Subscription Management 1.0 and 2.0

Cleverbridge offers two types of subscription management:

• Subscription Management 1.0 with a basic feature set for managing renewals, cancellations, and reactivations.
• Subscription Management 2.0 with a subscription-centric approach that provides both you and the customer with a better understanding of how the subscription will renew (automatic vs. manual), which status the subscription has (Active vs. Deactivated), and which products will be charged upon renewal.
  Subscription Management 2.0 revolves around a customer self-service UI, which allows customers to manage their subscriptions. For more information, see Subscription Management Portal.

note

Subscription Management 2.0 is by default set up for all client accounts since 2019. If you onboarded the Cleverbridge platform before 2019 and are using Subscription Management 1.0, contact Client Experience to migrate to version 2.0.

When we migrate your client account from Subscription Management 1.0 to 2.0, we will perform a batch update for all existing subscriptions:

• subscriptions with the status Deactivated – Awaiting Reinstate will get a manual renewal type, and their status will change to Active – Active.
• All other subscriptions will get the automatic renewal type, and their status will remain the same.

Overview of the differences

The following table summarizes the main differences between the two Subscription Management versions:

Feature	Subscription Management 1.0	Subscription Management 2.0
Automatic/Manual Renewal	There is not a renewal type attribute on the subscription level.	Renewal type is always an attribute of the subscription. Possible values are manual and automatic.
	Renewal is set on the product level and influences the subscription status and item status.	Renewal type is independent of the product itself, and subscription status and item status.
Product Setup	Two separate products must be created: one for manual-renewal subscriptions and another for automatic-renewal subscriptions.	One product is created for both automatic- and manual-renewal subscriptions.
Signup Process	Either the auto- or manual-renewal product is used for the subscription, depending on which renewal options the customer selects.	The subscription gets either a manual or automatic renewal type, depending on the setting of the checkbox "Confirm auto-renewal."
	Customers subscribe to different products.	Customers subscribe to the same product.
Subscription Status & Item Status	Automatic-renewal subscriptions start with the status combination Active – Active. Manual-renewal subscriptions start with the status combination Deactivated – Awaiting Reinstate.	Both automatic- and manual-renewal subscriptions start with the status combination Active – Active. Subscription status indicates whether you need to provide service to the customer. Item status indicates whether the customer will be charged for the item in the next renewal.
APIs & Notifications	Turn off the automatic renewal option on subscription item basis using the following API endpoints: Deactivate Subscription Items Reinstate Subscription Items	Turn off the automatic renewal option for the entire subscription using the following API endpoint: Update Subscription Renewal Type
	Corresponding notifications: RecurringBillingCanceledNotification RecurringBillingReinstatedNotification	Corresponding notifications: SubscriptionRenewalTypeChangedNotification
Commerce Assistant	Subscription Billing tab of Purchase Viewer shows the subscription status and item status of the subscription.	Subscription Billing tab of Purchase Viewer shows the renewal type of the subscription.
	To change the renewal to manual, click the Await Reinstate button.	To change the renewal to manual, click the Switch to Manual Renewal button.
Cleverbridge Customer Self-Service	All Customers can cancel or reinstate individual subscription items. No option to turn on/off automatic renewal for the subscription.	Single-item Multi-item Customers can turn on/off automatic renewal for the entire subscription. Customers can cancel or reinstate individual subscription items. No option to cancel or reinstate the item. Option to turn on/off automatic renewal for the entire subscription.

Detailed description of the differences

Further you will find a more detailed description of the differences between Subscription Management 1.0 and 2.0

Automatic and manual renewal

subscriptions can either renew automatically (automatic renewal) or when the customer explicitly confirms that the subscription should remain active (manual renewal). While this behavior is set on product level in Subscription Management 1.0, it is set on subscription level in Subscription Management 2.0.

Subscription Management 1.0

Subscription Management 2.0

Automatic renewal is the default for subscription products. If you would like to offer subscription products with manual renewal, you must request this capability from Client Experience. The renewal is set on the product level and influences the subscription status and item status. There is no renewal type attribute on the subscription level. note Since the renewal is set on the product level, automatic and manual renewal applies to the subscription item and not to the entire subscription.

