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Overview
This article provides a comprehensive guide for merchants and support agents on how to configure, understand, and begin recognizing revenue using Recurly RevRec. It covers product tiers, setup requirements, and how to verify that revenue is tracking correctly to ensure compliance with accounting standards.
What is Recurly RevRec
Recurly RevRec is an automated revenue recognition engine designed to help subscription businesses comply with ASC 606 and IFRS 15 standards. Instead of manually tracking when you should recognize revenue, this tool handles the calculations, schedules, and reporting for you. It takes data from your billing records and produces the deferred and recognized revenue schedules your finance team needs.
It is important to remember that revenue recognition is not the same as cash collection. Recurly RevRec tracks when revenue is earned—meaning when a service is actually delivered—which is often different from when a customer pays their bill. Any revenue that hasn't been earned yet stays on your balance sheet as deferred revenue.
Choose your product tier
Recurly RevRec is available in four tiers. You can confirm which tier you're using by navigating to App Management within your admin settings.
Essentials: Available as an add-on for any plan. It includes core compliance features, waterfall reports, and deferred revenue scheduling.
Advanced: Available for Professional or Elite plans. This tier adds complex features like the SSP Analyzer, variable considerations, multi-book, and multi-entity support.
Standalone: This tier doesn't require a Recurly billing plan. Data is ingested via the Inbound API or manual uploads, and it includes the full Advanced feature set.
Legacy: This tier is sunset as of October 31, 2025. It provides read-only access to historical data, and users should upgrade to a modern tier to continue recognition.
Initial setup steps
Follow these steps in order to ensure Recurly RevRec functions correctly. Skipping steps—especially GL account mapping—is the most common reason revenue doesn't appear in your reports.
Enable Recurly RevRec: Go to Integrations in your admin settings and enable the app to create your workspace and begin the data sync.
Map your GL accounts: You must map your revenue, deferred revenue liability, and contra accounts. Revenue won't be recognized until these accounts are mapped.
Flag plans and items: For every plan or add-on that should generate revenue, confirm that revenue recognition is enabled at the plan level.
Configure your recognition policy: Work with your accounting team to decide what triggers recognition, such as the invoice date or service delivery date.
Verify the data sync: For Essentials and Advanced tiers, the sync is automatic. Standalone users must manually push data via the Inbound API or file uploads.
Use the setup wizard: Walk through the guided wizard on your dashboard to confirm the configuration is complete.
Verifying your first transaction
Once you've finished the setup, use this checklist to make sure your transactions are recognizing correctly:
The transaction appears in the Documents list.
The transaction is linked to a revenue-bearing plan.
All GL accounts are fully mapped.
The recognition policy matches your accounting team's requirements.
The sync timestamp is current.
The transaction appears on the Revenue Schedule or Waterfall report.
The recognized amount matches the expected value for the service period.
Key reports for finance teams
Recurly RevRec provides several reports to help with period close and audits.
Revenue Waterfall: Shows a period-by-period schedule of deferred and recognized revenue.
Deferred Revenue Rollforward: Tracks the opening balance, additions, releases, and closing balance of deferred revenue.
Revenue Schedule: Provides a line-level look at recognition for each contract or document.
GL Reconciliation: Maps recognized revenue to GL account postings for audit verification.
SSP / Allocation Report: Available on the Advanced tier for fair-value allocation.
Multi-Book Comparison: Available on the Advanced tier to compare different accounting policies side-by-side.
What Recurly RevRec doesn't do
While Recurly RevRec automates the mechanics of recognition, there are certain areas that require your own accounting expertise. Our support team cannot provide guidance on:
Tax codes: We handle recognition timing, not tax classification.
Compliance validation: Your auditors must validate if your specific policy meets accounting standards.
Policy selection: Your accounting team must determine which recognition policy is right for your business.
ERP logins: Recurly doesn't log into your third-party GL or ERP systems; we provide the data exports for you to ingest.
How to get help
If you've completed the setup and see unexpected behavior, use this guide to contact the right team:
For configuration issues: Contact Recurly Support for help with GL mapping, report filters, or plan-level settings.
For sync issues: Contact Tier 1 if the sync has stalled for less than 24 hours. If it has been longer than 24 hours, escalate to Tier 2 Support immediately.
For data integrity: If revenue is recognized at the wrong amount or date, contact Tier 2 Support. Do not close your books until the issue is resolved.
For custom integrations: Contact Professional Services if you need help with a Standalone ERP integration or a custom data pipeline.
For upcoming audits: If you have data gaps and an audit is approaching, escalate to Tier 2 Support immediately with your audit date.
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