Subscription Renewal in Odoo 18

SaaS company managing 500 monthly subscriptions creates renewal disaster: 45 subscriptions expiring end of month requiring manual tracking spreadsheet checking daily which customers need renewal reminders consuming 2 hours, missed renewal opportunities where 12 customers forgot renewing causing service interruption losing 14K annual recurring revenue from preventable churn, manual invoice generation creating renewal invoice individually for each customer consuming 30 minutes per renewal totaling 22 hours monthly administrative burden, no renewal tracking causing confusion which subscriptions renewed versus expired requiring customer service fielding 40 monthly calls clarifying status, payment collection delays from forgetting send initial invoice before renewal processing causing 15-day payment delays, and no MRR analytics preventing identification renewal trends churn patterns revenue forecasting—generating administrative overload revenue leakage customer frustration payment delays and inability forecasting recurring revenue from manual subscription renewal management without automated renewal quotations initial payment validation renewal tracking and revenue analytics.

Odoo 18 Subscription Renewal Management enables recurring revenue automation through renewal quotation generation creating new subscription from existing, initial payment validation requiring confirmed payment before renewal eligibility, automatic sales order conversion changing quotation to order after initial payment, renewal button accessibility enabling one-click renewal quotation creation, subscription linking maintaining renewal-original subscription relationship via chatter notes, sales history tracking showing all linked renewal subscriptions chronologically, MRR analytics reporting monthly recurring revenue trends per subscription, subscription status visibility displaying In Progress Renewal Quotation states clearly, payment state tracking showing payment progress from draft to in-payment, and renewal workflow orchestration managing complete renewal lifecycle automatically—reducing renewal administration 90 percent through one-click generation eliminating revenue leakage through renewal tracking preventing service interruptions via proactive renewal and enabling revenue forecasting through MRR analytics achieving predictable recurring revenue through systematic automated subscription renewal management supporting SaaS business model scalability.

Subscription Prerequisites

Required setup before renewal:

Initial Subscription Must Have:

Accessing Subscriptions

Opening Subscription Module:

1. Go to Apps
2. Search for Subscriptions
3. Click module to open dashboard
4. Navigate to Subscriptions → Subscriptions

Initial Invoice Creation

First payment before renewal:

Creating Initial Invoice:

1. From Subscriptions list select confirmed quotation
2. Subscription shows status: In Progress
3. Note: Initial payment not yet made
4. Click Create Invoice button
5. Pop-up appears
6. Click Create Draft button
7. Draft invoice created

Confirming Invoice:

Processing Initial Payment

Recording Payment:

1. In posted invoice click Pay button
2. Payment registration pop-up opens
3. Configure payment:
   • Journal: Bank or payment method
   • Amount: Auto-filled from invoice total
   • Payment Date: Today or custom date
   • Memo: Optional payment reference
4. Click Create Payment button
5. Payment recorded
6. Invoice status changes to In Payment

Creating Renewal Quotation

Renewal Button:

Renewal Quotation Details:

Confirming Renewal

Validating Renewal Quotation:

1. Review renewal quotation details
2. Make any necessary adjustments:
   • Update pricing if needed
   • Modify products if customer upgraded downgraded
   • Adjust quantities
3. Click Confirm button
4. Renewal quotation converts to Sales Order
5. Status changes from Renewal Quotation to In Progress
6. Renewal subscription now active

Sales History Tracking

Viewing subscription lineage:

Accessing Sales History:

1. Open renewal subscription Sales Order
2. Click Sales History smart button (top-right)
3. Sales History view opens

Sales History Shows:

MRR Analytics

Revenue tracking and forecasting:

Accessing MRR Report:

1. In subscription Sales Order click MRR smart button
2. Monthly Recurring Revenue analysis opens

MRR Analysis Shows:

MRR Example Scenario:

Subscription States

Understanding status progression:

State Definitions:

Payment States

Payment Status Tracking:

Renewal Workflow Complete Example

Best Practices

Always Confirm Initial Payment Before Attempting Renewal: Clicking Renew on unpaid subscription equals no button appears or renewal fails. Initial payment validation critical. Subscription must reach In Payment state before renewal eligible. Check payment status before renewal process preventing workflow errors.

Use Sales History to Identify At-Risk Renewals: Customer with pattern: Renews annually on time for 3 years then misses renewal date equals churn risk signal. Review Sales History monthly identifying customers approaching renewal dates. Proactive outreach 30 days before expiration increases renewal rate 40 percent versus reactive approach.

Monitor MRR Expansion and Contraction Trends for Revenue Forecasting: MRR showing 10 percent monthly growth from expansions equals 120 percent annual growth trajectory. MRR showing 5 percent contraction equals attrition problem requiring product improvement. Monthly MRR analysis enables accurate revenue forecasting budget planning product development prioritization based on customer upgrade downgrade patterns.

Conclusion

Odoo 18 Subscription Renewal Management enables recurring revenue automation through renewal quotation generation initial payment validation automatic conversion renewal button accessibility subscription linking sales history tracking MRR analytics status visibility payment tracking and workflow orchestration. Reduce renewal administration 90 percent through one-click generation eliminating revenue leakage through renewal tracking preventing service interruptions via proactive renewal enabling revenue forecasting through MRR analytics achieving predictable recurring revenue through systematic automated subscription renewal management supporting SaaS business model scalability improving customer retention through seamless renewal experience and maximizing lifetime value through upgrade path visibility enabling data-driven subscription business optimization.