How Reestablish Schedule in Salesforce CPQ Streamlines Billing

Let’s say you’re about to close a deal, but just before signing, the customer requests changes to the subscription length or product quantities.

You make the changes, but without recalculating the pricing schedule, things start to go south.

This can lead to inaccurate billing, uncomfortable conversations, and potential revenue loss- all from missing a small but important step.

For businesses managing subscription or term-based pricing, these errors can cause significant issues, such as incorrect pricing, misaligned billing cycles, and manual adjustments. It creates inefficiencies and impacts customer trust.

That’s where the Reestablish Schedule in Salesforce CPQ steps in. It automatically recalculates pricing schedules whenever you update a quote, ensuring your pricing and billing always align with the most recent contract terms. No more manual corrections or costly mistakes, just accurate, seamless pricing that boosts customer confidence and protects your revenue.

In this article, we’ll dive into the Reestablish Schedule feature in Salesforce CPQ, exploring its value for optimizing billing cycles, the pros and cons, and how to leverage it for smoother, more efficient revenue management.

Reestablishing Schedules in Salesforce CPQ: What It Is and Why It’s Important

In Salesforce CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote), the Reestablish Schedule feature helps adjust or recreate the subscription schedule for products sold on a recurring basis. When a quote is generated for subscription-based items, such as services with recurring billing, a schedule is set up to determine when payments will take place.

The Reestablish Schedule function allows users to modify or regenerate the schedule if changes are made to the quote, pricing, or payment installments.

For instance, if the subscription term changes or the number of installments needs to be updated, Reestablish Schedule recalculates and realigns the schedule, ensuring that billing and payment terms reflect any updates in the quote or subscription details.

Now, let’s talk about the benefits of using the Reestablish Schedule feature in Salesforce CPQ:

• Accurate Billing and Payment Terms: When updates are made to a subscription, for instance, there are changes in its duration or payment amounts—the Reestablish Schedule feature automatically adjusts the billing cycle and payment schedule. This ensures your customers receive precise invoices and clear payment timelines.

• Enhanced Flexibility: With the ability to regenerate schedules, you gain flexibility in managing various billing setups. For example, if your customer requests a change in the number of installments, the schedule can be updated easily without requiring manual adjustments.

• Better Customer Experience: By reestablishing schedules, you can cater to customer preferences, such as altering subscription lengths or payment intervals. This streamlines the process, making it more customer-friendly and reducing potential billing disputes or confusion.

• Automated Complex Billing Scenarios: Instead of manually updating payment terms, Salesforce CPQ automates the recalculation and adjustment of schedules. This is particularly useful for handling intricate subscription models or frequent contract changes.

• Consistency and Accuracy: Leveraging the Reestablish Schedule feature ensures that payment schedules always match the latest quote details, helping prevent discrepancies within the billing system.

• Comprehensive Audit Trail: Any changes made to a schedule are logged, providing a clear record of adjustments. This helps maintain compliance with business rules or customer agreements while making it easier to track changes over time.

Common Reestablish Schedule Issues in Salesforce CPQ and How to Fix Them

While the Reschedule Schedule feature brings great flexibility to subscription management, there are certain considerations that users should keep in mind to maximize its potential.

Below are a few areas that may require attention when using Reschedule Schedule in Salesforce CPQ, along with practical solutions to balance them.

Configuration Errors

Proper configuration of the Reschedule Schedule feature is crucial to avoid errors in payment dates or subscription terms. To prevent potential mistakes, businesses can implement comprehensive testing and validation processes. Using automated configuration checks and ensuring that all rules are accurately defined can significantly reduce the risk of errors.

Establish detailed guidelines for configuration and use Salesforce’s built-in testing tools to ensure accuracy. Regularly review schedules to confirm they meet business standards.

Customization Complexity

Some organizations have highly customized subscription models that may make the setup of Reschedule Schedule seem complex. However, this challenge can be addressed by using Salesforce CPQ’s extensive customization features in combination with technical expertise.

Invest in specialized resources or consult with Salesforce experts to streamline the customization process, ensuring the setup aligns with unique business needs without over-complicating the system.

Risk of Overriding Manual Adjustments

There’s a chance that rescheduling may overwrite changes made manually or outside the standard quoting process. However, this can be managed by setting up appropriate approval workflows and tracking changes efficiently.

Introduce approval workflows or a version control system to ensure that manual adjustments are recorded and preserved, preventing any loss of critical updates.

Limited Flexibility in Customization

While the Reschedule Schedule feature may not be flexible enough for some organizations’ needs out-of-the-box, it can be extended with customizations. Salesforce’s robust ecosystem allows businesses to tailor functionality to meet specific billing and scheduling requirements.

Engage Salesforce developers to customize the feature as needed or explore third-party apps that can complement Salesforce CPQ’s functionality, offering greater flexibility.

Requirement for Expertise

Understanding the intricacies of Salesforce CPQ and subscription models may require specialized knowledge. To mitigate this, teams can be trained to ensure they are well-equipped to use the feature effectively.

Provide in-depth training and create knowledge-sharing resources for users. Empower your team with the right tools and education, so they can navigate the system confidently.

Potential Performance Impact

Frequent use of the Reschedule Schedule feature, particularly with large and complex quotes, may affect performance. However, optimizing system performance and utilizing batch processing can alleviate potential slowdowns.

Work with Salesforce administrators to optimize processes and implement scheduled batch processing for rescheduling actions. This will maintain system performance even with high data volumes.

Conclusion

Managing subscription billing doesn’t have to be a headache. With Salesforce CPQ’s Reestablish Schedule feature, you can automate payment schedules and keep them aligned with updated quote terms—helping you improve accuracy, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

While it simplifies payment schedules, a few hurdles can trip you up: configuration missteps, the need for sufficient training, and the challenge of tailoring it to complex subscription models.

The key is to set it up thoughtfully, maintain it regularly, and fine-tune it to fit your subscription model. With the right approach, it can streamline your billing process and improve customer relationships, making it a valuable part of your subscription management strategy.