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Overview

By default, Lago dates invoices on the first day of the new billing period (e.g., November 1st for an October usage and subscription). Some businesses need invoices dated on the last day of the billing period instead (e.g., October 31st) for accounting or compliance reasons. This feature gives you control over the issuing date displayed on your invoices. Note that this is configured at the Billing Entity level and applies to all customers under that entity. However, you can override it for specific customers when needed.

Invoice settings

Issuing date anchor

This setting determines which issuing date appears on your invoice.
OptionDescriptionFor Oct. billing period
next_period_start (default value)Invoice dated on first day of next billing periodIssuing Date: November 1
current_period_endInvoice dated on last day of the current billing periodIssuing Date: October 31

Issuing date adjustment

This setting controls what happens when an invoice is finalized after the anchor date, especially when a grace period greater than 0 is configured.
OptionDescription
align_with_finalization_date (default)Invoice date updates to actual finalization date
keep_anchorInvoice keeps the anchor date regardless of when finalized

Examples

The following examples show how different combinations of settings affect the invoice issuing date for a subscription with a billing period from October 1st to October 31st. The grace period determines when the invoice is finalized after the billing period ends.
AnchorAdjustmentGrace PeriodInvoice Issuing Date
next_period_startalign_with_finalization_date0 daysNovember 1
next_period_startalign_with_finalization_date2 daysNovember 3
next_period_startkeep_anchor2 daysNovember 1
current_period_endalign_with_finalization_date2 daysNovember 3
current_period_endkeep_anchor2 daysOctober 31

Common use cases

Standard billing (default)

FieldValue
subscription_invoice_issuing_date_anchornext_period_start
subscription_invoice_issuing_date_adjustmentalign_with_finalization_date
Best for most businesses. Invoice dates reflect when invoices are actually issued, which simplifies payment tracking and customer communication.

Period-end accounting

FieldValue
subscription_invoice_issuing_date_anchorcurrent_period_end
subscription_invoice_issuing_date_adjustmentkeep_anchor
Ideal for businesses that need invoices dated within the same month as the service period for revenue recognition or accounting compliance. Example: An October subscription invoice will always show October 31, even if generated in November.

Fixed period start dates

FieldValue
subscription_invoice_issuing_date_anchornext_period_start
subscription_invoice_issuing_date_adjustmentkeep_anchor
Useful when you want consistent invoice dates aligned to billing cycle starts, regardless of processing delays. Example: Monthly invoices always dated on the 1st of each month.