The Deferred Revenue Tracker

Help me set up tracking for deferred revenue and understand what it says
about the business.

The arrangement: [SUBSCRIPTIONS / PREPAYMENTS / MILESTONES]
Amounts and timing: [DESCRIBE]

Provide:
1. How deferred revenue builds and releases over time for this
   arrangement
2. The journal entries as cash is received and revenue is earned
3. What the deferred-revenue balance signals about future revenue and
   cash
4. The difference between bookings, billings, revenue, and cash — and why
   they diverge
5. The metric to watch for a subscription business here

Make the timing differences explicit so I don't confuse cash with earned
revenue.