Subscriptions

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Overview

• ✅ Predictable monthly recurring revenue (MRR)
• ✅ Higher customer lifetime value (LTV)
• ✅ Automatic recurring billing via payment gateway
• ✅ Built-in dunning for failed payments
• ✅ Customer self-service portal
• ✅ Flexible billing intervals (monthly, yearly, custom)
• ✅ Free trial support

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Subscription vs. One-Time Product

• You provide ongoing access (community, platform, tools)
• Content updates regularly (monthly resources, new lessons)
• You offer live support or office hours
• You want predictable cash flow

• Value is delivered immediately (ebook, template)
• No ongoing updates or support needed
• Customers prefer one-time payment
• You’re just starting (simpler to manage)

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Creating a Subscription Product

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Step 1: Start New Product

1. Go to Dashboard → Products
2. Click Create Product
3. Select Subscription as product type

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Step 2: Basic Information

• Example: “Premium Membership”, “VIP Community Access”, “Pro Plan”
• Shows on checkout, invoices, and customer portal

• URL-friendly identifier
• Example: premium-membership
• Used in product URL: pocketsflow.com/p/premium-membership

• Explain what subscribers get each billing period
• Highlight ongoing benefits (not just signup perks)
• Use bullet points for clarity

# What You Get Every Month

- ✅ Weekly live Q&A sessions
- ✅ Private Discord community access
- ✅ Monthly resource pack (templates, guides)
- ✅ Priority email support
- ✅ Early access to new courses

Cancel anytime. No long-term commitment.

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Step 3: Pricing & Billing Configuration

• Enter amount per billing interval
• Minimum: $1.00
• Maximum: $999,999.99
• Example: $29.00 per month

• Monthly: $29/month ($348/year)
• Yearly: $249/year (save$99 = 28% discount)

• Basic: $9/month (community access)
• Pro: $29/month (+ resources + Q&A)
• VIP: $99/month (+ 1-on-1 coaching)

• Choose from 50+ supported currencies
• Cannot change after first sale
• All subscriber invoices use this currency

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Step 4: Free Trial Configuration

• 7 days (most common)
• 14 days (higher-priced subscriptions)
• 30 days (annual plans)
• Custom days (1-365)

1. Customer signs up with payment method
2. Payment method verified but not charged
3. Full access during trial period
4. First charge happens after trial ends
5. Customer can cancel anytime during trial (no charge)

Enable Free Trial: ON
Trial Duration: 14 days
Price After Trial: $29/month

• Trial started (immediate)
• Trial ending soon (3 days before)
• Trial ended, first payment charged (day trial ends)

• ✅ Clearly state trial terms on product page
• ✅ Send reminder email before trial ends
• ✅ Provide value during trial (onboarding, welcome content)
• ✅ Make cancellation easy (reduces disputes)

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Step 5: Setup Fee (Optional)

• Onboarding costs (custom setup, consultation)
• Access to exclusive content library (one-time value)
• Reduce trial abuse (small fee commitment)

Setup Fee: $99 (one-time)
Subscription Price: $29/month
First Invoice: $128 ($99 setup + $29 first month)
Subsequent Invoices: $29/month

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Subscription Plans & Variants

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Creating Multiple Tiers

• Name: Basic Plan
• Price: $9/month
• Description: Community access only

• Name: Pro Plan
• Price: $29/month
• Description: Community + resources + Q&A

• Name: VIP Plan
• Price: $99/month
• Description: Everything + 1-on-1 coaching

1. Create base subscription product
2. Go to Product Variants section
3. Click Add Variant
4. Configure name, price, billing interval for each tier
5. Describe what’s different in each tier

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Managing Active Subscriptions

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Viewing Subscriptions Dashboard

• Customer name and email
• Current plan/variant
• Billing amount and interval
• Next billing date
• Payment method (last 4 digits)
• Total revenue from subscription
• Subscription start date
• Status history

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Subscription Actions

1. Find subscription in dashboard
2. Click Cancel
3. Choose:
   • End immediately - Access revoked now, no refund
   • End of billing period - Access until renewal date
4. Confirm cancellation
5. Customer receives cancellation email

• Change billing interval (monthly ↔ yearly)
• Upgrade/downgrade plan
• Update payment method
• Apply discount code

• Temporarily suspend billing and access
• Resume later without re-subscribing
• Useful for seasonal memberships

• Partial or full refund for most recent charge
• Choose whether to cancel subscription
• Refund processed via original payment method

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Customer Self-Service Portal

• ✅ View all active subscriptions
• ✅ See next billing date and amount
• ✅ Update payment method
• ✅ Upgrade or downgrade plan
• ✅ Cancel subscription
• ✅ Download invoices
• ✅ View billing history

1. Link in welcome email
2. Link in invoice emails
3. Login at pocketsflow.com/login
4. Click “Manage Subscription” on product page (if logged in)

1. Settings → Customer Portal
2. Toggle features:
   • Allow cancellations
   • Allow plan changes
   • Allow payment method updates
   • Cancellation feedback (ask why canceling)
3. Set cancellation policy:
   • Immediate cancellation
   • End of billing period
4. Save settings

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Plan Changes & Proration

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Upgrading Subscriptions

1. Customer charged prorated amount immediately
2. New plan price applies
3. Billing date remains the same

Current Plan: $9/month (Basic)
New Plan: $29/month (Pro)
Days remaining in cycle: 15 days
Days in month: 30 days

Proration credit: $9 × (15/30) = $4.50
Prorated charge: $29 × (15/30) = $14.50
Immediate charge: $14.50 - $4.50 = $10

Next invoice (30 days later): $29

You've upgraded to Pro Plan!

