Understand Awaiting Signup Date

Awaiting Signup Date is a Subscription state for a signup that's scheduled further in advance than a standard delayed signup. A Subscription in this state hasn't started billing yet, so Advanced Billing hides the parts of the Subscription page that only make sense once billing activity exists.

What is awaiting signup date?

A Subscription enters Awaiting Signup Date when it's created with defer_signup set to true, either via the API or by selecting Date not known yet on the New Subscription form. You can't combine defer_signup with initial_billing_at or starts_at on the same request — the future signup date takes the place of those attributes.

This is a distinct state from Awaiting Signup, which is set from the First Billing Date field and requires you to already know the date billing should start. A Subscription in Awaiting Signup Date is more restrictive: no billing schedule item has been generated for it yet, so no Invoices exist in Maxio Core until the signup date arrives.

Create a subscription with a deferred start date

Use Date not known yet when you need to create a Subscription for a Customer whose start date isn't settled — for example, while a Contract is still being finalized — without waiting to create the Subscription until that date is known.

To create a Subscription with a deferred signup date

1. On a Site with Invoice-Centric Billing enabled, start a new Subscription from Billing > Subscriptions > Create Subscription.

2. In the Schedule section, select the Date not known yet checkbox.

   Selecting it hides the Start Date, End Date, and Order Date fields, and shows a warning notice explaining that the Subscription will be created without a start date and won't bill until one is set.

3. Complete the rest of the form and click Create Subscription.

The Subscription is created in the Awaiting Signup Date state immediately. Set its real start date later from the Subscription page or the API to begin billing.

While Date not known yet is selected, the form also disables the following, since each depends on a start date that doesn't exist yet:

• Set Calendar Billing (or Apply calendar billing for monthly charges) — calendar billing needs a real start date to anchor to.
• Add Auto-Renewal — the section doesn't render, since a lock-in date can't be calculated without a start date.
• Preview Cost and Preview Billing Schedule — both buttons are disabled, since the preview endpoints can't generate an accurate schedule without a start date.
• Align the billing date with the billing date of the group, for a Subscription being added to a Consolidated Billing group — you can align billing dates once the real start date is set.

What's hidden while a subscription is in this state

While a Subscription is in Awaiting Signup Date, the Subscription page doesn't show:

• Proforma Invoices
• The Issue Invoice Immediately option
• The next billing date
• The ability to generate an ad-hoc Invoice
• The Term line

These elements reappear once the signup date arrives and the Subscription's first billing period is generated.

Related information

For the delayed-signup workflow where you already know the future start date, see Understand Awaiting Signup.

For the full Subscription creation walkthrough, see Create a Subscription.

For where Awaiting Signup Date fits among a Subscription's other states, see Understand Subscription States.