You can offer your customers the ability to choose between manual and automatic renewal, regardless of the product they subscribe to. The renewal type is a persistent attribute of the underlying subscription with the values automatic and manual. It is independent both of the product itself, and the subscription status and item status. note Since the renewal type is a subscription attribute, automatic and manual renewal applies to the subscription and not to the individual subscription item.

Product setup

The implementation of the renewal type impacts the product setup and maintenance as described below:

Subscription Management 1.0

Subscription Management 2.0

If you would like to offer automatic and manual renewal for the same product, you have to set up two separate products in the Cleverbridge platform. During the signup process, your customers subscribe to one product or the other, depending on whether they confirm that they want automatic renewal. For manual-renewal products two options are available: The subscription must be manually renewed during the initial subscription interval only. (IsOneTimeRebilling=false) The subscription must be manually renewed during every subscription interval. (IsOneTimeRebilling=true) note Manual renewal and IsOneTimeRebilling are database settings at the product level. They are maintained by our Technical Support team. For more information, contact Client Experience.

You can offer automatic and manual renewal for the same product, which reduces product setup and maintenance efforts, as well as the risk of configuration errors. During the signup process, your customers subscribe to the same product, no matter whether or not they confirm automatic renewal.

Signup process

During the signup process, a product selection (Subscription Management 1.0) or the checkbox "Confirm auto-renewal" (Subscription Management 2.0) determines how the subscription renews.

Subscription Management 1.0

Subscription Management 2.0

You must create a product variation that allows your customers to select between the renewal options "automatic" and "manual" for the product. For more information on how to set this up, see Set up different product versions. Depending on which renewal option the customer selects, the auto- or manual-renewal product is used for the subscription. The subscription starts with the following subscription status and item status: Active – Active in case of automatic renewal Deactivated – Awaiting Reinstate in case of manual renewal

During the signup process, the checkbox "Confirm auto-renewal" determines how the subscription is renewed: When the customer signs up with the check box selected, the subscription automatically renews at the end of the interval. When the customer signs up with the check box unselected, the customer must manually renew the subscription at the end of the interval. Depending on the setting of the checkbox, the superscription gets a manual or automatic renewal type. The underlying product, as well as the well as the subscription status and item status (Active – Active), are the same in both cases.

Subscription Status & Item Status

In subscription management 1.0, the renewal-related information is included in the subscription status and item status. In subscription management 2.0, the renewal type is independent of the subscription status and item status. For an overview of subscription status, see Subscription statuses and update options.

Subscription Management 1.0

Subscription Management 2.0

Automatic-renewal subscriptions start with the status combination Active – Active. Manual-renewal subscriptions can move through the following status combinations during their lifecycle: All manual-renewal subscriptions start with the status combination Deactivated – Awaiting Reinstate. When the customer receives your email that their subscription is up for renewal and confirms the renewal, the subscription temporarily switches to Active – Active. After the renewal, the subscription either switches back to Deactivated – Awaiting Reinstate or stays Active – Active. This depends on how the manual-renewal product is set up.

Both automatic- and manual-renewal subscriptions start with the status combination Active – Active. Since renewal-related information is included in the renewal type, the subscription status and item status focus on the transaction: The subscription status (Deactivated vs. Active) indicates whether you need to provide service to the customer or not. The subscription item status (Deactivated vs. Active) indicates whether that item will be charged in the next renewal. (The customer can deactivate the subscription items for which they don't want to receive entitlement.)

APIs and notifications

You can use our APIs and notifications to implement a "turn off automatic renewal" functionality in your Customer Self-Service section. With subscription management 2.0, the implementation is easier.

Subscription Management 1.0

Subscription Management 2.0

To implement a "turn on/off automatic renewal" functionality, you can use the following API endpoints: Deactivate Subscription Items Reinstate Subscription Items When a customer turns on/off automatic renewal, you receive a RecurringBillingCanceledNotification or RecurringBillingReinstatedNotification. Important If the customer's subscription contains more than one subscription item (multi-item subscription), you must offer a "turn off automatic renewal" option for every subscription item. Customers can then decide for which subscription items they want to turn off automatic renewal: one item, several items, or all items.

