Use case
Contract-to-cash with Lucius
Definition
Contract-to-cash is the end-to-end financial workflow that begins when a customer contract is signed and ends when payment has settled and is reflected in the books. It covers contract terms, scheduled billing, receivables, customer payments, processor settlement, revenue recognition, and reporting. In most growing companies this workflow spans documents, spreadsheets, billing tools, Stripe or similar processors, and a downstream general ledger, finance teams reconcile differences every month. Lucius unifies contract-to-cash in one stateful system so terms drive invoices, invoices drive receivables, payments settle obligations, and reporting comes from the same maintained state from roughly $1M to $100M+ ARR.
The problem
- Contract terms live in documents, billing logic lives in spreadsheets or a billing tool, payments live in a processor, and the ledger sits downstream — finance teams stitch them together every month.
- Recurring billing, usage true-ups, milestone invoices, and revenue recognition drift apart as the business scales.
- Settlement delays, processor fees, refunds, and chargebacks create gaps between recognised revenue and cash actually received.
How Lucius solves it
- Lucius treats the contract as a structured financial object. Billing schedules, deferred revenue, revenue recognition, and receivables follow from the same source.
- Invoices, payments, and processor settlement are tracked against the same maintained financial state, so cash application is automatic when the chain is unambiguous.
- Journal entries are posted to the stateful ledger as activity happens, not assembled at close.
Workflow
- 1
Model the contract
Capture parties, term, pricing (fixed, recurring, usage, milestone), and revenue recognition rules.
- 2
Generate scheduled invoices
Lucius produces one-time, recurring, milestone, and usage true-up invoices on the right cadence.
- 3
Track receivables and payments
Customers pay via Stripe or other processors; reminders and collection workflows are built in.
- 4
Reconcile settlement
Processor payouts, fees, refunds, and bank settlement are matched against invoices automatically.
- 5
Recognise revenue and report
Deferred revenue and revenue schedules update the stateful ledger; reporting outputs follow in real time.
Example data flow
| From | To | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Contract | Invoice schedule | Signed contract terms generate one or more scheduled invoices and a revenue recognition schedule. |
| Invoice | Receivable + Deferred revenue | Issued invoice creates an AR posting and (where applicable) deferred revenue. |
| Payment | Processor capture | Customer payment is captured by the processor; Lucius records the in-flight balance. |
| Processor payout | Bank settlement | Processor payout settles to bank; fees and reserves are reconciled against the originating invoices. |
| Revenue schedule | Recognised revenue | Time-based or usage-based recognition posts revenue and clears deferred revenue against the ledger. |
Frequently asked questions
What is contract-to-cash?
Contract-to-cash is the full workflow from a signed customer contract through invoicing, payment capture, processor settlement, revenue recognition, and reporting. It begins when commercial terms are agreed and ends when cash is applied to the correct invoices and reflected in the books. Most companies run this across documents, spreadsheets, billing tools, Stripe, and a downstream general ledger, finance teams reconcile differences every month. Lucius unifies contract-to-cash in one stateful system so contract terms drive invoices, invoices drive receivables, and settled cash closes the loop automatically.
Does Lucius handle usage-based billing?
Yes. Lucius supports usage true-ups against contract pricing, posts revenue on the correct schedule, and ties usage events back to the contract that governs them. Usage data flows into scheduled invoices and deferred revenue schedules on the stateful ledger, not a spreadsheet assembled at close. That keeps recognised revenue, AR, and billed usage aligned for SaaS and marketplace models with metered components.
Where does revenue recognition fit?
Revenue recognition schedules are generated from contract terms and post directly to the stateful ledger as time passes or usage occurs. Deferred revenue, performance obligations, and recognised revenue share the same maintained state as invoices and payments. Reporting outputs, P&L, deferred revenue waterfall, ARR, derive from that state in real time instead of being reconstructed at month-end.
Can Lucius work alongside Stripe?
Yes. Lucius treats Stripe as a settlement layer and reconciles payouts, fees, refunds, and chargebacks back to the originating invoices.