Recurring vs metered

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Lago is an open-source software for metering and usage-based billing. It's the best alternative to Chargebee, Recurly or Stripe Billing for companies that need to handle complex billing logic.

Welcome to Lago

Why billing is a nightmare

Docker is the easiest way to get started with the self-hosted version of Lago.

Docker

Tracking & Analytics

Update your self-hosted instance

Lago Cloud is the fully hosted version of our open-source billing API.

Lago Cloud

Billable metrics define how incoming events are aggregated in order to measure consumption.

Create billable metrics

When setting up your pricing, you may want to group events according to their property. To do so, you can create dimensions for your billable metric.

Dimensions grouping

Delete billable metrics

If Billable metrics are made to measure customer usage, Plans are made to apply prices to this usage.

Overview

The plan model defines when and how much a customer is charged.

Plan model

Customer management

Customer metadata

Invoice a customer

The customer portal

Coupons allow you to offer discounts to your customers. When you apply a coupon to a customer,  its value will be deducted from their next subscription invoice(s).

Coupons

A subscription is created when a plan is assigned to a customer.  You can assign a plan to a customer at any time (i.e. when the customer record is created or later on).

Assign a plan to a customer

Customers have the flexibility to easily upgrade or downgrade their plan at any given moment.

Upgrades and downgrades

You can terminate a subscription at any time, whether it's active or pending.

Terminate a subscription

Add-ons are a useful feature that allows you to add a fixed charge that is not recurring to one-off invoices.  This can be used to apply one-time fees such as a setup fee, one-time payment, or customer success fee.

Create add-ons

One-off invoices allow you to bill immediately one or several add-ons to a customer.  This guide will show you how to create a one-off invoice for a specific customer using the add-ons.

Issue one-off invoices

This guide explains how Lago ingests usage-based events coming from your application.

Ingesting usage

By ingesting events, you can see them flowing in the Lago application by using the events list. It allows you to take a deeper look at ingested events and detect possible warnings.

Events list

Lago automatically generates invoices for each customer according to the plan model.

Fees

When generating invoices, you may need to apply vat or other taxes. By creating taxes and applying them to the organization or/and customers,  their invoices will be directly affected.

Taxes

Grace period

Net payment term

Download invoices

Invoice metadata

Connect Lago to any payment providers by using native integrations or webhook messages.

Lago's native integration with GoCardless allows you to collect payments via direct debit.

GoCardless integration

Lago's native integration with Stripe allows you to collect payments automatically when new invoices are generated.

Stripe integration

Lago's native integration with Adyen allows you to collect payments automatically when new invoices are generated.

Adyen integration

Payment retries

Credit notes

Since usage-based charges are calculated at the end of the billing period, you often need to wait to collect payments. With prepaid credits, you can now unlock recurring revenue opportunities for pay-as-you-go pricing models.

Prepaid credits

Webhooks

Send automatic emails when issuing an invoice or any billing documents.

Emails

Entitlements

This step-by-step integration guide will help you get started with Lago.

Integration testing

Lago OpenAPI

Lago API allows your application to push customer information and metrics (events) from your application to the billing application.

Getting started

This object represents a billable metric that is a pricing component of your application.

The billable metric object

This endpoint creates a new billable metric representing a pricing component of your application.

Create a billable metric

This endpoint updates an existing billable metric representing a pricing component of your application.

Update a billable metric

This endpoint deletes an existing billable metric representing a pricing component of your application.

Delete a billable metric

This endpoint retrieves an existing billable metric that represents a pricing component of your application. The billable metric is identified by its unique code.

Retrieve a billable metric

This endpoint retrieves all existing billable metrics that represent pricing components of your application.

List all billable metrics

This endpoint retrieves all groups for a billable metric.

Find a billable metric's groups

This object represents a plan. This plan can then be assigned to a customer.

The plan object

This endpoint creates a plan with subscription and usage-based charges. It supports flexible billing cadence (in-advance or in-arrears) and allows for both recurring and metered charges.

Create a plan

This endpoint updates a specific plan with subscription and usage-based charges. It supports flexible billing cadence (in-advance or in-arrears) and allows for both recurring and metered charges.

Update a plan

This endpoint deletes a specific plan. Note that this plan could be associated with active subscriptions.

Delete a plan

Retrieve a plan

This endpoint retrieves all existing plans.

List all plans

This object represents a customer of your business. It lets you create or update a customer, but also track usage and create invoices for the same customer.

The customer object

Create a customer

Update a customer

This endpoint deletes an existing customer.

Delete a customer

This endpoint retrieves an existing customer.

