Deferred Revenue Schedule for SaaS
Turn anonymous subscription contracts into a monthly revenue schedule. See what you billed, collected, earned, and still owe in service, then download the reconciled roll-forward.
- CSV and journal export
- Up to 30 contracts
- Runs in your browser
| Month | Billed | Earned | Closing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | $12,000 | $1,019 | $10,981 |
| Feb 2026 | — | $921 | $10,060 |
| Mar 2026 | — | $1,019 | $9,041 |
| Apr 2026 | $48,000 | $2,956 | $54,085 |
| May 2026 | — | $3,055 | $51,030 |
| Jun 2026 | — | $2,956 | $48,074 |
Build your schedule
Start with anonymous sample contracts or paste up to 30 contract rows. All math stays in your browser. Do not paste customer names or other personal information.
This opening amount is carried as unallocated. Add the underlying contracts if you want the schedule to release it into revenue; it is excluded from the current versus long-term split.
Paste contract CSV
Required headers: serviceStartDate, serviceEndDate, invoiceDate, recurringValue. Optional: label, collectionDate, oneTimeFee, discount. Use ISO dates (YYYY-MM-DD). This replaces the base contracts after validation.
Base contracts
Confirm the simple-service assumption above to view the schedule.
What the schedule measures
Deferred revenue is the part of a billed subscription you have not yet earned by providing service. The schedule follows each contract month by month and keeps four events separate: the signed commitment, invoice, cash collection, and earned revenue. A founder can use it beside the SaaS chart of accounts to understand which liability account needs to reconcile.
The SaaS accounting guide explains the broader bookkeeping workflow. This builder focuses on the contract schedule itself.
For an annual plan invoiced and paid on January 1 for $12,000, the cash and billings arrive in January. Service is delivered through December, so the amount earned is spread across the service period. The opening liability, new invoices, and revenue earned explain the closing balance. The example tool above uses actual calendar days, so a 365-day term has small differences between months.
The roll-forward formula
The unbilled asset appears when service is delivered before the invoice. That balance is separate from the deferred liability rather than a negative liability. Cash collection is also separate: an invoice can increase receivables before any cash arrives. Use the bookings versus billings guide for the broader contract-to-cash definitions.
A multi-year example
Suppose a $48,000 subscription runs from April 2026 through March 2028 and is invoiced in full at the start. At the end of April, most of that invoice is still deferred. The schedule shows how much is expected to be earned in the next twelve months as current deferred revenue and how much belongs beyond that as long-term. The sample contract in the builder uses these dates so you can inspect the month-by-month result.
A separate opening ledger balance is shown as unallocated until you enter its underlying contracts. The tool never guesses its release date or current-versus-long-term classification. Link the output to your P&L and financial model to see why earned revenue and available cash answer different questions.
How the arithmetic works
The net subscription value equals recurring contract value minus the entered discount. The model allocates that net amount by service days, rounds cumulative earned revenue to cents, and gives the last service month any rounding remainder. It assumes each row is one ratable subscription obligation. A one-time fee is billed with the invoice and earned in the service-start month only if it is a distinct service delivered then. Enter an actual cash collection date to keep cash and receivables separate.
The CSV schedule and journal view are planning aids. The journal view splits billing, collection, and earned revenue across receivables, cash, deferred revenue, and a contract asset. Review the account mapping and recognition policy with an accountant before posting entries. If you need to test how a modification changes a simple contract, use the modified scenario in the builder; it replaces assumptions for comparison rather than automating modification accounting.
Why the balance matters for funding
A founder preparing for funding diligence needs to explain why cash received from annual prepayments differs from revenue earned. A schedule that reconciles invoices, cash, receivables, and deferred revenue makes that explanation easier to check. Pair it with the financial health tools to examine runway and cash needs.
Founderpath provides non-dilutive SaaS funding from $10K MRR, subject to underwriting. A clean schedule can support your records, but it does not determine eligibility or an offer.
Where the simple model stops
Contracts with several performance obligations, usage-based charges, variable consideration, refunds, material rights, tax, or unusual implementation work need a separate accounting review. This tool does not determine whether straight-line recognition is appropriate or claim ASC 606 or IFRS 15 compliance. The IFRS 15 standard overview explains that recognition depends on the promises in a contract and how obligations are satisfied.
For planning beyond the books, compare the earned revenue with ARR, MRR, profit margin, runway, and debt capacity. Those are different measures; none substitutes for a reconciled liability balance.