Managing Customer Subscriptions

      Managing Customer Subscriptions


        Article summary

        Products


        Subscriptions
        Supported plans

        Pro, Premium

        eCommerce Platform

        Shopify, Shopify Plus

        Since both you and your customers' needs may change often, you both have the option to make changes to subscription orders throughout the subscription journey. 

        In this article, you'll learn how to manage your customers' subscriptions, so you can make sure they're always tailored to their needs, and ensure a long-lasting relationship with your customers.

        How it works

        When shoppers subscribe to a product on your store, they're signing up to receive that product based on the exact terms you've defined for the subscription plan in which that product is included. Each subscription sign-up results in a subscription that is added to that customer's page. Your customers can manage subscription orders through the customer portal, while you maintain complete control over customer information & customer subscription orders from your admin Customers tab.

        Understanding subscription types

        There are three main types of subscriptions you can offer your customers:

        1. Subscribe and save subscriptions: This is the standard type of subscriptions, where customers are charged only each time a new order is processed, and can cancel anytime.
        2. Calendar-based SKU swaps: With SKU swaps, customers sign up to receive one or more different products each month or quarter.
        3. Prepaid subscriptions: With this subscription, customers pay in advance for all their orders, and stay subscribed until the end of their billing period.

        To set up subscribe and save subscriptions go to the Managing Subscription Plans article. To set up SKU swap subscriptions, see Offering Calendar-based SKU swaps

        Managing customers

        To manage subscriptions of any type:

        1. In your Yotpo Subscriptions admin, go to your Customers page.
        2. Select the customer you want to update.

        Several actions can be taken at the customer level by clicking the Customer actions dropdown in the upper-right corner:

        Customer actionDescription
        Send link to customer portalSends your customer an email or SMS with a passwordless link to their customer portal
        Download customer timelineDownloads a report of all actions taken by you or the customer
        View customer in ShopifyOpens the customer's profile in Shopify

        You can also copy your customer's email address by selecting the icon next to their name.

        Managing subscribe and save subscriptions

        For subscribe and save subscriptions, changes can be made on both the subscription and the product level.

        Subscription-level changes

        Subscription actionDescription
        Order nowThe order will be processed on the same day. Future orders will follow the same frequency.
        Reschedule subscriptionReschedules the next delivery of the subscription. Future deliveries will follow the same frequency.
        SkipAllows you to skip your customer's next order, in case they're going away, are overstocked, or for any other reason
        Add productAllows you to add a product, either as a one-time purchase or as part of the subscription
        Pause subscriptionStops all upcoming orders. You can reactivate again at any time.
        Cancel subscriptionImmediately cancels your customer's subscription. Their next delivery will not go out, and they will no longer be charged. You can reactivate again at any time.
        Reactivate subscriptionReactivates canceled or paused subscriptions. When you reactivate a subscription, you'll be able to reset the start date and delivery options.
        Update shipping addressUpdates the shipping address for all upcoming deliveries within the subscription
        Update payment methodChange the payment method, or send an email to the customer requesting them to do so
        Apply discountsApply a discount code, or redeem loyalty points towards the subscription
        Update shipping priceUpdates the shipping price for all upcoming deliveries within the subscription

        Product-level changes

        Product actionDescription
        Order nowProcesses the order for the same day. Future orders will follow the same frequency. The selected product will be moved to a new subscription with a separate delivery schedule. This may lead to additional shipping costs. 
        Reschedule productRescheduling only select products within a subscription will move them to a new subscription with a separate delivery schedule. This may lead to additional shipping costs.
        Skip productSkips the product for the upcoming delivery
        Edit productAllows you to make changes to the price and quantity of the product
        Swap productAllows you to change one product for another. This will be applied to all future orders.
        Swap variantAllows you to change one product variant for another. This will be applied to all future orders.
        Remove productRemoves a product from the subscription. This will cancel all upcoming deliveries and charges for the product.

        Managing prepaid subscriptions

        Since prepaid subscriptions are payed in advance, there are some differences in the actions you can take to manage them.

        Subscription-level changes

        Subscription actionDescription
        Order nowThe order will be processed the same day. Future orders will follow the same frequency.
        Add productAllows you to add a product as a one-time purchase. The customer will be charged on the next delivery date.

