SaaS Billings Calculator

Billings measure how much you have invoiced customers in a period, and they sit between bookings and recognised revenue as one of the most useful cash facing SaaS metrics. This calculator works out billings the standard accounting way: it takes the revenue you recognised in the period and adds the change in deferred revenue, which is the closing deferred balance minus the opening balance. The logic is simple once you see it. Deferred revenue is money you have billed but not yet earned, so when that balance grows it means you invoiced more than you recognised, and that extra amount is added back to reveal what you actually billed. New Zealand SaaS and subscription businesses track billings because they reflect real invoicing activity and cash collection timing, which revenue alone can smooth away when customers pay annually up front. To use the tool, enter the revenue recognised in the period, the opening deferred revenue balance and the closing deferred revenue balance. The calculator returns total billings along with the change in deferred revenue so you can see how much of the billing was prepaid for future periods. A few tips keep the result reliable. Use balances from the same period and the same ledger so the opening and closing figures line up. Remember that billings can exceed revenue when annual contracts are invoiced up front, and can fall below revenue when deferred balances unwind. Finally, compare billings with bookings and recognised revenue together, because the three tell a fuller story: bookings show demand, billings show invoicing and cash, and revenue shows delivery. Used this way, billings give a clear view of the cash engine behind your recurring revenue.

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Revenue recognised ($)

Opening deferred revenue ($)

Closing deferred revenue ($)

$230,000

Billings

Change in deferred$30,000

Billings = revenue + (closing deferred - opening deferred). Estimate only, not financial or tax advice.

How it works

The calculator adds recognised revenue to the change in deferred revenue, where the change is closing minus opening. Closing deferred of $80,000 minus opening of $50,000 is a change of $30,000. Adding that to $200,000 of revenue gives billings of $230,000.

Worked example

With $200,000 of revenue, opening deferred of $50,000 and closing deferred of $80,000, the change in deferred is $30,000. Billings are $200,000 plus $30,000, which is $230,000.

Related calculators

Deferred Revenue Calculator: unearned prepaid revenue.
Revenue Recognition Calculator: straight line recognition.
SaaS Bookings Calculator: value signed in period.
Operating Cash Flow Calculator: cash from operations.

Frequently asked questions

What are SaaS billings?

Billings are the total amount you invoice customers in a period. They are calculated as recognised revenue plus the change in deferred revenue. Billings reflect invoicing and cash timing rather than earned revenue alone.

Why add the change in deferred revenue?

Deferred revenue is billed money you have not yet earned, so a rising balance means you invoiced more than you recognised. Adding the change back reveals the full amount billed in the period. A falling balance reduces billings below revenue.

Can billings be higher than revenue?

Yes. When customers pay annually up front, deferred revenue grows and billings exceed recognised revenue. When those balances unwind, billings can fall below revenue. The two rarely match exactly in a subscription business.