Glossary
Bookings, billings and revenue
Bookings are the total value a customer has contractually committed to, billings are what has been invoiced to them so far, and revenue is what has been earned and recognised, which means the three almost never match in the same period.
Also called bookings vs billings, bookings vs revenue.
A three-year contract signed today is booked in full immediately, billed annually or monthly thereafter, and recognised as the service is delivered.
Most reporting confusion between finance and go-to-market comes from one team quoting bookings while the other quotes revenue. Both are correct and they are measuring different things.