How customers buy and manage subscriptions online

With the online shop, customers can buy a subscription product, choose its payment period in the cart and pay online. They then follow their subscriptions in the customer portal (My Account ‣ Subscriptions), pay each renewal from the Pay Now link of the emails Viindoo sends, and can close or reopen a subscription themselves.

Who	Customers (portal users); a Sales administrator sets it up.
App	Subscriptions, eCommerce

Before you start

• Install Website Sale Subscription.

• Publish the subscription products and periods.

• Set up an online payment provider.

How does a customer buy a subscription?

1. The customer adds the subscription product to the cart on the website.

2. In the cart, the customer chooses the Payment Period; the price is recomputed for that period, with its periodic discount.

3. The customer checks out and pays. The paid order becomes a running subscription.

What does the customer receive by email?

Email	When
Your Subscription … needs to pay	A subscription or renewal has an amount to pay. The Pay Now link opens the payment page.
Your Subscription … is about to be expired	On the days set in Alert Days Before Close Subscription, before an unpaid subscription closes.
Your Subscription … has been renewed	The renewal for the next period was created.
Your Subscription … has been closed	The subscription was closed (unpaid, ended or on request).

How does a customer follow, close or reopen a subscription?

1. The customer signs in and opens My Account ‣ Subscriptions: each subscription shows its state, period and next payment.

2. On a running subscription, Close stops it; the customer can give a reason.

3. On a closed subscription, Reopen starts it again (when it can be reopened).

Common errors

Symptom	What to do
The customer cannot choose the period in the cart.	Make the sales period visible on the website (see How to offer subscription periods on the online shop).
The subscription was closed although the customer wants to continue.	It was not paid by the due date. Reopen it, or ask the customer to click Reopen in the portal.

Next steps

• How to sell, upsell, renew and close a subscription: what salespeople do on subscriptions.