Handle a Monthly → Annual Co-term Change Without Double Billing (Partner Center → Work 365)

Applies To: Work 365 (Subscriptions, Billing Contracts, Provider Sync, Proration)
Audience: Internal Support (L1–L3), CSM, Billing Ops
Visibility: Internal Only — do not publish externally

Overview

When a customer changes a subscription in Partner Center from Monthly → Annual (Co-term), Work 365 can temporarily treat both the old Monthly and the new Annual subscriptions as billable if effective dates and contract placement aren’t aligned.

This procedure prevents overlap by:

• Stopping billing on the old Monthly subscription at the correct boundary

• Syncing the new Annual subscription and validating the correct Start/Effective Date

• Placing subscriptions on the correct Billing Contract(s) for clean proration and predictable invoicing

Important: Work 365 proration is driven by the Billing Contract cycle/dates, so contract alignment + effective dates determine whether the outcome is correct.

Critical Note

• The existing Monthly subscription must remain on the current Monthly Billing Contract (even after deactivation).

• If the customer is moving to a new Annual Billing Contract (recommended), move only the newly synced Annual subscription(s) to the Annual Billing Contract.

• Do not move the old Monthly subscription to the Annual contract—this can create billing-history inconsistencies and complicate auditability.

Key Concepts

• Change Date: The date the commitment/frequency change took effect in Partner Center (Monthly → Annual).

• Co-term: The Annual subscription aligns to an existing renewal boundary/end date.

• Provider = Do Nothing: Prevents Work 365 from pushing provider-side actions while Support aligns internal records.

• Contract-driven proration: Proration is calculated from Billing Contract cycle/dates, not the subscription alone.

How It Works

This approach creates a clean boundary:

• Old Monthly subscription is “frozen” from provider actions and ended locally at Change Date – 1 day

• New Annual subscription is synced and must start on Change Date

• Contract placement determines where credits/proration appear (Option A vs Option B)

Boundary reminder: If Partner Center shows a timestamp, use the effective “business boundary” your billing team applies (typically date-based). When in doubt, capture Partner Center evidence and document the assumption you used.

Prerequisites

Before you start:

• ✅ Confirm the Change Date from Partner Center (capture evidence for internal notes)

• ✅ Provider Account is mapped correctly to the CRM Account

• ✅ Providers → Verify Connectivity succeeds

• ✅ Confirm expected credit/refund behavior (Advance vs Arrears + refund policy)

Step-by-Step Procedure

Step 1 — Set the existing Monthly subscription’s Provider to Do Nothing

Where: Work 365 → Billing Contracts → Subscriptions → open the Monthly subscription

Do this:

1. Open the Monthly-term subscription record

2. Set Provider = Do Nothing

3. Save

Why: Prevents Work 365 from taking provider-side actions while you complete the transition inside Work 365.

Step 2 — Deactivate the Monthly subscription effective one day before the Change Date

Where: Same Monthly subscription record

Do this:

1. Confirm the customer’s Change Date in Partner Center

2. Deactivate the subscription with:

   • End Date = Change Date – 1 day

3. Confirm the subscription becomes Inactive

Why: Ensures billing stops exactly at the transition boundary.

Tip (refund handling): If you expect credits/refunds, validate refund/credit configuration first (don’t try to “force” credits via extra edits).

Step 3 — Sync the new Annual subscription and verify Start/Effective Date = Change Date

Where: Billing Contract ribbon → Work 365 commands

Do this:

1. Open the relevant Billing Contract (usually the current Monthly Billing Contract)

2. Command bar: Work 365 → Sync Subscription

3. Complete the sync so the new Annual subscription is created/updated in Work 365

   • Note: The sync popup can be empty for some refresh scenarios—click Proceed anyway if you’re expecting updates.

4. Open the Annual subscription and confirm:

   • Start/Effective Date = Change Date

   • (Not contract start date)

   • (Not next invoice date)

Why: This controls where proration starts and prevents overlap or gaps.

Step 4 — Contract placement (choose one)

Option A (Recommended) — Move Annual subscription(s) to a new Annual Billing Contract

Do this:

1. Create/confirm the customer’s Annual Billing Contract exists and is configured correctly (policy, frequency, dates)

2. Move only the newly synced Annual subscription(s) to the Annual Billing Contract

3. Keep the inactive Monthly subscription on the original Monthly Billing Contract

Why recommended: Preserves monthly billing history, keeps cadence clean, and improves invoicing/audit clarity long-term.

Common gotcha: If the move is blocked, check for LCL invoice references (you may need to clear Invoice on related LCLs before the move).

Option B — Keep both subscriptions on the same Billing Contract

Only use if the business explicitly requires a single contract.

Do this:

1. Confirm both subscriptions remain tied to the same Billing Contract

2. Validate billing policy and dates align to your expected proration outcome

Caution: Cadence changes (monthly → annual) are harder to maintain long-term under a single contract and can increase confusion on renewals/adjustments/audits.

Expected Billing Result

If using Option A (Recommended)

Monthly Billing Contract (old subscription):

• Credit/refund for unused portion after the deactivation date only if configured/expected

Annual Billing Contract (new subscription):

• Prorated annual charge starting on Change Date, aligned to the Annual contract’s cycle/dates

If using Option B (Single contract)

• Old Monthly subscription: credit/refund adjustment (if configured)

• New Annual subscription: prorated charge aligned to the same contract’s cycle/dates

• Requires careful validation to ensure no overlap

Quick Validation Checklist (Before Billing)

• ✅ Old Monthly subscription Provider = Do Nothing

• ✅ Old Monthly subscription Inactive with End Date = Change Date – 1 day

• ✅ New Annual subscription Start/Effective Date = Change Date

• ✅ Contract placement matches your option:

  • Option A: Monthly stays on Monthly contract; Annual moved to Annual contract

  • Option B: Both remain on one contract

• ✅ Invoice preview/bill run shows correct adjustment logic (no overlapping full-period charges)

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• End Date not set to Change Date – 1 day → overlap billing risk

• Annual Start Date defaults to contract start/next invoice date → incorrect proration

• Moving the old Monthly subscription to the Annual contract → history/invoice alignment issues

• Forgetting to refresh after sync → missing the new subscription record

Best Practices

• Prefer Option A for clarity and auditability

• Capture Partner Center evidence of Change Date (screenshot) in internal notes

• Validate Billing Contract policy/dates before invoicing (especially during cadence changes)

FAQs / Common Questions

Q: Why keep the inactive Monthly subscription on the Monthly contract?
A: Preserves billing history integrity and reduces cross-contract inconsistencies for prior invoices, reporting, and audit trails.

Q: The Annual subscription Start Date doesn’t match Change Date—can we still bill correctly?
A: Not reliably. Start/Effective Date alignment is the key control for correct proration and avoiding overlap/gaps.

Q: Do we always get a credit/refund line when deactivating the Monthly subscription?
A: No. Credits/refunds depend on refund/credit configuration and the billing policy setup.

Summary

To prevent double billing during a Partner Center Monthly → Annual (Co-term) change:

1. Set the old Monthly subscription to Do Nothing

2. Deactivate it effective Change Date – 1 day

3. Sync the new Annual subscription and confirm Start/Effective Date = Change Date

4. Place subscriptions on contracts by design—preferably Option A, where only the new Annual subscription moves to a new Annual Billing Contract while the inactive Monthly subscription remains on the original Monthly contract