Set up a fixed-price or a variable-price subscription

note

The Cleverbridge subscription commerce platform manages subscriptions in a similar fashion as products and services that have a one-time payment model. All subscriptions must be set up in the Cleverbridge platform, and you have the following options:

To set up a fixed-price subscription (that is, a subscription product with a price that does not change through the subscription cycle) or a variable-price subscription (that is, a subscription product with unique prices for different intervals of time) follow these steps:

Step 1: Enable subscription billing for the product

1. In the main menu of Commerce Assistant, click Product & Delivery > Products.
2. Select the product for which you want to enable subscription billing.
3. Click Suggested Retail Price > Base Price.
4. Click Toggle Subscription Billing on the top right. Subscription Options appears under Suggested Retail Price.

Step 2: Define general settings

Click Suggested Retail Price > Subscription Options. Choose from the following settings:

Option	Description
End subscription after this many billing events	To end a subscription after a certain number of billing events, check this box and enter the desired number of billing events. The initial payment is not included in this number.
Sync next billing date to last payment date	Syncs the billing date with the date the last payment was received. In the event of late payments, this option automatically recalculates the next billing event date according to the last date a payment was received from the customer.
Cannot be canceled	Prevents the customer from canceling a subscription.
Subscription Agreement Type	Important: The product setting Subscription Agreement Type is managed by Client Experience and therefore not visible to clients. Opt-in is the default subscription agreement type; it is suitable for most products. Opt-out and Text only should only be used in exceptional cases only because they entail higher risk of customers completing a subscription without being aware of it. This could lead to increased chargebacks, refund, or customer contact rates. Select whether there is a Confirm subscription checkbox on the sign-up page and whether this checkbox is already checked. You can choose from the following options: *Opt-in (default) – The Confirm subscription checkbox is unchecked. Do not combine with subscription confirmation type Cannot be confirmed. Opt-out – The Confirm subscription checkbox is pre-checked. Text only – There is no checkbox. The customers only see a text with the information that they are buying a subscription product with auto renewal. Do not combine with subscription confirmation type Must be confirmed.
Subscription Confirmation Type	Important: The product setting Subscription Confirmation Type is managed by Client Experience and therefore not visible for clients. Must be confirmed is the default subscription confirmation type. It is suitable for most products. Confirmation is not required and Cannot be confirmed should be used in exceptional cases only because they entail a higher risk of customers completing a subscription without being aware of it. This could lead to increased chargebacks, refund, or customer contact rates. Select whether customers must confirm on the signup page that they understand they are signing up for a subscription to the product. You can choose from the following options: *Must be confirmed (default) – The customers cannot proceed to the checkout without checking the Confirm subscription checkbox. Do not combine with subscription agreement type Text only. Confirmation is not required – The customers can proceed to the checkout without checking the Confirm subscription checkbox. Cannot be confirmed – The customers can automatically proceed to the checkout. There is no Confirm subscription checkbox on the signup page. Do not use with subscription agreement type Opt-in.
Cancellation protection products	Select other subscription products that will be canceled if this subscription is canceled. The canceled subscription appears on the customer’s billing email address.
License type text	Enter the text that you want the user to change in the checkout. If required, this field is used as raw text to describe a product's pricing model and not just subscription prices or other factors. *Per computer (default) – The product text describes that this yearly rate of the subscription is based on one computer, regardless of how many users use it. Per enabled user – The product text describes that the yearly price for the subscription is based on the user account of each customer or administrator who uses the license. Undefined – The product text is left as is. This is the default option.

Step 3: Select an initial subscription interval

In the Initial Subscription Interval field, define how much time should pass between the initial payment and the first subscription billing event. This can be set in months or days. After the first billing event, the amount of time set for Recurring Subscription Interval is used for future billing events.

Example

You set the Initial Subscription Interval for 12 months. You set the Recurring Subscription Interval for 1 month.

This means that after the initial payment, the next billing event is one year later. After that billing event, all future billing events are billed monthly.

Step 4: Select a recurring subscription interval

In the Recurring Subscription Interval field, define how much time there should be between billing events. This interval can be set in months or days, such as 1 month, 14 days, 4 months, and so on. Typically, 1, 3, or 12 months are used for monthly, quarterly, or annual billing intervals.

Step 5: Enter product pricing

1. Click Suggested Retail Price > Base Price.
2. Select a Volume Pricing Method from the drop-down list. For further information about Volume Pricing, see Use Volume Pricing.
3. Select a Price type for taxation from the drop-down list.
4. By default, the Intervals box to the left of the price grid displays 0. Enter unique pricing information in the price grid for interval 0.
   note

   Interval 0 is the initial payment price for the product. It will remain the payment price for all subsequent subscription intervals if you do not enter pricing information for another interval.

5. If you are setting up a fixed-price subscription product that does not change throughout the subscription cycle, proceed to set up the delivery details. If you are setting up a variable-price subscription product with unique prices for different intervals of time, continue to point 6.

Important

We do not recommend setting up identical prices for intervals of different lengths.

1. Select another interval using the drop-down list, and click Add. Interval 1, for example, is the first billing event after the initial payment.
2. Enter unique pricing information in the price grid for the interval.
3. Repeat points 6 and 7 for any additional intervals.

Example

The initial payment price is $100 for the first year. After the first year, the customer pays a quarterly price of $20. You set the quarterly price as future intervals, starting with Interval 1.

For detailed information about setting up pricing, see [Products]/docs/category/cleveressentials/products/.

Step 6: Set Up Delivery Details

1. Click Delivery > Delivery Details.
2. Select a Delivery type for your product.
3. Configure the Options for the Delivery type you chose.
4. Select a Subscription Billing Option.
5. To add additional delivery options for your subscription product, select Use different delivery details and click Add Delivery in the action bar. For detailed information about setting up delivery details, see [Products]/docs/category/cleveressentials/products/.

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