Automatically update prices on recurring invoices

[Burnish-Clay]

My sales tax rate changed, and I updated the price on some items in my catalog, but the recurring invoices using those items did not update with either the new tax rate or the item prices. Do I really have to go in an update 50+ recurring invoices individually or i there a way to push an update to all of them? 

[ashc]

Hey @Burnish-Clay and welcome to the Community.

We don't offer a way to bulk update invoices at this time. They have to be individually edited if the prices change. It might be easier just to start the group over with the new pricing instead.

[Benjaminmcmilla]

Wait, why is this not an option? Prices go up all the time. This should be a simple process. I update my prices and now I have to manually go into 132 different accounts to update the price? That’s kind of odd and tbh silly. Is there a reason for this? This is the same as the option to pause recurring invoices (simple concept yet not enabled). It’s a simple request and very strange Square doesn’t have that capability. 

[TheRealChipA]

@Benjaminmcmilla I was researching an answer for another seller’s question, and came upon yours which was similar in nature.  You’re probably well past wanting/needing an answer to this, but I thought I’d weigh in on the exchange here.

I can see where an automatic change to all existing recurring invoices could cause problems for some other sellers.  Let’s say another seller had iron-clad contracts with current customers for the duration of their recurring series, which locks in a guaranteed price.  Then, if Square automatically changed item/service prices for all customers, they would be violating contracts with existing customers which could place that Square seller in legal jeopardy.  This is also not desirable.

I can see that a feature request to Square, asking for the option to “change all existing recurring invoices” as well as future invoices, might be desirable.  But at least the way Square does it now allows sellers to control what price existing customers get versus what price new customers get.  Making it an option that we sellers choose makes some sense, I think.

Another feature request might be to give us a new option when setting up recurring series.  This option would allow us to toggle on/off something like “protect this series from future price changes.”  Then Square would know that for whatever reason this series was locked in and immune from changes other than governmental changes which no one is immune from.

I’ll end with the observation that bulk edit options of recurring invoices can be equally problematic.  There is no way that any of us can know from looking at a list of over a hundred customers who the new price would or would not apply to.  By giving us carte-blanche ability to change all, Square might be opening a can of worms we all would regret.  Better to let us specify who is “locked in” and who is not when we first create the recurring series.

And, I’ll agree with @Burnish-Clay that sales tax increases should be automatic, and Square should just auto-apply them across the board from the date of our change onward.  That’s a governmental issue that can get our licenses revoked. @ashc that is a very legal question vs a contractual question that I believe you missed the nuances of.  If tax rates change, the government doesn’t care if we have to bulk edit or not.  They care that we start THEN AND THERE charging the new tax rate, period, end of sentence.  Other price changes are less important to them.  Sales tax rates should be automatic and immediate with Square, no exceptions.

Just my two cents.