Below are the high-level steps to configure Zuora to work with Avalara:   Submit a ticket to Support in order to gain access to this feature (currently in Limited Availability).   1. Set up Connections to Avalara: add Avalara as a tax engine in your Zuora tenant and set up the connection   2.   Configure Tax Codes in Zuora Billing: create tax codes in Zuora and associate them with your tax codes in Avalara   3.   Associate Avalara Tax Codes with Product Rate Plan Charges: set the Taxable flag on the charge in order to display the Tax Codes. Choose the applicable Tax Code to use for that product Note** this only needs to be done in the Product Catalog; a mass-amendment of subscriptions is not required Step 3 Video 4.   Configure your Tenant Profile & Permissions: set origin address in Zuora and verify this address for compatibility in Avalara. Add Company Codes and additional origin addresses. Disable the Cancel Posted Invoice permission. Note** all addresses require a Country; for US and Canada a State is required  5.   Create Tax Exemptions: specify whether a customer account is tax exempt or not tax exempt   After completing testing in Sandbox, enable and test in Production.     ... View more

Ideal State: To generate a prorated Invoice for the custom Initial Term period, with the option to renew to a ‘normal’ annual subscription.   The invoice behavior in this example is dependent on two things: ‘Invoice Past End-of-Term when Auto-Renew is OFF?’ setting marked ‘Yes’ Date selected for the Bill Run Target Date   I’ve ran two parallel tests below to show how these two variables impact the invoice behavior.   Test 1: Undesired Behavior (Subscription: A-S00000041) Subscription Details: Initial Term: 153 days (3/23/18 – 8/23/18) Renewal Term: 12 months (8/23/18 – 8/23/19) Auto Renew: No Timing & Frequency of Charge: Trigger Condition: Upon Contract Effective End Date: Align to Subscription End Date Billing Period: Annual Billing Period Alignment: Align to Term Start     Test 1: Invoice Behavior (INV00000102 & INV00000104) Invoice #1: INV00000102 Target Date: 3/23/2018 Total: $100 (annual charge, not prorated)   Invoice #2: INV00000104 Target Date: 8/24/2018 Total: -$58.08 (proration credit)     Reason for Behavior:   ‘Invoice Past End-of-Term when Auto-Renew is OFF?’ setting is marked ‘Yes’. This setting allows you to invoice past End-of-term, so in this case an invoice is generated for  the annual charge from 3/23/2018 – 3/22/2019.    However since the subscription is not renewed by the next bill cycle date following the term-end, a proration credit (-$58.08) is issued for the service period that was billed past End-of-Term, in this case 8/23/2018 – 3/22/2019.   More information on Zuora’s Default Subscription Settings: here   Target Date The Invoice Target Date is used to determine which charges to bill. All charges to bill as of or prior to the target date are included in the bill run.   Because Core Users is an annual product, Zuora attempts to bill for the annual amount if the Bill Run Target Date is set before the Initial Term Period end (8/23/2018). In this scenario, if you complete the subsequent Bill Run with a target date of the first day of the renewal term (Initial Term + 1 day) on 8/24/2018, a proration credit of -$58.08 is issued to correct itself.   Test 2: Desired Behavior (Subscription: A-S00000042) Subscription Details: Initial Term: 153 days (3/23/18 – 8/23/18) Renewal Term: 12 months (8/23/18 – 8/23/19) Auto Renew: No Timing & Frequency of Charge: Trigger Condition: Upon Contract Effective End Date: Align to Subscription End Date Billing Period: Annual Billing Period Alignment: Align to Term Start     Test 2: Invoice Behavior (INV00000103) Invoice: INV00000103 Target Date: 8/24/2018 Total: $41.92 (proration)     Reason for Behavior:   If you set the Bill Run Target Date for the first day of the renewal term (8/24/2018) or after, Zuora will take into account the non-annual term and the Invoice will reflect the prorated amount of $41.92 (the charge that you expect, for the period you expect).   ... View more

Solution:   Before we dive into some if/then scenarios, let’s review the components of Zuora’s Product Catalog.   Product Catalog: where you define your products and pricing.  Each company has one product catalog that contains all the products that they sell.  Defines the billing behavior you want for the products or services you sell Each product in the product catalog represents a product or service   Within Zuora’s Product Catalog consists 3 tiers for billing:   Product: the item or service available for purchase Products capture your offerings and help with reporting Products in Zuora are often ‘services’ that people or companies subscribe to   Rate Plan: the billing frequency and price points available Rate Plans define what a customer can purchase   Rate Plan Charge:  the charges or fees for each rate plan   Example Set-Up:     Considerations when Modifying your Product Catalog   SCENARIO 1   If you are…. Continuing to offer the same service at a new price point or price model   Then… Add another Rate Plan   Billing Considerations: use appropriate billing frequency and price model, as needed (e.g., flat fee instead of per unit)   SCENARIO 2   If you are… Creating an add-on to an existing product that not everyone will buy   Then… Add a new Product   Billing Considerations: align the rate plans to the existing product   SCENARIO 3   If you are… Making an existing product available at a discount for a period   Then… Add a New Rate Plan   Billing Considerations: Zuora’s discount charge model allows you to specify the discount and duration   ... View more