mTik_Ops Blog

A Better Way to Handle Setup Fees, Installation Fees, and Lock-In Periods

If you've ever onboarded a new subscriber and thought, "Why is this still so manual?", this update is for you. We just rolled out a major improvement to how billing handles Setup Fees, Installation Fees, and Lock-In Periods. The goal is simple: make onboarding cleaner, billing more accurate, and contract management less stressful for your team.

Published Apr 7, 2026 3 min read Platform Updates
A Better Way to Handle Setup Fees, Installation Fees, and Lock-In Periods

Why We Built This

Before this update, setup-related charges often depended on manual workflows:

  • Teams had to remember whether to charge setup fees one-time or in parts
  • Lock-in terms could be tracked outside the system
  • Final billing at termination could become a messy calculation

That worked until operations scaled. Then it became a source of confusion, missed charges, and billing disputes.

So we fixed it.

What's New

1. Setup & Installation Fee During Onboarding

You can now apply setup/installation charges directly while onboarding a subscriber, with clear options:

  1. No Setup Fee
  2. With Setup Fee (One-Time)
  3. With Setup Fee (Staggered)

This gives your team a single, consistent flow from day one, instead of juggling separate billing steps later.

2. Policy-Driven Defaults

Workspace-level billing settings now support:

  • Default Setup & Installation Fee Amount

Disconnection Fee Mode
None
Fixed Amount
Monthly Bill Multiplier

Disconnection Fee Value
This means onboarding follows your billing policy automatically. Less guesswork, fewer accidental mismatches between what was promised and what gets billed.

3. Lock-In Period Support (12, 24, 36 Months)

When staggered setup fees are used, lock-in duration is now part of the same flow:

  • 12 months
  • 24 months
  • 36 months

The system calculates installment behavior based on the selected duration and keeps progress accurate over time.

4. Smarter Staggered Fee Handling

For staggered contracts, each billing cycle now applies the correct setup installment and tracks:

  • Installments paid
  • Total setup amount paid
  • Remaining setup balance

Even better: payment settlement is handled safely and idempotently, so duplicate payment submissions won't accidentally double-count setup progress.

5. Automatic Final Billing on Termination (Within Lock-In)

If a subscriber is terminated while still under contract, the platform now auto-generates a final billing invoice that can include:

  • Remaining unpaid invoice balances
  • Remaining setup/installation balance
  • Disconnection fee based on your policy

It can also trigger collections follow-up automatically, so nothing falls through the cracks.

Real-World Impact

For operations and finance teams, this update means:

  • Faster onboarding
  • Fewer billing disputes
  • Better contract compliance
  • Less spreadsheet tracking
  • Cleaner end-of-contract and termination workflows

For subscribers, it means transparent, predictable fee handling from onboarding to contract end.

Example Scenario

A subscriber signs up with:

  • Setup Fee: PHP 1,500
  • Payment Mode: Staggered
  • Lock-In: 24 months

The system distributes setup charges across the contract timeline, tracks each paid installment, and keeps a live remaining balance. If the account is terminated early, final billing automatically computes what's still due based on policy.

No manual reconciliation. No last-minute math.

This release is about trust and consistency.

When setup fees and lock-in terms are handled correctly, your team spends less time fixing billing issues and more time delivering great service. And your subscribers get a billing experience that feels fair, clear, and professional.

If you're already using the platform, this is now available in your onboarding and billing settings flow.


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