Revenue recognition

Cash arrives when an invoice is paid, but revenue is earned over the period you deliver the service. Revenue recognition translates VINR billing activity — invoices, refunds, and credits — into recognized and deferred revenue over time, so your books reflect when value was delivered rather than when money moved.

Recognition basicsAskCopy

When a customer pays €120 upfront for a year of service, you have not earned €120 — you have earned roughly €10 per month. VINR splits every invoice line item into two ledgers:

Recognized plus deferred always equals booked for a given line item. As each day passes, VINR moves a slice from deferred to recognized.

Deferred vs. recognizedAskCopy

The split is driven by the line item's service period — the window over which the obligation is fulfilled. A monthly subscription line has a one-month service period; a one-off setup fee may recognize immediately.

import { Vinr } from '@vinr/sdk';
const vinr = new Vinr({ secretKey: process.env.VINR_SECRET_KEY });

// Inspect how a paid invoice is recognized over time.
const schedule = await vinr.revenue.schedules.retrieve('inv_8Qz1Kp');

console.log(schedule.booked);      // 12000  → €120.00 total
console.log(schedule.recognized);  // 1000   → €10.00 earned so far
console.log(schedule.deferred);    // 11000  → €110.00 still a liability

A €120/year subscription finalized on Jan 1 recognizes ~€10 each month. By March 31 you have recognized €30 and deferred €90 — even though all €120 hit your bank in January.

Schedules & rulesAskCopy

A recognition schedule is the per-line plan for moving revenue from deferred to recognized. VINR generates one automatically from each finalized invoice line, using the recognition rule that matches the line.

Reports & exportsAskCopy

Pull recognized revenue for any window — for example, a monthly close.

curl https://api.vinr.com/v1/revenue/reports \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $VINR_SECRET_KEY" \
  -d "period_start=2026-05-01" \
  -d "period_end=2026-05-31" \
  -d "group_by=account"

{
  "object": "revenue.report",
  "period": { "start": "2026-05-01", "end": "2026-05-31" },
  "currency": "EUR",
  "totals": { "recognized": 482300, "deferred_end": 1190050 },
  "by_account": [
    { "account": "4000-subscriptions", "recognized": 461200 },
    { "account": "4010-setup-fees",    "recognized":  21100 }
  ]
}

Reports are immutable once a period is closed, giving you an auditable trail. Export as CSV for spreadsheets or JSON for your ledger sync, and reconcile recognized against the journal entries in your accounting system.

Working with your accountantAskCopy

VINR produces the schedules; your finance team owns the policy decisions. Agree up front on the recognition method per product, the chart-of-accounts mapping, and your close cadence. Lock each period only after reconciling — reopening a closed period regenerates downstream reports.

Next stepsAskCopy