Subscriptions {#vas-smb-subscriptions-overview}
===============================================

Subscriptions allow you to automatically charge customers on a recurring schedule for predictable recurring revenue.

What You Will Learn
-------------------

* What subscriptions are and how they work
* How Plans and Subscriptions relate
* Subscription lifecycle and statuses
* Payment retry logic and delinquency handling
* How to create, manage, suspend, reactivate, and cancel subscriptions

What Is a Subscription?
-----------------------

A subscription is an active billing agreement between you and a customer that automatically processes payments on a recurring schedule. Unlike one-time transactions or invoices, subscriptions continue charging until they are completed, cancelled, or suspended.  
Subscriptions work like a gym membership or streaming service---customers sign up once, and payments are charged automatically at regular intervals.

Why Use Subscriptions?
----------------------

Subscriptions are ideal for businesses offering ongoing products or services:

* Memberships (gyms, associations)
* SaaS products
* Subscription boxes
* Retainers or maintenance services
* Premium content access

Benefits for Your Business
:
* Predictable recurring revenue
* Automated billing and retries
* Reduced manual work
* Improved cash-flow forecasting

Benefits for Your Customers
:
* Automatic, convenient payments
* No missed due dates
* Uninterrupted service
* Easy subscription management

Subscription Components
-----------------------

Customer
:
Every subscription is linked to a customer profile containing:

    * The customer name and email address
    * The securely stored payment method
    * Billing and shipping addresses, if applicable


    > A valid customer with a payment method is required before creating a subscription. Only the default payment method for a customer can be used to pay for a subscription.

Subscription Name
:
A descriptive identifier to help you manage subscriptions:

    * By default, this field is auto-generated (for example, SUB-001)
    * Name can be customized during creation and edit (for example, Jane Doe -- Premium Membership)

Plan
:
Plans define how customers are billed. Each Plan includes:

    * Amount
    * Currency
    * Frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and so forth)
    * Duration (fixed number of billing cycles or ongoing)
    * Setup fee (optional)


    Plans are reusable templates. One Plan can power many subscriptions.

Start Date
:
The start date determines when billing begins. Charges process at 2:00 AM local time.

    > * If set to today, the first payment processes immediately
    > * For future dates, the subscription stays pending.
    > * The start date cannot be changed after the first payment.

Subscription ID
:
A system-generated and unique ID that is used for reporting and support. Subscription IDs cannot be edited.

How Subscriptions Work
----------------------

Once active, the system automatically:

1. Processes the first payment on the start date
2. Calculates the next billing date
3. Charges the customer on each billing cycle
4. Sends payment receipts by email
5. Repeats until completed, cancelled, or suspended

Plans vs. Subscriptions
-----------------------

Plans
:

    Purpose
    :
        Billing template


    Reusability
    :
        Reusable


    Customer Linked
    :
        No


    Processes Payments
    :
        No

Subscriptions
:

    Purpose
    :
        Active billing agreement


    Reusability
    :
        Unique relationship between Plan and Customer


    Customer Linked
    :
        Yes


    Processes Payments
    :
        Yes

Subscription Status Lifecycle
-----------------------------

Pending → Active → Delinquent → Suspended → Cancelled / Completed

Pending
:
Waiting for start date (Payments: No)

Active
:
Billing normally (Payments: Yes)

Delinquent
:
Payment failed, retrying (Payments: Retrying)

Suspended
:
Paused (Payments: No)

Cancelled
:
Permanently stopped (Payments: No)

Completed
:
Finished all payments (Payments: No)

Delinquent Subscriptions \& Retry Logic
---------------------------------------

When a payment fails, the system automatically retries based on billing frequency:

Daily
:
Retry Interval: 1 hour, Retries: 1

Weekly
:
Retry Interval: Every 1 day, Retries: 3

Monthly
:
Retry Interval: Every 2 days, Retries: 5

Yearly
:
Retry Interval: Every 15 days, Retries: 3  
Outcomes:

* Retry succeeds → back to Active
* All retries fail → Suspended

Contact customers early when payments fail to avoid churn.

Editing Rules
-------------

Before First Payment (Pending)
:
Customer, Plan, Start date, Subscription name

After First Payment
:
Subscription name only  
Core billing details are locked after the first payment. To change Plan or price, cancel and create a new subscription.

Timing Restrictions
-------------------

Subscriptions cannot be suspended or cancelled within 10 minutes before or after payment processing. This prevents billing conflicts.