Configure Recurring Subscription Products

You can include recurring Subscription Products in your Product catalog using the Subscribe Portal.

• Use Case: 2-1-01
• Completed By: Business Manager
• Estimated Completion Time:<1 day

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Basic Scenario

In Subscribe, a Subscription combines a subscriber Account, a Product, and a Billing Plan. The Product includes pricing and entitlement, and the Billing Plan defines the frequency of recurrence. The Subscription may also be referred to as an AutoBill.

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Design Approach

A Subscription automates recurring billing and billing notifications over the life of the Subscription, so that manual implementation is not required. Subscriptions generate and submit Transactions to payment processors, and the resulting Transactions, related amounts, status, currencies, and other data are displayed in the Transaction, Chargeback, and Account views to which they apply. Subscription statuses may also be referenced in email notifications sent to your subscribers, and in reports. For more information about Subscribe Products, see the Products chapter in the SubscribeMerchant Portal User Guide. For more information about Subscribe Billing Plans, see the Billing Plans chapter.

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Tasks

To configure Billing Plans and Products for recurring subscription offers, perform the following tasks:

• Configure Billing Plans Using the Subscribe Merchant Portal
• Configure Products Using the Subscribe Merchant Portal 2.0
• Configure Billing Plans Using the Subscribe Merchant Portal
• Configure Products Using the Subscribe Merchant Portal 2.0

Parent topic:Basic Subscription Setup

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Configure Billing Plans Using the Subscribe Merchant Portal

Determine what recurring subscription offerings you require.

1. In Subscribe Merchant Portal 2.0, select your starting point from the following options:
   • To create a new Billing Plan, click the + New button and select Billing Plan.
   • To duplicate an existing Billing Plan, select the relevant existing Billing Plan (ID) from Catalog > Billing Plans and click Duplicate.
   • To edit an existing Billing Plan, select the relevant existing Billing Plan (ID) from Catalog > Billing Plans and click Edit.
2. Define the following Billing Plan fields in the Details Pane:
   1. In the ID field , enter your unique Billing Plan ID The Billing Plan ID uniquely identifies this Billing Plan within Subscribe. The value can be any alphanumeric value up to 255 characters.
   2. In the Status field, use the toggle switch to set the status of the billing plan toActive by moving to the right or Inactive to the left. Default value is Inactive.
   3. In the Description field, enter a meaningful description for the Billing Plan. The Billing Plan Description is a free form text field up to 255 characters long.
3. Define the following Billing Plan fields in the Billing Periods Pane:
   1. Set the Cycle Length to 1 and from the adjacent drop-down list, select the frequency:
      • Months for the subscriptions to recur once per month
      • Years for the subscriptions to recur once per year
      • Weeks for the subscriptions to recur once per week
   2. In the Repeat Cycle field, select the Unlimited radio button to set subscriptions to recur indefinitely.
4. Click Save or Update.
5. To create additional Billing Plans, repeat the steps above.

Parent topic:Configure Recurring Subscription Products

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Configure Products Using the Subscribe Merchant Portal 2.0

Use the following steps as a guide to creating your catalog of recurring Products. You must create a different product for each different Product price point. If you have two different price points for monthly Subscriptions, for example, $4.99 for basic access and$7.99 for full access, then you must create two Products:

• Monthly Basic Access
• Monthly Full Access

Likewise, if you intend to offer annual pricing for basic access and full access, you must create two additional products: one each for Annual Basic Access and Annual Full Access.

1. In Subscribe Merchant Portal 2.0, select your starting point from the following options:
   • To create a new product, click the + New button and select Product.
   • To duplicate an existing product, select the relevant existing product (ID) from Catalog > Products and click Duplicate.
   • To edit an existing product, select the relevant existing product (ID) from Catalog > Products and click Edit.
2. Define the following Product fields in the Details Pane:
   1. In the ID field , enter your unique product identifier. Also knows as a SKU, this value uniquely identifies this product in Subscribe. It can be any alphanumeric value up to 255 characters.
   2. In the Status field, use the toggle switch to set the status of the Product toActive by moving to the right or Inactive to the left. By default, set to Active.
   3. In the Tax Classification field, enter the required classification ​provided by your tax vendor for this product. For more details, see the Avalara Avatax System Tax Codes list. This field only appears if Taxation has been activated.
3. Define the following Product fields in theDescriptions pane:
   1. Click Add to add a description.
   2. In the Description field, enter a meaningful product description (up to 255 characters long).
   3. In the Language field, select the desired language for the description from the drop-down list.
   4. To add additional Description entries in different languages, repeat these steps. You can define multiple descriptions in different languages at this time or come back later to add additional descriptions.
4. Define the following Product fields in the Pricing pane: The Pricing pane governs the product price and associated currencies and Tokens:
   1. Toggle to define the Pricing Mechanism. Toggle right for currency/token Standard Pricing. By default, field is set to Standard Pricing.
   2. Select Add Currency/Manage Currencies to define the relevant currencies. The Manage Currencies dialog box appears. You can add multiple currencies for the product at this time or come back to do so later. Only one currency will be accepted for the customer’s full payment.
   3. Place your cursor in the selection box and select a currency using its ISO three-lettered currency code. For example, select USD for US dollars. When finished, click Submit.
   4. Select Add Token/Manage Tokens to define the relevant digital Tokens previously configured. The Manage Tokens dialog box appears. You can add multiple tokens for the product. Only one token will be accepted for the customer’s full payment.
   5. Place your cursor in the selection box and select a token using its defined ID. When finished, click Submit.
   6. Enter the desired price in the Amount field for the defined Currencies and Tokens. Identify the relevant currency by its national flag or hover over it to see its name.
5. Define the following Product fields in the Entitlements pane:
   • Select existing Entitlements by placing cursor in the Select field and selecting the relevant existing entitlement entries. Note: Each Product can have from 0 to N Entitlements. Subscribe uses the Entitlement Identifier to identify content to the CMS/OVP.
   • Create New Entitlement entries by entering an entitlement identifier in the ID field, a Description in the corresponding field and clicking Create. Note: The newly created entitlements are added to the Select entitlement list for the Product. They can also be reused for other products.
6. When you’re done, click Save or Update.
7. Repeat the steps above for each Product you want to define.

Parent topic:Configure Recurring Subscription Products