Why Your Multi-Year Kayako Subscription Shows an Expiry Date Only One Year Away

Source ticket: 60481450

Overview

Customers with a multi-year Kayako agreement that is billed annually may notice that their instance shows a subscription expiry date only about one year away, even though the signed agreement runs for several years. Because a renewal representative may confirm the longer contract term, the shorter date shown on the instance can look like an error or a technical problem.

This is expected behavior. On multi-year agreements with annual billing, the instance license is issued one contract year at a time, matching the annual billing schedule. The expiry date shown on the instance reflects the current contract year, not the final end date of the agreement. The expiry date moves forward automatically with each annual renewal. A manual license extension is not needed.

Solution or Explanation

Why the expiry date is only one year away

• Your contract term (for example, three years) is set by your signed agreement.
• Your instance license covers one billing year at a time. The expiry_at value shown for your instance is the end of the current contract year.
• When the renewal for the next contract year is processed, the expiry date moves forward automatically into that next year. This repeats each year until the agreement ends.

So a date one year away does not mean that your contract is shorter than agreed, and it does not mean that your service will stop at that date. It reflects how annually billed licenses work.

What to do

1. Check the current expiry date. While signed in to your instance, open https://<instance_name>.kayako.com/api/v1/plan?fields=expiry_at and look at the expiry_at value. For more details, see How to Check Your Kayako Account's Plan Type, Agent Seat Limit, and Subscription Expiry Date.
2. Confirm your full contract term if needed. Your signed agreement shows the full term and the annual billing schedule. If you need the contract term confirmed, contact your renewals representative.
3. Watch for the annual renewal invoice. The invoice for the next contract year is generated by the system close to your renewal date and cannot be sent in advance. It is emailed to the registered billing email address on file, so make sure that this address is valid and active, and check the spam folder.
4. Pay the invoice by its due date. If a valid credit card is saved on your account, it is charged automatically when the invoice is generated. Otherwise, use the payment options in the invoice, including the direct payment link.

No manual license extension is needed for this situation. The expiry date moves forward through the normal annual renewal cycle.

Example

An agreement runs for three years, from September of Year 1 to September of Year 4, and is billed once a year. During the second contract year, expiry_at shows a date in September or October of Year 3, not Year 4. When the renewal for the third contract year is processed, expiry_at moves forward to a date in Year 4.

Verification

After the renewal invoice for the next contract year has been issued, open https://<instance_name>.kayako.com/api/v1/plan?fields=expiry_at again while signed in. The renewal worked if expiry_at now shows a date in the next contract year.

Additional Notes

• The updated expiry date may not match, to the day, the term end date printed on your agreement. What matters is that it falls in the correct contract year.
• Open a support request if any of the following happen:
  • The renewal invoice has not arrived as your current expiry date gets close.
  • The expiry date has not moved forward after the renewal invoice was paid.
  • You see a "License has expired" message even though payment was collected.
• Include your Kayako instance URL, the current expiry_at value, the contract end date on your agreement, and the invoice number or payment reference, if you have them.
• If a subscription expires, access usually continues for a grace period, which is generally seven days. See Access to the Instance After License Expiration.
• Kayako no longer accepts payment by bank transfer. Use the payment link in your invoice instead.

References

Relevant Knowledge Base Articles

• How to Check Your Kayako Account's Plan Type, Agent Seat Limit, and Subscription Expiry Date
• Failed Renewal Due to Non-Receipt of Invoice
• Kayako Subscription or Account License Has Expired Error
• Access to the Instance After License Expiration
• Paying by Bank Transfer and Wire (Deprecated)