.

Conclusion

Odoo 18 Recurring Plans automate subscription billing with period-aligned invoicing, self-service customer management, and pricing rules. Configure once, invoice automatically forever—eliminating manual work and revenue leakage.