Glossary

CPQ & subscription quoting glossary

The vocabulary of quoting recurring revenue, in plain English. For the math behind coterm deals, read the coterm quoting guide.

CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote)

Software that helps a seller assemble the right products, apply the right pricing rules, and produce a customer-ready quote. In subscription businesses the hard part is pricing math across terms, not product configuration.

Coterm (co-termination)

Aligning multiple subscriptions so they all end on the same date. When you add a product mid-contract, you coterm it by charging only for the remaining months until the shared contract end date.

Proration

Charging a partial-period price. For a $120/year license added with 5 months left, the prorated amount is 120 x (5/12) = $50. Proration errors are the most common source of quote disputes in SaaS resale.

Contract end date

The date all coterm lines are aligned to. Sasquote stores this per client so every add-on quote automatically prorates to the correct remaining term.

Anniversary date

The recurring yearly date a subscription renews. Anniversary billing keeps a customer's renewal in the same month every year even as they add seats mid-term.

Add-on quote

A quote for additional seats or products layered onto an existing contract, priced only for the remaining term rather than a full year.

True-up

A reconciliation charge at renewal that captures usage or seats added during the term that were not billed at the time.

MRR / ARR

Monthly and Annual Recurring Revenue — the normalized value of subscriptions. A prorated add-on adds full ARR at renewal even though the first invoice is partial.

Quote-to-cash

The full path from building a quote through acceptance, invoicing, and payment collection. Shortening it usually means fewer handoffs, not more software.

Bill to / Ship to

The billing entity versus the delivery or service location. They are often the same, which is why quoting tools offer a 'same as bill to' shortcut.

Quote acceptance

The customer's confirmation of a quote, typically via a shareable link. Acceptance converts the quote into an order and, for subscriptions, sets the contract start date.

Open tracking

Knowing when a recipient viewed an emailed quote, usually via a tracking pixel. Useful for timing follow-up rather than guessing.

Seat

One licensed user of a subscription product. Seat-based pricing means quote totals scale with headcount, so mid-term seat adds need proration.

Renewal quote

A quote covering the next full term for an existing customer, typically issued 30-90 days before the contract end date.