Subscriptions v2
ShopWired's Subscriptions app lets you sell products on a recurring basis.
You can use the app to create subscription plans, assign products or product variations to them, and manage the subscriptions created when customers place orders.
When a visitor places a subscription order, ShopWired creates an initial order and a subscription contract. The contract records what the customer has subscribed to. The app manages future renewals and creates a new ShopWired order for each completed renewal.
Key terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Subscription plan | The settings that define a subscription interval, price or discount, trial period and any limit on the subscription's length |
| Product assignment | The product or product variation linked to a plan so that it can be purchased using that plan |
| Subscription contract | The record created for a customer's subscription when they place the initial order. It contains the subscription's items, interval, payment method and billing and delivery details |
| Contract item | A product or product variation in a contract, including its quantity and price |
| Initial order | The order placed when the customer starts the subscription |
| Renewal | The next scheduled purchase under a contract |
| Renewal order | A new ShopWired order created for a completed renewal |
How subscriptions work
How subscriptions work
You configure a plan and assign the products or product variations that customers can buy through it. A plan can define a trial period, a subscription price or discount, and how many times the subscription can renew. A product can also be available for a one-off purchase if you allow this in its product settings.
When a customer buys a product using a plan, the initial order creates a contract. The contract retains the details of that subscription.
At each scheduled renewal, the subscriptions app uses the contract to process the next purchase. It creates a new order when the renewal is completed. Online and offline payment methods are handled according to their respective payment flows. If a renewal cannot be completed, the app records the outcome and applies your retry and notification settings.
Managing contracts
Managing contracts
In your ShopWired account, use the Subscriptions app to:
- View contracts
- Including their items, renewal dates and related orders
- Change a contract's items
- Update billing and delivery details
- Pause or resume a contract
- Cancel a contract
- Cancellation is final and does not cancel or refund orders already placed.
Customer area
Customer area
Your customers can separately manage their own subscriptions through the customer area.
They can use the area to view all their subscriptions and order history.
Customers can also:
- Update billing and delivery details
- Pause or resume a subscription
- Cancel a subscription
- Update their payment details (for subscriptions paid by card)
- Change quantities and product options
- Add or remove items
- Pause or resume individual items
Changes to a subscription apply to future renewals; they do not change orders already placed.
Existing subscriptions
Existing subscriptions
If you used ShopWired's earlier Subscriptions app, existing subscriptions continue to renew through that system. Activating the new system applies to new subscription purchases. It does not convert existing subscriptions into contracts or combine the two sets of subscriptions.
