Use case
Usage billed in the product. Accounted for… where?
Definition
Usage-based billing accounting meters consumption, rates it against contract pricing, invoices the result, and recognises revenue correctly for consumption, seat-based, and hybrid models. The failure mode is three numbers: Stripe, the contract, and the GL. Lucius rates usage against the contract, posts billed and recognised amounts to the stateful ledger, and reconciles processor settlement to that same state so billed usage, revenue, and cash can tie.
Map your usage workflow
Share how metering, contracts, and invoicing run today. We'll show where they connect on one ledger.
The problem
- Usage events live in product systems, pricing lives in contracts, and billing lives in a processor — finance stitches them together to invoice and recognise.
- Tiered pricing, commitments, overages, and true-ups make both invoicing and revenue recognition hard to get right.
- Recognised revenue and billed usage drift apart, so margins and ARR are estimated rather than known.
- Stripe, the contract, and the GL each show a different number for the same period, so close becomes a three-way recon.
How Lucius solves it
- Lucius rates usage against contract pricing, generates invoices, and posts revenue on the correct schedule from one maintained state.
- Commitments, overages, and true-ups are computed against contract terms and post to the stateful ledger with a full trail.
- Billed usage, recognised revenue, and receivables stay aligned, so usage-based margins and ARR are accurate in real time.
- Processor settlement and contract-rated usage share the same ledger, so Stripe versus contract versus GL is a rollforward, not a spreadsheet.
Workflow
- 1
Ingest usage events
Metered activity lands in Lucius and attaches to the governing contract.
- 2
Rate against pricing
Tiers, commitments, overages, and hybrid rules produce a rated charge.
- 3
Invoice on the contract cadence
The invoice is a claim on the same state, not a second system's opinion.
- 4
Post to the ledger
AR, revenue, and (where relevant) deferred revenue follow the event.
- 5
Report from one number
Usage, billing, and the P&L reconcile because they were never separate.
Example data flow
| From | To | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Usage event | Rated charge | Consumption is priced against contract tiers and commitments. |
| Rated charge | Invoice | Rated usage becomes a scheduled invoice linked to the contract. |
| Invoice | Receivable + revenue | The ledger posts the claim and the recognition treatment together. |
Frequently asked questions
Does Lucius replace Stripe Billing?
Not necessarily. Lucius can sit as the financial system of record while Stripe remains the collection layer, or own more of the billing path as you expand. The test is whether usage events, invoices, and the ledger share one state. When they do, billed usage, receivables, and recognised revenue stop drifting into three different numbers at month-end.
Do you support hybrid pricing (subscription + usage)?
Yes. Seat, consumption, and hybrid models rate against the same contract object. Tiers, commitments, overages, and true-ups compute from those terms and post to the stateful ledger with a trail, so finance is not maintaining a parallel pricing spreadsheet next to the product meter.
What about true-ups and overages?
True-ups and overages are computed from contract terms and posted as events, not as a month-end surprise in Excel. Rated charges become invoices on the contract cadence, and the ledger posts the claim and the recognition treatment together.
Does billed usage stay aligned with revenue?
Yes. Billed usage, recognised revenue, and receivables share the same ledger, so margins and ARR are accurate in real time rather than reconstructed from Stripe exports and a recognition spreadsheet.
Why do Stripe, the contract, and the GL disagree?
They are three systems representing financial state. Stripe has charges and payouts. The contract has committed volume and overage rates. The GL has whatever was journaled at close. Lucius rates usage against the contract and posts billed and recognised amounts to the stateful ledger, then reconciles processor settlement to the same state so the three-way recon is a rollforward.
How do prepaid credits differ from usage invoices?
Usage invoices bill consumption after the fact. Prepaid credits collect cash or a receivable up front and recognise as the customer burns. Both need product, balances, GL, and cash to tie. Use the credit ledger page when the commercial object is a prepaid pool rather than a metered invoice.
Map your usage workflow
Share how metering, contracts, and invoicing run today. We'll show where they connect on one ledger.
Map your usage workflowOr explore the stateful ledger — Lucius's financial system of record.