Rebill Overview

What is Rebill?

To better understand the term rebill, it is necessary to understand what a recurring bill is. When a product is purchased, the customer makes an initial pro-rated payment that is charged consistently in subsequent months, depending on the rate selected. This is particularly attractive to the customer, as he or she can have full access to the service or product with the first payment. The company, usually the subscription provider, therefore sets the monthly costs in its rate plan.  Whereby it can be observed that annual payments are usually cheaper than monthly payments, even though the monthly price is often more attractive to the end customer due to the small amount involved.

The term “Rebill”

In the literal translation, “rebill” means to charge again, as the suffix “Re” usually stands for repetition. It does not mean that the product or service is purchased frequently. Instead, the term stands for recurring payment until the value of the service is fully provided. This payment method is used especially for subscriptions or memberships e.g. to companies, software subscriptions, websites etc. to use. The customer’s account is thus debited on a cyclical basis, the calculation itself can be done monthly, quarterly or annually to buy or use the “recurring products“.

How does the customer know when the rebill cycle begins and ends?

To start the rebill process, the customer selects a tariff that most closely matches their preferred payment method and desired payment period. The customer thus agrees to a payment method that is usually monthly. Prior to payment, it is common for the company from which the customer purchased the product to send a notification to schedule and remind the customer to pay.

The debit of the customer’s monthly costs are made in accordance with the signed contract and immediately upon completion of the purchase of the product or service. From then on, the payment cycle, i.e. the rebill process, officially starts.  For example, if a product or service is purchased on the fifth of May of a given year and a monthly cycle is selected, the next debit to the customer’s account will automatically occur on the fifth of June of the same year until the customer’s cancellation request occurs.

When can Rebill be terminated?

Onward billing ends when the contract is terminated at the end of a payment period. The respective notice periods must of course be observed.

For example, a minimum one-year contract signature can be terminated at the end of the year, subject to the relevant notice period. In this way, there will be no further payments at the beginning of the following year. In most cases, due to the right of cancellation, the termination can still be made within the first two weeks after conclusion of the contract.

If the customer’s payment fails, they typically receive a notification to update their account or card information and can continue to use the product with the payment information update.

Conclusion: Rebill as a win-win for customers and companies

 The Rebill payment method is particularly valuable for both customers and companies. With a low monthly charge, rebill is particularly popular in the B2C sector. This way, customers have full access to a product or service without paying the full amount right away. For the company, the subscription can also be seen as a successful CRM measure, as the customer can thus be tied to the company in the long term.

This way of purchasing products and services is quite easy, as payments can be made in various ways, such as by Direct Debit, credit card or through other payment service providers; moreover, Rebill is very agile when it comes to adjusting the chosen rate or canceling the product or service.

Rebill is also an ideal payment method in the B2B sector, for example in Cloud Computing, in order to make recurring use not only of a product but also of services – with recurring billing.