> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pocketsflow.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Core concepts > Understand how products, subscriptions, customers, checkout, payouts, and creator tools work in Pocketsflow. Pocketsflow is a digital product platform for creators who want to sell once or earn recurring revenue from subscriptions. This page gives you a mental model for how the main pieces fit together so the rest of the docs make sense. Read it once end-to-end, then come back to it whenever a specific setting or screen is unclear. ## When to use this guide Use this guide if you are: * New to Pocketsflow and want a high-level overview. * Planning how to structure your products and offers. * Debugging an issue and trying to understand where a specific setting lives. * Building an integration and need to know which object a webhook or API field maps to. Payments in Pocketsflow are processed by our payment infrastructure, which also acts as merchant of record. It handles the card form, currency conversion, fraud checks, and the underlying subscription billing engine. Everything you read below — products, orders, subscriptions, payouts — is Pocketsflow's model sitting on top of that payment rail. You never touch the payment provider directly; Pocketsflow orchestrates it for you. ## The core objects At a high level, Pocketsflow is built around a few core objects. Each one has a home in the dashboard and a matching representation in webhooks and the API. The one-time things you sell — courses, templates, downloads, licenses. Recurring offers that bill on a weekly, monthly, or yearly schedule. The people who buy from you, deduplicated by email. A record of every completed payment — one-time or a subscription charge. The embeddable payment surface where a visitor becomes a customer. How Pocketsflow settles collected revenue to your bank account. ### Products Products are the one-time things you sell. Examples: * A single course. * A Notion template pack. * A downloadable asset (icons, wallpapers, 3D assets, UI components). * A license key or access code delivered by a callback URL. Key attributes: * **Type** – one-time purchase (subscriptions are a separate object; see below). * **Price & currency** – a fixed amount, "pay what you want" with a minimum, or multiple variants each with their own price. * **Content** – the file(s) buyers download, or a URL / callback they're sent to after paying. * **Page & checkout design** – one of nine public page layouts and a checkout skin (see [Page templates](/selling/page-templates) and [Checkout page](/selling/checkout-page)). * **Visibility** – published or draft, and whether a public product page shows before checkout at all. Learn more in [Product types & use cases](/selling/product-types) and [Create a product](/selling/create-product). ### Subscriptions Subscriptions represent ongoing access that renews on a schedule — **weekly**, **monthly**, or **yearly**. They are a distinct object from products because they carry billing-specific settings a one-time product doesn't have: * A **frequency** (weekly / monthly / yearly). * An optional **free trial** measured in days. * A **customer portal** where subscribers manage or cancel their plan. * A set of **subscriber records**, each with a live status (active, past due, canceled, and so on). A subscription generates a new order every billing period and emits webhooks as its state changes over time. The full walkthrough lives in [Subscriptions](/selling/subscriptions). ### Customers Customers are the people who purchase from you. A customer record is created (or matched by email) the first time someone buys, so repeat buyers don't create duplicates. Each customer record can include: * Identity information (email, first and last name, country). * Which products they've purchased. * Which subscriptions they hold, and each one's status. * Their order and payment history. Customers collected at checkout can also flow into your email audience — see [Newsletter, posts & subscribers](/selling/newsletter). ### Orders (Sales) An order — called a **Sale** internally and in the API — represents a single completed payment. Orders tie together: * The **customer** who paid. * The **product** or **subscription** they bought. * The **amount**, tax, currency, and net amount after fees. * Any **discount / coupon**, **upsell**, **affiliate**, or **partner** attribution. Every subscription renewal is also recorded as its own order, tagged with a billing reason of `initial` or `renewal`, so recurring revenue shows up on your orders page exactly like one-time sales. You'll mainly use orders when: * Looking up a specific transaction. * Issuing refunds or handling disputes. * Answering "did this payment go through?" support questions. * Reconciling payouts. ### Checkout Checkout is where a prospect becomes a customer. Pocketsflow's checkout is a single, embeddable surface used by both products and subscriptions. It handles: * Collecting the buyer's email (and optionally first / last name). * Localized payment methods and currencies, via our payment infrastructure. * Applying coupons, order bumps, and pay-what-you-want pricing. * Redirecting to a thank-you page, or — when embedded — posting a message back to the parent window so your own site can react. You configure checkout through the product/subscription's checkout step. See [Checkout page](/selling/checkout-page). ### Payouts Pocketsflow collects payment from your customers through our payment infrastructure and sends payouts to you. Key ideas: * **Payout account** – your connected bank details, set up through our payment infrastructure's onboarding. * **Business approval** – the first real (non-test) sale flags your account for a one-time business verification (KYC/KYB) before payouts continue. This is normal; complete it once and you're set. * **Fees** – Pocketsflow's platform fee plus the payment processor's fees are deducted before payout; the net amount is stored on each order. See [Payouts](/payments/payouts), [Fees](/payments/fees), and [Payment methods](/payments/payment-methods). ### Link in bio Link in bio is your