Welcome! This document explains how Turnstile models the commercial lifecycle, from creating a Quote, to turning it into an operational Subscription, to generating Invoices and getting them paid. Read this to understand what each object is, how they relate, and what actions in the Turnstile lead to which outcomes.
At-a-glance
Quote = a proposal you send to a prospect, which includes products, pricing, and legal terms. After the prospect signs or accepts it, the Quote becomes a Subscription.
Subscription = the operational vehicle from an agreement: what the customer agreed to, what they get from the agreement, and what should be billed.
Invoice = the billing documents generated from a Subscription used to request payment from the customer.
The lifecycle (step-by-step)
Create a Quote
Select a Customer, add Products and Pricing, choose Terms, and optionally use a Plan or Quote Template to pre-fill details.
Note: Building a quote in Turnstile reflects exactly what the customer will see, and can include uploaded PDFs like additional contractual terms.
Send & Accept
Send the Quote to the prospect for signature or acceptance through Turnstile.
When the prospect accepts or signs, Turnstile converts that finalized Quote into a Subscription.
Subscription is created
The Subscription contains the Customer, Products, Pricing, billing frequency, start/end dates, and any legal Terms. Everything needed to operate and bill the customer.
A Subscription can also be added directly in Turnstile (without originating from a Quote) if, for example, the agreement was signed outside Turnstile.
Billing & Invoice generation
Turnstile looks at the Subscription’s products/pricing, billing terms and frequency, any usage if applicable to the pricing, to create invoices automatically.
Based on the Invoice settings, Turnstile can automatically issue the invoice and collect payment, or leave the invoice as a draft for approval before issuing.
Subscription lifecycle events
These events keep the Subscription accurate as the customer’s needs and relationship evolve over time.
Amend: Updates the state of the Subscription based on changes to pricing, terms, or quantity of products. Future invoices will reflect the change according to the amendment’s effective date and billing rules.
Renew: Creates a new quote prefilled with the existing subscription as a template, and sets it to start after the existing subscription ends.
Terminate: Ends the subscription and stops billing after the selected termination date.
Two ways a Subscription can be created
From a Quote — Preferred when you want the sales/approval history and prospect acceptance captured end-to-end. This path will capture quote event history and ensures that the contract matches the resulting subscription exactly.
Adding a subscription directly — Best for deals signed outside Turnstile or when importing existing customer agreements.
How Plans and Quote templates fit in
Plan: a pre-built package of Products, Pricing, and a Quote Template. Pick a Plan when creating a Quote to save time for your team and keep offers consistent.
Quote template: controls the look-and-feel and default content of the Quote document.