The quick answer
A billing account carries one billing schedule, so a customer that needs two billing cycles needs two billing accounts. Open the customer, go to the Billing Accounts subtab and click New. Enter a Name, confirm the Currency, choose the Billing Schedule and Start Date, pick the bill-to and ship-to address, and save. Leave Customer Default cleared so the account that's already the default stays that way. Then point each subscription at the billing account whose cycle it should follow.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. Use your own customer, schedules and dates when following the steps.
Before you start
In this example, Larkspur Veterinary Group pays for a clinic-management license once a year through an existing billing account on an annual schedule. Its SMS reminder usage has to be billed every month. You'll add a second billing account on a monthly schedule and leave the annual one as the default.
The account needs SuiteBilling with Billing Accounts, Charge-Based Billing and Subscription Billing enabled, plus whatever those features require in your account (Enable Features and Accounting Preferences will say, for example Consolidate Projects on Sales Transactions). A monthly billing schedule must already exist. Billing schedules are separate records that billing accounts point to. A fixed bill-date schedule bills on set dates, such as the 1st of each month. An anniversary schedule bases the bill date on the billing account's start date. You need a role that can create and edit billing accounts and customers.
Menu paths and some field labels can differ by release, role and custom form. If a page isn't where it says, search for its name in global search.
01. Review the existing billing account
Open Larkspur Veterinary Group from Lists > Relationships > Customers and click the Billing Accounts subtab. One account is listed: BACC000214, Larkspur - Annual License. It's the Customer Default, with Frequency Annually, Last Bill Cycle Date 01/01/2026, Next Bill Cycle Date 01/01/2027 and Currency US Dollar. Every subscription billed through it follows that annual cycle.
02. Start a new billing account
On the Billing Accounts subtab, click New. The Billing Account form opens with Custom Form Standard Billing Account, Account Number To Be Generated, and Customer Larkspur Veterinary Group filled in. Subsidiary shows the customer's subsidiary, Fernhill Holdings : Fernhill US.
You can also start from Lists > Relationships > Billing Accounts > New, but then you pick the customer yourself.
03. Enter the name and billing schedule
Enter Name Larkspur - Monthly Usage. Leave Customer Default cleared so the annual account stays the default. Check that Currency is US Dollar. It has to be a currency the customer can transact in, and it should match the subscriptions you'll bill through this account.
In the Billing section, choose Billing Schedule Monthly on the 1st. Frequency changes to Monthly; it comes from the schedule and can't be edited here. Enter Start Date 10/01/2026. Use Off-Cycle Invoice for Advance Charges is checked by default on this form. It only affects advance charges and has nothing to do with the monthly cycle or usage billing, so this example leaves it alone.
04. Choose the address and save
On the Address subtab, set Bill To Select and Ship To Select to Main Clinic. The full address fills in under Bill To and Ship To.
A billing account can carry default payment terms, but the standard form in this example doesn't show a terms field. If yours does, set it to match the customer's billing policy. If it doesn't, check the terms on the first invoice from this account instead of assuming where they come from. Click Save. NetSuite returns to the customer, and the new account gets the next number from your numbering setup, BACC000215 here.
05. Compare the two accounts
Back on the Billing Accounts subtab, read both rows.
Check the result
- BACC000214, Larkspur - Annual License: Customer Default checked, Frequency Annually, Next Bill Cycle Date 01/01/2027, US Dollar.
- BACC000215, Larkspur - Monthly Usage: Customer Default not checked, Frequency Monthly, Next Bill Cycle Date 10/01/2026, no Last Bill Date yet, US Dollar.
- Only one account is the customer default.
Creating the account doesn't move any subscription onto it, rate usage or create invoices. Open the usage subscription and set its Billing Account to BACC000215 so its charges follow the monthly cycle. On a new subscription you pick it before saving. On an active subscription, the change may have to go through a change order instead of a direct edit. The Next Bill Cycle Date depends on the schedule and start date, so compare it with your schedule's first eligible date.
The billing schedule decides when eligible charges are invoiced, not how they're calculated. The subscription plan, price book and usage records decide the amounts. Usage is still billed in arrears because its subscription plan line uses Billing Mode In Arrears, and it only reaches an invoice after usage is recorded and rated.
Common questions
Can one NetSuite customer have more than one billing account?
Yes. Each billing account has its own billing schedule, currency and bill-to and ship-to address. Larkspur Veterinary Group ends up with BACC000214 for the annual license and BACC000215 for monthly usage, and both are listed on the customer's Billing Accounts subtab.
What does Customer Default mean on a billing account?
It marks the account NetSuite uses when a new subscription or transaction for that customer doesn't name another one. Here BACC000214 stays the default and the new monthly account has Customer Default cleared.
Where is the billing schedule set?
On the billing account, in the Billing Schedule field of the Billing section. Frequency comes from the schedule you pick, so choosing Monthly on the 1st shows Monthly.
Does creating a billing account move existing subscriptions to it?
No. Every subscription keeps the billing account it already names. To move one, set its Billing Account on the subscription; an active subscription may need a change order to do that.
How do I bill a customer annually for one subscription and monthly for another?
Give the customer one billing account per cycle and point each subscription at the right one: the license subscription at the annual account, the usage subscription at the monthly account. The customer's Billing Accounts subtab shows each account's Frequency and Next Bill Cycle Date side by side.