Set Up Subscription Products

The Cleverbridge subscription commerce platform manages subscriptions in a similar fashion as products and services that have a one-time payment Exchange of money for goods and services in an acceptable amount to the customer where the payment amount has been agreed upon in advance. The customer can only pay with an accepted payment method. Each payment has an individual payment cost. model. All subscriptions must be set up in the Cleverbridge platform, and you have the following options:

Set Up a Fixed-Price or Variable-Price Subscription

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 the 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

1. Click Suggested Retail Price > Subscription Options.
2. 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 with 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 An individual or business purchasing your product or service by placing an order through Cleverbridge. The customer is the end user of this product, as they are not allowed to resell the purchased products or services. ​ A customer is unique per client. If a customer purchases products or services from two different clients, there are 2 separate records of said 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 for clients. Opt-in is the default subscription agreement type; it is suitable for most products. Opt-out and Text only 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 chargeback A credit card chargeback, typically referred to as chargeback, occurs when a customer successfully disputes a transaction on their bank report. Unlike a refund, where Cleverbridge proactively returns the amount to the customer, a chargeback involves the customer's bank automatically withdrawing the amount from Cleverbridge's account. Cleverbridge can contest illegitimate claims, but the card organization makes the final decision. Successfully contested chargebacks still contribute to the chargeback ratio., refund, or customer contact rates. Select whether there is a Confirm subscription checkbox on the signup 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 chargeback, 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 unless they check 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 or text. Do not combine with subscription agreement type Opt-in.
Cancelation product list	Select other subscription products that will be canceled if this product is purchased. The canceled subscriptions are based on the customer’s billing email address.
License type text	If required, select if you want the text to change in the checkout process based on the following types of licenses. These options only change the text and not subscription prices or other factors. Per enabled computer – The product text describes that the yearly price for the subscription is based on one computer, regardless of how many users use the computer. Per enabled user – The product text describes that the yearly price for the subscription is based on one user account. Undefined – The product text is generic. This is the default option.

Step 3: Select an Initial Subscription Interval

In the Initial Subscription Interval A subscription interval is the time period after which a recurring purchase is renewed and billed. The time period can be set in days, months, or years. One subscription can contain x products, all renewing on the same date. 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.

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.

6. Select another interval using the drop-down list, and click Add. Interval 1, for example, is the first billing event after the initial payment.
7. Enter unique pricing information in the price grid for the interval.
8. 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 ✱.

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 ✱.

Combine a Regular Product with a Subscription

You can sell a regular product with an additional subscription contract, such as a maintenance plan or other additional service.

1. Set up the regular product.
2. Set up the subscription product.
3. Set up a cross-sell for the subscription product to combine it with the regular product. A cross-sell is a type of recommendation.

For more information on recommendations, see Add a Recommendation.

Set Up a Free Promotional Period for a Subscription

You can offer customers a free trial period of your choosing. The duration of the trial period can be defined within the product settings or facilitated through the use of a coupon code. Should the customer choose not to cancel within this timeframe, the trial subscription seamlessly transitions into a paid subscription at its conclusion. However, you also have the option to offer customers a free trial without requiring payment details upfront.

Set Up Free Trial on Product Level

You can set up a free trial on the product level within the Configure > Manage Products section of our web admin tool.

1. In the Products section located in the main menu of the web admin tool, select the recurring product for which you want to set up a free trial period.
2. Under Pricing, select Start with free trial period and define the length of the free trial under Length of Initial Billing Interval. The price for Billing Interval 0 shows 0 automatically in the Billing Schedule.

Example

To set up a free trial period of 30 days for your product, select days and enter 30 under Length of Initial Billing Interval.

3. Define the length of subsequent billing intervals under Length of Recurring Billing Interval.
4. In the Billing Schedule, select Billing Interval 1 and enter unique pricing information in the price grid. This is the amount the customer will be charged once the free trial period concludes.

Important

If pricing information is not specified for Billing Interval 1, then Billing Interval 0 displaying 0 will remain as the product price for all subsequent subscription intervals.

Set Up Free Trial via Coupon Code

You can set up a free trial for the product by creating a coupon code in the Campaigns > Promotions section of our web admin tool

1. In the Optimize section of our web admin tool, select Promotions > Add Item Level Promotion.
2. In the General & Price section, enter a name for the free trial promotion.
3. Under Discount, set up the discount amount. For more information on the individual options, see Set Up Discount for Promotion under Add a Promotion.



4. Select the Coupons section and generate a coupon code:
1. Click Add Coupons and select Generate Coupons.
2. Enter information about how the coupon code should be generated.
3. Click Submit. The coupon code is added.
5. In the Products section, click Select Product and choose the subscription product you wish to set up a free trial period for.
6. Click Submit, then Save and Close.

Combine a Subscription with a Promotional Discount

You can combine subscriptions with promotional discounts. This means you can control how the promotional campaign is billed. You can decide whether the discount is:

• Only for the initial purchase An order made by a customer and the records associated with it.
• For a limited number of billing events

Discount Only for Initial Purchase

To provide a discount for the initial purchase only:

1. In the main menu of the Commerce Assistant, click Marketing > Promotions.
2. Select the promotion you want to offer for the initial purchase.
3. Click Discount.
4. Select Apply to subscription billing intervals.
5. Enter 0. Only the initial purchase is discounted. Later billing events are full price.

Discount for Limited Number of Billing Events

To provide a discount for a certain number of billing events:

1. In the main menu of the Commerce Assistant, click Marketing > Promotions.
2. Select the promotion you want to offer for the initial purchase.
3. Click Discount.
4. Select Apply to subscription billing intervals.
5. In the toggle to the right, enter the number of billing events for which the discount applies. Later billing events are full price.