Retrieve a customer

This endpoint retrieves all existing customers.

List all customers

Retrieves an embeddable link for displaying a customer portal.

This endpoint allows you to fetch the URL that can be embedded to provide customers access to a dedicated portal

Get a customer portal URL

This object represents the assignation of plan to one of the customer of your business.

The subscription object

This endpoint assigns a plan to a customer, creating or modifying a subscription. Ideal for initial subscriptions or plan changes (upgrades/downgrades).

Create a subscription

This endpoint allows you to terminate a subscription.

This endpoint allows you to update a subscription.

Update a subscription

This endpoint retrieves all active subscriptions.

List all subscriptions

Events represents usage measurement sent to lago application that will then be aggregated into invoice line items.

The event object

This endpoint is used for transmitting usage measurement events to either a designated customer or a specific subscription.

Send usage event

This endpoint is used for transmitting usage measurement events in batch multiple subscriptions of the same customer.

Batch usage events

This endpoint is used for retrieving a specific usage measurement event that has been sent to a customer or a subscription.

Retrieve a specific event

Estimate the fees that would be created after reception of an event for  a billable metric attached to one or multiple pay in advance charges.

Estimate an upcoming fee

This object represents the usage-based charges associated with one of your customers for the current billing period. It allows you to monitor customer usage throughout the period.

The customer usage object

This endpoint enables the retrieval of the usage-based billing data for a customer within the current period.

Retrieve customer usage

This object represents an add-on, a one-time fee that can be applied on one-off invoices.

The add-on object

This endpoint is used to create an add-on that can be then attached to a one-off invoice.

Create an add-on

This endpoint is used to update an existing add-on.

Update an add-on

This endpoint is used to delete an existing add-on.

Delete an add-on

This endpoint is used to retrieve a specific add-on.

Retrieve an add-on

This endpoint is used to list all existing add-ons.

List all add-ons

This object represents a coupon. This coupon can be applied to a customer with overriden values.

The coupon object

This endpoint is used to create a coupon that can be then attached to a customer to create a discount.

Create a coupon

This endpoint is used to update a coupon that can be then attached to a customer to create a discount.

Update a coupon

This endpoint is used to delete a coupon.

Delete a coupon

This endpoint is used to retrieve a specific coupon.

Retrieve a coupon

This endpoint is used to list all existing coupons.

List all coupons

This object represents a coupon applied to a customer. It can override the initial values of a coupon.

The applied coupon object

This endpoint is used to apply a specific coupon to a customer, before or during a subscription.

Apply a coupon

This endpoint is used to delete a specific coupon that has been applied to a customer.

Delete an applied coupon

This endpoint is used to list all applied coupons. You can filter by coupon status and by customer.

List all applied coupons

Lago automatically generates invoices for each of your customers at the end of a billing period. They list and summarize the fees generated by Lago for your customers. Subscription, usage-based and recurring fees are listed as invoice items.

The invoice object

This endpoint is used for retrieving a specific invoice that has been issued.

Retrieve an invoice

This endpoint is used for downloading a specific invoice PDF document.

Download an invoice PDF

This endpoint is used for retrievign all invoices.

List all invoices

This endpoint is used for refreshing a draft invoice.

Refresh a draft invoice

This endpoint is used for finalizing a draft invoice.

Finalize a draft invoice

This endpoint resends an invoice for collection and retry a payment.

Retry an invoice payment

This endpoint is used for updating an existing invoice.

Update an invoice

This endpoint is used for issuing a one-off invoice.

Create a one-off invoice

This object represents a line item of an invoice, handling amount, billed units and item description.

The fee object

This endpoint is used for retrieving a specific fee that has been issued.

Retrieve a specific fee

This endpoint is used for retrieving all fees that has been issued.

List all fees

This endpoint is used for updating a specific fee that has been issued.

Update a fee

This object represents a customizable tax rate applicable  to either the organization or a specific customer.

The tax object

This endpoint creates a new tax representing a customizable tax rate applicable to either the organization or a specific customer.

Create a tax

This endpoint updates an existing tax representing a customizable tax rate applicable to either the organization or a specific customer.

Update a tax

Delete a tax

This endpoint retrieves an existing tax representing a customizable tax rate applicable to either the organization or a specific customer. The tax is identified by its unique code.

Introduction

Guides

Recurring vs metered

Recurring billable metrics

Dashboard

API

Metered billable metrics

Dashboard

API

Introduction

Guides

​Recurring billable metrics

Dashboard

API

​Metered billable metrics

Dashboard

API

Recurring billable metrics

Metered billable metrics