Last updated on 18th March 2025
Originally a procurement platform, Crayon’s Cloud-iQ has since evolved into a comprehensive solution for managing procurement, billing, and administration of software and cloud services.
With the next evolution of Cloud-iQ launching in 2025, we further enhanced its usability, analytics, and operational efficiency to benefit our partners and customers. While keeping the strengths of its predecessor, this updated platform will introduce several enhancements in five core functionalities: procurement, management, insights, billing, and administration.
Enhanced billing features
The next evolution of Cloud-iQ upgrades billing features to help you better align subscriptions and view invoices in detail. Aligning subscriptions can help customers avoid unexpected costs, ensuring they only pay for necessary resources.
Detailed invoices, on the other hand, provide insight into cloud spending, making it easier to identify areas to optimise cost. Here’s a sneak peek into Cloud-iQ’s updated billing features:
Flexible billing and invoicing
Choose between summarised or detailed invoices tailored to your operational needs. Summarised invoices provide a high-level overview for financial reviews, while detailed invoices consolidate costs across multiple vendors and currencies for audit purposes.
To access this feature:
Go to the Billing dashboard, select the invoice type, and download the file in your preferred format.
Centralised dashboard
Access a unified dashboard consolidating order and invoice history, offering greater transparency and simplifying financial oversight and billing reconciliation.
To access this feature:
Use filters to organise invoices by date, vendor, or account group, and visualise spending trends with built-in analytics tools.
Transitioning to subscription period billing
One of the significant changes in our Cloud-iQ revamp is the shift from billing in arrears to billing for the full subscription period. This new approach aligns subscriptions, giving you detailed invoices and a clearer understanding of charges.
For example, you’ll see the total cost of a one-year subscription upfront, helping you budget more effectively. While the total cost of ownership remains unchanged, this shift provides better cash flow predictability and supports more strategic financial planning. The platform’s Support section offers guides on transitioning to the new billing model.
Order and invoice management
The updated Cloud-iQ platform supports multiple groupings and billing entities for flexibility in organising financial records. Whether you’re handling a single account or managing complex billing across various regions, the system adapts to your needs.
For example, you can group invoices by department, region, or project and assign specific billing entities to each group. This helps organisations with complex structures maintain clear oversight and ensure accurate record-keeping. The platform includes step-by-step instructions on configuring these settings in the Administration panel.
Frequently asked questions
No, the total cost of ownership remains the same. The change simply aligns billing cycles with subscription periods for better financial visibility.
While upfront billing for subscription periods may require adjustments to cash flow, it provides predictable costs and simplifies financial planning.
| Yes, the updated Cloud-iQ platform offers summarised and detailed invoices, along with enhanced reporting features to meet your needs. |  |
