> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.slm.m1amdocs.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The AutoBill Object

The `AutoBill` object defines the relationship between an `Account` object (the customer description), an `AutoBillItem` object (products and services purchased), and a `BillingPlan` object ( frequency and amount of the bill). An `AutoBill` describes the purchase by encapsulating the data members and methods that control the purchase terms, frequency, and rates for recurring billing, and any additional subscription information.

`AutoBill`s usually encapsulate the terms of a recurring or renewable subscription. Although you may use `AutoBill` for one-time purchases (typically when an entitlement system is required), they are best handled with the `Transaction` object instead. For details, see [The Transaction Object](The_Transaction_Object).

Once created, an `AutoBill` object automatically generates periodic `Transaction` objects within Subscribe, according to the Billing Plan. Subscribe processes those transactions with your payment processor. The status of a transaction determines the current status of the associated `AutoBill` object, which, in turn, affects the entitlements granted by `AutoBill` to the associated `Account` object. Be sure to define entitlements with either `BillingPlan` or `Product` (or both) when creating an `AutoBill` object.

The constituent objects of an `AutoBill` object, `Account`, `AutoBillItem`, and `BillingPlan`, may be preexisting objects, in which case, you can simply refer to them by their IDs when constructing `AutoBill`. You may also create these objects along with the `AutoBill` object by specifying them inside the `AutoBill` object with new IDs.

**Note:** Use of the forward slash character (/) in identifiers is not allowed. See [Merchant Identifiers](Merchant_Identifiers) for more information.

* **[AutoBill Data Members](../topics/AutoBill_Data_Members)**

* **[AutoBill Subobjects](../topics/AutoBill_Subobjects)**

* **[AutoBill Methods](../topics/AutoBill_Methods)**


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