Configure > Store > Subscriptions

Subscription Settings
for Automatic Recurring Orders

NOTE:  As of the release of AbleCommerce Gold R7, a new subscription model is available.  The new subscription feature will allow you to create products that can be shipped on a regular basis.  If you are upgrading, any existing original (classic) subscription plans will not change.  We recommend that you do not use a combination of both subscription types (new and old), as this may cause confusion with your customers because of the different behaviors.  Once the Automatic Recurring Orders feature is enabled, you will be using the new feature and any subscriptions created will need to be configured using the new gateway and payment method requirements. 

REQUIREMENTS and LIMITATIONS:

This is the first iteration of our Recurring Orders feature.  It is a large and complicated addition to the software, so please understand that some areas may still be incomplete.  We hope to get feedback and make further improvements as time goes on, so please be sure to click the green Feedback button from any area within the AbleCommerce merchant administration to report a bug or let us know how we can improve.

• Authorize.net CIM is the only supported payment gateway at this time.  It is required to securely store the customer's billing profile on the Authorize.net servers.

• You must enable the "Accepts Subscription Payments" setting for the payment methods that are acceptable for recurring orders via the Authorize.net CIM gateway.

• PayPal, Amazon, and Gift Certificate payment methods will automatically be excluded for recurring subscription purchases.

• The store's checkout setting, that requires users who purchase a subscription to create an account on checkout, needs to be enabled. (On by default)

• Mobile Store does not yet support customer management of Recurring Orders subscriptions.

• You can use the new Digital Good's group feature in conjunction with subscription groups to provide digital files to your customers.

This document describes the process of configuring the store for Automatic Recurring Orders by way of using product subscriptions.

Configure Payment Gateway and Methods to accept Automatically Recurring Subscription orders

1. From the Configure > Store > Subscriptions page, you'll find that the feature is disabled in a new installation. [New in R7]
   
   

2. To enable the new Recurring Orders (AutoShip) feature, click the button.  A confirmation page will be shown:
   
   

3. Click the CONFIRM ENABLE button to continue with setup and configuration steps.

4. Please review the information and signup for an Authorize.net account today!  Be sure to include the Customer Information Manager (CIM) optional service.

   
   
   If you have an existing Authorize.net account, you can add the Customer Information Manager (CIM) service by logging into your account and going to your Merchant Profile page to signup.

5. Before creating products for recurring order subscriptions, you will need to Setup the Authorize.net CIM gateway in AbleCommerce.

6. After your Authorize.net CIM gateway is setup, make sure that you assign the gateway to your payment methods (e.g. Visa, Mastercard, AMX, etc).

7. For each payment method that will be assigned to the Authorize.net CIM gateway and used for Recurring Orders, make sure you check the box to accept Recurring Payments.
   
   
   
   IMPORTANT:  You must have at least one payment method with the 'Allow subscription payments' option activated.  Otherwise, if your customer tries to purchase a product using the Recurring Order subscription feature, they will not be able to checkout.

8. When finished, click the SAVE button.

9. Repeat for each payment method that will be available to customers purchasing the recurring order subscriptions.

Configure Automatically Recurring Orders

The settings shown on this page will determine when email is sent, when new orders are created, and when changes or cancellation of a subscription can happen.  Please carefully review the settings.  Default values are entered for your convenience, however, they may not be appropriate for your fulfillment and shipping practices.

1. Return to the Configure > Store > Subscriptions page to view the settings available.
   
   

2. The Create Next Order setting is used to determine when the NEXT subscription order will be generated in the system.  The order can be generated before the next subscription payment is due.  Once the order is generated, any changes to the subscription will be disabled until the payment and shipment are processed.  After that has completed, subscription changes may be enabled again.  This value needs to be SMALLER than the values for both Allow Cancellation and Allow Changes.
   
   The default value is '0' days which means the next order will be created on the day that it is due for processing.  If the new order is created before payment is due, then it may be in an 'Unprocessed' state until the actual payment date arrives.  Then the payment will be processed by the gateway automatically.  If, for some reason, the payment fails, a payment status of failed will be visible for the order.  This value needs to be equal to or SMALLER than the setting for number of days to send Payment Reminder notification.

3. The Allow Subscription Changes setting will be necessary if you would like to allow the customer to make updates to the subscription plan, like changing the shipping address, billing profile, or frequency (if option is available).  The default value is 8 days before the next payment renewal date arrives.  To disable this feature, enter a value of 0.  This is not recommended.
   
   The value entered here needs to be greater than the value entered in the Create Next Order field.  This is to ensure that any subscription changes are reflected on the next order being generated.
   
   Uses the Select Subscription Updated Email setting with the email template "Subscription Updated".  Modify as needed.

4. You can Allow Cancellation of Subscriptions by entering a number of days before the next subscription payment is due.  To disable this setting, enter 0.
   
   The value entered here needs to be greater than the value entered in the Create Next Order field.  This is to ensure that a new order is not generated after cancellation.
   
   Uses the Select Cancellation Email setting with the email template "Subscription Cancellation Notice".  Modify as needed.  Select "None" to deactivate.

5. Select Enrollment Email defaults to the template provided with installation, "Subscription Enrollment".  We highly recommend you modify this email to include your company's terms and conditions for subscription orders.

6. You may use the Send Payment Reminder setting as a way to send an email reminder to your customer to let them know that their credit card will be charged soon.  If the credit card will expire within 30 days, then a special note will be included in the email to let them know they need to return to the store and update their billing profile.
   
   Uses the Select Payment Reminder Email setting with the email template "Subscription Payment Reminder".  Modify as needed.  Select "None" to deactivate

7. You can send multiple Send Expiration Reminder emails to notify customers that their subscription will be expiring soon.  The field accepts multiple values separate by comma.  The default settings are 30,14,7,1.  The email will only be sent for subscriptions that have an expiration date.
   
   Uses the Select Expiration Reminder Email setting with the email template "Subscription Expiration Notice".  Modify as needed.  Select "None" to deactivate.

8. The last setting allows you to Select Subscription Expired Email using the template "Subscription Expired".  Modify as needed.  Select "None" to deactivate.

NOTE:  All subscription email templates can be modified by going to the Configure > Email > Templates page.  The default settings will send an email to the customer only.  We highly recommend that you add the merchant's email address to any email that you wish to receive a copy of.  For example, if you would like to receive a copy of the "Subscription Cancellation" email, then add the keyword "merchant" to the Send To field.

Adding Subscription Plans to Products

To continue, please see Recurring Orders Subscriptions for instructions on how to create products with subscription plans.

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