        Please note: To allow customers to add a one-time product, in Shopify, go to Store View > Customer Portal Widget and enable Add one-time product.
        Cancel subscriptionCancels your customer's subscription. Their next deliveries will not go out. You can determine whether to offer a refund per your policy. 
        Reactivate subscriptionReactivates canceled or paused subscriptions. When you reactivate a subscription, you'll be able to reset the start date.
        Cancel renewalPrevents the subscription from renewing once the current billing cycle ends
        Update shipping addressUpdates the shipping address for all upcoming deliveries within the subscription

        Please note: Any related shipping fees won't be recalculated until the next billing date. 
        Update payment methodChange the payment method, or send an email to the customer requesting them to do so

        Please note: When a prepaid delivery is scheduled, a charge of $0.00 is processed until the next billing cycle.
        Update shipping priceUpdates the shipping price for all upcoming deliveries. The customer won't be charged until the next billing date.

        Product-level changes

        Product actionDescription
        Order nowThe product will be processed on the same day. Future orders will follow the same frequency. The selected product will be moved to a new subscription with a separate delivery schedule.
        RescheduleRescheduling only select products within a subscription will move them to a new subscription with a separate delivery schedule
        SkipSkips the product for the upcoming delivery
        EditAllows you to make changes to the price and quantity of the product. Customers won't be charged any price difference until the next billing cycle.
        Swap productAllows you to change one product for another. This will be applied to all future orders. Customers won't be charged any price difference until the next billing cycle.
        Swap variantAllows you to change one product variant for another. This will be applied to all future orders. Customers won't be charged any price difference until the next billing cycle.
        RemoveRemoves a product from the subscription. This will cancel all upcoming deliveries and charges for the product. You can choose to refund prepaid products based on your refund policy.

        Managing SKU swap subscriptions

        Since Calendar-based SKU swap subscriptions change SKUs, there are some differences in the available actions.

        Subscription-level changes

        Subscription actionDescription
        Order nowThe order will be processed on the same day. Future orders will follow the same frequency.
        Reschedule subscriptionReschedules the next delivery of the subscription. Future deliveries will follow the same frequency.
        SkipAllows you to skip your customer's next order, in case they're going away, are overstocked, or for any other reason.

        Please note: The customer will miss out on that month's/quarter's product. It will not be included in the next shipment
        Add productAllows you to add a product, either as a one-time purchase or as part of the subscription
        Pause subscriptionStops all upcoming orders. You can reactivate again at any time.
        Cancel subscriptionImmediately cancels your customer's subscription. Their next delivery will not go out, and they will no longer be charged. You can reactivate again at any time.
        Reactivate subscriptionReactivates canceled or paused subscriptions. When you reactivate a subscription, you'll be able to reset the start date and delivery options.
        Update shipping addressUpdates the shipping address for all upcoming deliveries within the subscription
        Update payment methodChange the payment method, or send an email to the customer requesting them to do so

        Product-level changes

        Product actionDescription
        Order nowThe order will be processed on the same day. Future orders will follow the same frequency.
        Reschedule productRescheduling only select products within a subscription will move them to a new subscription with a separate delivery schedule. This may lead to additional shipping costs.
        Skip productSkips a product in the upcoming delivery
        EditAllows you to make changes to the price and quantity of the product
        Swap productAllows you to change one product for another. This will be applied to all future orders.
        Swap variantAllows you to change one product variant for another. This will be applied to all future orders.
        Remove productRemoves a product from the subscription. This will cancel all upcoming deliveries and charges for the product.

        Managing prepaid subscriptions

        Since prepaid subscriptions are paid in advance, there are some differences in the actions you can take to manage them.

        To manage your customer's information:

        1. Go to your Customers page.
        2. From the list of customers, select the customer whose subscription you want to update.

        Here's a breakdown of the actions you can take for each prepaid subscription:

        ActionDescription

        Add products

        You can add additional prepaid products only, according to the following scenarios:
         - If the subscription renews and has an upcoming billing cycle, the new prepaid products will be added to that upcoming cycle.
         - If you're on the last cycle for the subscription, a new prepaid subscription will be created for that product.
         - If you add a prepaid product from a different subscription prepaid plan, a new subscription will be created for that customer.

        Swap products or variants

        You can replace a prepaid product with a different prepaid product only. Products will be updated immediately starting from the closest upcoming order.

        Edit shipping address

        Since prepaid subscriptions already include taxes and shipping based on the country and state/province entered at checkout, you may only update addresses within the same country and state/province

        Cancel subscription

        You or your customers can easily cancel a prepaid subscription before the next cycle and charge take place. However, cancellations within an existing cycle require that you take actions in Shopify to cancel upcoming orders and refund your customers.
         
        Please note: You'll be notified via email when a customer requests to cancel a prepaid subscription that has remaining orders on it

        Next steps

        You always have the option to make changes to your subscription plans, which control all the subscription offers that are live on your store. For example if you want to remove a subscription product from your store, change the frequencies or discounts they're offered at, etc. Learn more about Editing Subscription Plans.


        Was this article helpful?