What you need to know about monthly invoice billing

If you have a reasonably high monthly spend, you might want to consider the monthly invoice option.

Monthly invoice billing is a payment option where Microsoft Advertising extends you a credit line to accrue advertising charges. You then receive a monthly invoice and pay based on the terms and conditions of your contract. Your eligibility for monthly invoicing is subject to credit approval and might require you to meet certain spending minimums. (See Apply for monthly invoice billing for more information.) If you are interested in other types of payment options, see What are my billing options? Pay now or pay later.

How does monthly invoicing work?

You'll get a credit line when your monthly invoice account is approved. Then, you can create an insertion order (IO) to manage your advertising spend and budgets. An IO is an agreement that states that you, as the advertiser, are prepared to spend up to a specified amount in a specified time and that Microsoft Advertising will not charge you more than this.

If you are an agency managing a client's account, you will be able to create, edit, approve, and cancel IOs on your client's behalf, regardless of who the bill-to customer is for the account. Learn how to create and edit an insertion order.

How do I calculate a budget?

After you have a credit line, you can calculate your spend based on your insertion orders and campaign budgets.

Example

You have an active insertion order for $5,000 that covers the month of November. You have three campaigns running, so you set the combined budgets for those campaigns to not exceed $5,000:

Campaign 1: $2000
Campaign 2: $2000
Campaign 3: $1000

If you are using daily budgets, you'll need to divide the monthly budgets by 30 to get the daily budget you should set.

At the end of the month, your existing insertion order expires, a new insertion order that you created starts, and we send you an invoice for your November advertising spend. Based on the terms of your credit line, you have 30 days to make a payment. Because you are continuing to accrue charges during this 30-day period, your credit line needs to be roughly twice your IO amount for two months (in this example, $10,000).

What happens if I don't use all of my budget in my insertion order?

You are only responsible for the charges you accrue. For example, if you have only accrued $4,000 in charges in your $5,000 insertion order this month, then you will only be billed for $4,000. Remember that an insertion order specifies the maximum of what you're willing to pay. The amount you pay may be less based on ad performance.

What happens if I reach my credit line?

As you get close to your credit line, we will send you an email and you'll see a message when you sign in to Microsoft Advertising. These notifications will be sent 14 days prior to when we estimate you will reach your credit line, so that you have time to send a payment and have it processed. (Payment processing can take up to 5 business days.)

When you reach your credit line, we will notify you through email and in Microsoft Advertising. If you do not make a payment, your account might be placed on hold until a payment is received. When an account is on hold, no ads are eligible to run. If your account is on hold, you will be notified through email and in Microsoft Advertising. For more information, see Why is my account on hold?

Is a credit line the same thing as an insertion order?

No, they are two separate items. A credit line allows you to accrue advertising charges up to a limit on Microsoft Advertising. An insertion order is a contract in which you agree to spend up to a certain amount (not exceeding your credit line) over a time period.

How do I receive my monthly invoice?

If you qualify for monthly invoice billing, we will send you an invoice via email at the beginning of each month for the previous month's charges. In general, new invoices are emailed on the 2nd business day of each month. Current and past monthly invoices are always available on the Microsoft Advertising Billing tab. Learn how to view and print your monthly invoice.

What charges are included in the monthly invoice?

Invoices are calculated by adding up all of the billing activity (charges and credits) in your Microsoft Advertising accounts for the previous month. Invoices do not show past due activity on an account, but you can find your total amount due on the Billing tab in Microsoft Advertising.

How do I pay my invoice?

Depending on your business location, you can pay for your invoice by wire transfer or ACH. You can find the remittance instructions on your invoice for the specific ways you can pay, the due date (net terms), and the specific customer service contact if you have questions.

Important: To speed up payment processing, you must include your invoice number and account number with your payment. Without this information, payment processing time can be greatly increased beyond our typical 5 days.

What if I'm an agency managing a monthly invoice account?

If you are an agency managing a client's account, you can create, edit, approve, and cancel insertion orders on behalf of your client, regardless of who the bill-to customer is for the account. The agency user must be either a Super Admin or a Standard User.

Can I change from monthly invoicing to other payment options?

Yes. If you decide you do not want to continue with monthly invoice payment and want to switch to postpay threshold or prepay, then please contact your Account Manager or contact support.