public storefront and link-in-bio hub on Pocketsflow. It's a single URL (for example, `https://yourname.pocketsflow.com`) that brings together: * **Your profile** – name, bio, profile picture, and cover image. * **Your products** – selected products displayed for visitors to browse and buy. * **Social links** – buttons linking to your social profiles. * **Regular links** – any additional links you want to share. * **Newsletter signup** – an optional subscriber form to grow your email list. * **Image gallery** – showcase your work. Key attributes: * **Templates** – 40 pre-designed layouts across six families. * **Theme customization** – colors, fonts, backgrounds, and button styles. * **Custom domain** – connect your own domain (for example, `https://yourdomain.com`). * **Analytics** – first-party page views, clicks, and top products, plus optional Google Analytics. Link in bio serves as a central hub connecting visitors to your products, content, and social presence from a single memorable URL. See [Link in bio](/selling/creator-page). ## How the objects relate ```text theme={null} Creator (you) ├── Products ─────────────┐ ├── Subscriptions ────────┤ │ └── Subscribers (status: active / past_due / canceled / …) │ │ Visitor → Checkout ───────┤ ▼ Order (Sale) ── belongs to ──▶ Customer │ └── rolls up into ──▶ Payout ``` * A **product** or **subscription** is what a **visitor** buys through **checkout**. * A completed checkout creates an **order** and a **customer** (or matches an existing one by email). * A subscription additionally creates a **subscriber** record that tracks its status over time and generates a new order every renewal. * Orders roll up into **payouts**. ## Lifecycle of a one-time purchase A visitor lands on a **product page** (one of nine layouts) or discovers your product via your **Link in bio**. They click your call-to-action and open the **checkout**, either as its own page or embedded on your site. The buyer enters their email and card details; our payment infrastructure processes the payment. On success, Pocketsflow creates the **customer** and **order**, emails the buyer their access (file, link, or callback URL) plus a receipt, and notifies you of the sale. The order is included in your next **payout**, net of fees. ## Lifecycle of a subscription Subscriptions add a recurring, stateful layer on top of that flow: The buyer completes checkout for a subscription. If you offered a **free trial**, billing is deferred until the trial ends. Pocketsflow creates a **subscriber** record with status `active` (or `trialing`), grants access, and emails both buyer and you. Each billing period, our payment infrastructure charges the saved card. A successful charge records a new **order** tagged `renewal`; a failed charge moves the subscriber to `past_due` and retries. Subscribers manage or cancel their plan from the **customer portal** you link them to. When a subscription is canceled or lapses, the subscriber becomes `canceled` and access is revoked at the appropriate time. ### Subscription statuses Every subscriber carries a status that reflects where they are in the billing lifecycle: | Status | Meaning | | ----------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | `trialing` | In a free trial; not yet charged. | | `active` | Paid and in good standing. | | `past_due` | A renewal charge failed; retries are in progress. | | `paused` | Temporarily suspended; not billing. | | `canceled` | Ended — either by the customer, by you, or after failed retries. | | `unpaid` | Charges have failed past the retry window. | | `incomplete` / `incomplete_expired` | The first payment never completed. | | `refunded` | A charge was refunded. | The complete subscription walkthrough, including how these transitions map to webhooks, is in [Subscriptions](/selling/subscriptions). ## Test mode Products, subscriptions, orders, and customers can be created in **test mode**. Test transactions use test cards, never move real money, are clearly flagged with a test-mode overlay on public pages, and fire test-mode webhooks. Use test mode to rehearse the full buyer journey before you send real traffic, then switch to live for launch. ## How this maps to the dashboard While the exact navigation may evolve, you can expect to see: * A **Products** section where you create and manage one-time offerings. * A **Subscriptions** section for recurring products and their subscribers. * A **Link in bio** section where you build your public storefront. * An **Orders** / **Sales** section that lists completed checkouts. * A **Customers** section for buyer records and support. * A **Payouts** / **Balance** view for pending and completed payouts. * **Posts** and **Subscribers** for the built-in newsletter. * **Settings** for account, payout, and branding configuration. As you explore these sections, refer back to this model whenever you're unsure what a setting affects. ## Glossary A one-time offer. Paid once, accessed forever. Distinct from a subscription. A recurring offer billed weekly, monthly, or yearly, with an optional free trial and a self-service customer portal. A single customer's enrollment in one subscription, with a live status and a portal link. One person subscribing to two of your plans produces two subscriber records. A completed payment. One-time purchases produce one; subscriptions produce one per successful billing period. A person who has bought from you, deduplicated by email within your account. The payment infrastructure that processes cards, runs the recurring billing engine, and acts as merchant of record. Pocketsflow orchestrates it; you don't manage it directly. The self-service page where a subscriber updates payment details, and cancels or manages their plan. ## What's next * To launch quickly, continue to [Creator quickstart](/quickstart/creator). * To set up your public storefront, see [Link in bio](/selling/creator-page). * To design your sales flows, see [Product types & use cases](/selling/product-types). * To build recurring revenue, see [Subscriptions](/selling/subscriptions). * To understand how you get paid, see [Payments & payouts](/payments/payment-methods).