Cancelling a subscription and deleting an account have different consequences
Imagine you're in your customer account settings, choosing between cancelling the subscription and deleting the whole account. Both seem to mean you're done with the service. For your records, though, the important question is whether you'll still have access to the billing history.
Adobe, for example, says your Adobe account stays active after you cancel a Creative Cloud subscription. When you delete the whole account, however, Adobe explicitly warns that you lose access to your purchase history and invoices. These are two different actions with the same supplier.
Before making the change, check what it will mean for login access and billing at the service you use. Look in its help pages or ask support. Don't assume one tool works like another. To prepare your records, you mainly need to know how long you'll be able to retrieve the documents yourself.
Source for this section: Cancelling a subscription · Deleting an Adobe account
Download missing documents while the account still works
Open the billing history in the correct customer account and compare it with your stored records. If one login gives you access to several companies or profiles, check the customer named on each document too. Choosing an invoice by a similar amount can leave you with another company's invoice.
Don't automatically start with the last month. Check the period for which you're unsure whether you've saved everything. That might mean one invoice, or several annual payments whose documents you've only ever opened through a link. Add the files you need to the place where you keep that company's records.
Download the documents themselves from the portal. For individual Adobe subscriptions, for example, go to 'Orders and invoices', select 'View invoices', then 'Download PDF'. Team accounts use a different route through Admin Console, where the primary administrator can view billing. If you can't find it with your login, ask the person who has that access to download the files.
Open the downloaded file from its destination folder. If you're adding a few invoices, check each one; for a larger export, compare the file list with the billing history and inspect its contents. A link to the billing page or a screenshot of its overview doesn't confirm that you've saved the individual PDFs.
Source for this section: Adobe's invoice instructions
The final document may not have been issued yet
In this example, you stop using an online tool in mid-September. The August invoice is visible in the portal, so you download it and consider the account sorted. But one question remains: will the supplier issue another document for the final period? Counting your downloaded files won't answer that.
Check the confirmation of the service change and any information about outstanding billing. If it's unclear whether another document will be issued, contact support while you can still log in. Ask where and how you'll be able to get it. Confirm amounts, dates and cancellation terms with your supplier; don't infer them from the date you last opened the app.
You can copy and adapt this message:
Select the text, copy it into an email and fill in the details in square brackets.
Save the reply and note your next step
Save the reply with your note about leaving the service. If the document will be issued later, record where you'll get it and set a reminder based on the date the supplier confirmed. If you're still waiting for a reply, note when you'll follow up with support. A bare 'waiting for invoice' can easily get lost among other tasks.
Tell your accountant what's ready and what you're waiting for
In the September example, you've saved the earlier documents and asked support to clarify the final billing. You could therefore tell your accountant: 'We're no longer using the service. The invoices so far are in the usual folder. I'm checking whether another document will be issued for the final period.' You're not declaring the accounting period closed; you're giving your accountant context for the records you've supplied.
If another invoice is issued, refer back to this note when you send it over. If you also send your accountant the confirmation that the service has ended, give that file a distinct name. They shouldn't have to guess from the attachment name whether it's an invoice or just a notice about an account change.
For your own reference, keep three short details about the service you're leaving: where the downloaded documents are, what you're still waiting for and how you'll get anything issued later. Keep that information easy to find after removing the service from your list of active subscriptions. You don't need a password or any other login details in the note.
You've already decided to leave the service. Your paperwork is ready when you can actually open the available files and know how to get anything that may still arrive. Deleting the account then needn't create another job for you or your accountant.