Your billing date is the day each month your food businesses are charged for their monthly plan amount, storage, recurring fees, and any overage from the previous month (if set to charge monthly).
Two other dates are calculated automatically from your billing date:
Bill Generation Date — when your monthly bills are created and made available for you to review. This is at least 8 days before your billing date (billing dates on the 7th and 8th are generated on the 28th of the prior month, giving those billing dates a bit of extra review time). Note: once a bill generates, it doesn't mean it's closed; last minute bookings at the end of the month or adjustments can still be made leading up to the actual billing date.
Client Notification Date — when your food businesses are notified that their bill is ready to review. This is always at least 3 days before your billing date, and notifications go out at 9am in each food business's local timezone.
This gives you (and your clients) a consistent review window every month, no matter which billing date you choose.
A few common examples:
Bill Generates | Client Notified | Billing Date |
23rd (prior month) | 28th (prior month) | 1st |
27th (prior month) | 2nd | 5th |
7th | 12th | 15th |
20th | 25th | 28th |
You can choose any billing date from the 1st through the 28th. Dates 29–31 aren't available, so your schedule stays consistent every month, including February.
How to change your billing date
You can update your billing date any time, directly in your account:
Go to Kitchen Settings > General > Billing Clients.
Click the edit icon (pencil) next to Monthly Billing Date.
Select your new billing date (any day from the 1st to the 28th).
Click Save. Your new Bill Generation Date and Client Notification Date are calculated and shown automatically right on this page.
Note: you can't change your billing date while you have a pending monthly bill. If the edit option is greyed out, that's why — once your current bills have been charged, you'll be able to make the change. Hovering over (or tapping) the greyed-out icon shows this message: "You have pending bills for [Month]. Your billing date can be updated once these bills have been charged."
Depending on when you make the change, there may be a longer gap than usual before your next billing cycle — this is expected, and no activity is lost in the transition.
A few examples of good timing:
Billing date is the 5th: best time to change is the 6th–19th. Avoid the 20th onward — that's when your next bill generation begins on the 27th, and changes made close to that date may leave very little review time on your first new cycle.
Billing date is the 15th: best time to change is the 16th through the 6th of the following month. Avoid the 7th–14th — your bills generate on the 7th and any change made after that point will take effect the following month.
Billing date is the 28th: best time to change is the 29th through the 19th of the following month. Avoid the 20th–27th — your bills generate on the 20th and changes made after that will take effect the following month.
If you're unsure, the safest rule of thumb: change your billing date in the first few days after your billing date has passed.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the edit button for my billing date greyed out?
This happens when you have a pending monthly bill — billing date changes aren't available until that bill has been charged. It's a timing thing, not an error: once the pending bill clears, the edit option opens back up automatically. Hovering over (or tapping) the icon shows: "You have pending bills for [Month]. Your billing date can be updated once these bills have been charged."
When's the best time to change my billing date, to avoid disruption?
The smoothest time is within a day or two after your current billing date has charged — your clients have just been billed, there are no pending bills, and you have the most time before your next cycle begins. Changing your billing date close to your bill generation date isn't recommended, since you may end up with a very short review window on your first cycle under the new schedule.
Why did my bill generate earlier (or later) than usual this month?
Your bill generation date is calculated at least 8 days before your billing date, and your client notification date is at least 3 days before your billing date. So if either date has moved, it's because your billing date changed — or your schedule was recently updated. Your billing date itself never changes unless you change it. You can confirm your specific dates any time in Kitchen Settings > General > Billing Clients.
My initial bill notification showed one amount, but my client was charged a different amount. What happened?
When a bill generates, it captures all activity up to that point. If additional charges finalize after the bill generates but before your billing date — like overage hours or equipment bookings that close out late in the month — those are automatically added to the pending bill. The amount charged on your billing date is always the final, accurate total.
I just added a new food business as a client — will they get billed this month?
If you add them after your bill generation date but before your billing date, a bill generates for them right away so they're included in the current cycle. If you add them on your billing date itself, their bill generates and charges the same day, with no advance notification — they'll receive a charge receipt once payment processes. To make sure your clients have time to review their bill before being charged, it's best to add new clients before your bill generation date whenever possible.
Can I change my billing date whenever I want?
Almost — the one restriction is that you can't change it while you have a pending monthly bill. This keeps things unambiguous about which generation and review dates apply to bills already in progress. Once your pending bills are charged, the option opens back up.