To implement a "turn on/off automatic renewal" functionality, you can use the Update Subscription Renewal Type API endpoint. When a customer turns automatic renewal on or off, you receive a SubscriptionRenewalTypeChangedNotification. Our APIs and notifications fully support the renewal type attribute: The Subscription API endpoints return the renewal type within the Subscription object. Transaction-based notifications include the renewal type within the RecurringBilling Object. note Since the renewal type is a subscription attribute, you can offer a "turn off automatic renewal" option for the entire subscription.

For more information, see Turn Off Automatic Renewal.

Commerce assistant

In the Commerce Assistant, you can find renewal-related information on the Subscription Billing tab of the Purchase viewer. Here, you can also change how the subscription will renew at the end of the interval.

Subscription Management 1.0

Subscription Management 2.0

The Subscription Billing tab shows the subscription status Active and the item status Active for automatic-renewal subscriptions. To change the renewal to manual, click the Await Reinstate button. As a result, the subscription status changes to Deactivated and the item status to Awaiting Reinstate. Instead of being automatically renewed at the end of the interval, the subscription only renews if the customer manually confirms that it should stay active. This change is also recorded as a history entry. For more information, see History.

The Subscription Billing tab shows the renewal type of the subscription. To change the renewal from automatic to manual, click the Switch to Manual Renewal button. The subscription stays active but it will not automatically renew at the end of the interval. This change is also recorded as a history entry. For more information, see History.

Cleverbridge customer self-service

The Cleverbridge customer self-service, which allows customers to manage their subscriptions, is configured differently for subscription management 1.0 and 2.0.

Subscription Management 1.0

Subscription Management 2.0

Customers can cancel or reinstate subscription items, but there is no option to turn on/off automatic renewal for the subscription. When a customer cancels or reinstates a subscription item, you either receive a RecurringBillingCanceledNotification or RecurringBillingReinstatedNotification. For more information, see Offer Self-Service Solutions to Subscription Customers note If you only sell one product at a time through the Cleverbridge platform (single-item subscriptions), we can activate the customer self-service version with the renewal type switch for your account.

For clients on Subscription Management 2.0 Cleverbridge offers Subscription Management Portal. For more details, see Subscription Management Portal.

Why is it important to upgrade to version 2.0

Subscription Management 2.0 is the modern data model which the Cleverbridge platform uses to handle subscription products. To avoid any potential technological problems and to benefit from the latest enhancements, we strongly recommend upgrading to Subscription Management 2.0.

Since 2019, all clients onboarded to the Cleverbridge platform are using version 2.0 of subscription management by default. If you joined the Cleverbridge platform earlier or are unsure about your version, contact Client Experience to upgrade.

Advantages of the update

The advantages of Subscription Management 2.0 are as follows:

• Dynamic switch between auto- and manual renewals – this technological enhancement saves you a lot of maintenance time, because now the renewal type information is an attribute of the subscription and can be changed anytime by you or your customer without changing the product or subscription status.
• Easier product setup – it is enough to set up one product that can be either manual or auto-renewed. In version 1.0 you needed to maintain two different versions of products to achieve a similar effect. It is no longer needed to set up duplicate products for a manual or auto-renewing subscription, as now this information is passed via a flag at the product level.
• Enhanced user interface – a new intuitive design of our Subscription Management Portal simplifies checkout navigation and enhances overall usability. With Subscription Management 2.0 you can use the functionalities of the new Subscription Management Portal to their fullest.
• Customer self-service – expanded options of the Subscription Management Portal allow your customers to manage their subscriptions by themselves (for example, update contact data, upgrade products, toggle between auto- and manual renewals). For more information, see Cleverbridge Customer Self-Service.
• Compatibility and integration – development of the Cleverbridge platform builds on the Subscription Management 2.0 logic. The migration therefore guarantees continuous access to new features and platform functionalities.
• Reporting – new reporting dimensions allow for a better understanding of the subscription renewal and churn rates, which simplifies revenue forecasting. With Subscription Management 2.0 and Subscription Management Portal you can track your customer’s upgrades.

The Cleverbridge Client Experience team takes care of the migration from version 1.0 to 2.0. However, there are some steps required on your side, including:

• XML schema update in Commerce Assistant, if you use XML notifications.
• API calls modification, if you use Cleverbridge APIs.
• Checkout links update. The complexity of the steps on your side depends on your setup.

We understand that adapting to change can be a process, and we appreciate your understanding in this matter. Our Client Experience team is always happy to assist you in the migration.

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