Immediate charge today: $10.00 (prorated)
Next billing date: Jan 15, 2025
Next charge: $29.00/month

Your new benefits are active immediately.

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Downgrading Subscriptions

• Credit applied to account balance
• New lower price starts now
• Rarely used (customers lose access immediately)

• Customer keeps Pro access until renewal date
• Downgrade takes effect on next billing date
• No proration needed
• Better customer experience

• Settings → Subscriptions → Plan Changes
• Choose: Immediate or End of Period
• Set for upgrades and downgrades separately

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Failed Payments & Dunning

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When Payments Fail

• ❌ Insufficient funds
• ❌ Expired credit card
• ❌ Card declined by bank
• ❌ Billing address mismatch
• ❌ Fraud prevention triggers

1. Initial charge fails
2. Subscription status → “Past Due”
3. Automatic retry scheduled
4. Customer receives payment failure email
5. Retry attempts continue
6. Eventually cancels if all retries fail

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Automatic Retry Schedule

• Day 1: Initial attempt fails
• Day 3: First retry (smart timing based on issuing bank)
• Day 5: Second retry
• Day 7: Third retry
• Day 14: Final retry
• Day 15: Subscription canceled if still failing

• Access: Depends on your grace period settings
• Customer portal: Shows “Past Due” with update payment option
• Webhooks: invoice.payment_failed sent after each failure

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Grace Period Configuration

1. Settings → Subscriptions → Failed Payments
2. Select grace period option
3. Save

• Payment failed (immediate)
• Payment retrying (day before retry)
• Final attempt warning (day 13)
• Subscription canceled (day 15)

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Dunning Email Strategy

Subject: Payment Failed - Update Your Payment Method

Hi [Name],

We couldn't process your payment for [Product Name].

This happens sometimes due to expired cards or
insufficient funds. No worries—your access is
still active while we retry.

→ Update Payment Method

We'll try again in a few days.

Subject: Action Needed - Update Payment for [Product]

Hi [Name],

We've tried a few times but still can't process
your payment.

To avoid losing access, please update your
payment method:

→ Update Payment Method

Questions? Just reply to this email.

Subject: Final Notice - Subscription Ending Soon

Hi [Name],

Your subscription to [Product] will be canceled
tomorrow if we can't process payment.

Don't lose access! Update now:

→ Update Payment Method

This is our final attempt.

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Cancellations & Retention

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Cancellation Policy Options

• Access revoked immediately
• No refund for unused time
• Subscription ends right away
• Best for: Services with minimal switching cost

• Access continues until renewal date
• Customer keeps what they paid for
• Better customer experience
• Opportunity to win them back
• Best for: Most subscriptions

• Prorated refund for unused time
• Access revoked immediately
• Higher churn recovery
• Best for: High-trust brands, premium services

• Settings → Subscriptions → Cancellation Policy
• Choose policy
• Enable/disable self-service cancellation

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Cancellation Flow & Feedback

• ☐ Too expensive
• ☐ Not using it enough
• ☐ Missing features
• ☐ Found alternative
• ☐ Technical issues
• ☐ Other (text field)

Before you go...

Get 50% off your next 3 months!

[ Claim Discount ]  [ No Thanks, Cancel ]

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Win-Back Campaigns

Subject: We miss you! Here's 25% off to come back

Hi [Name],

We noticed you canceled [Product Name].

We've made improvements and would love to have
you back. Here's 25% off for 3 months:

→ Reactivate with Discount

No hard feelings if not!

Subject: What's new in [Product]

Hi [Name],

Since you left, we've added:
- [New Feature 1]
- [New Feature 2]
- [New Feature 3]

Want to give us another try?

→ Restart Subscription

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Webhooks for Subscriptions

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Key Subscription Events

{
  "event": "customer.subscription.created",
  "subscription": {
    "id": "sub_abc123",
    "customer": {
      "email": "customer@example.com",
      "name": "John Doe"
    },
    "product": {
      "id": "prod_xyz789",
      "name": "Pro Membership"
    },
    "status": "active",
    "current_period_start": 1703174400,
    "current_period_end": 1705852800,
    "billing_interval": "month",
    "price": 2900,
    "currency": "usd"
  }
}

• Triggered on plan changes, upgrades, downgrades
• Update access levels accordingly

{
  "event": "customer.subscription.deleted",
  "subscription": {
    "id": "sub_abc123",
    "customer": {
      "email": "customer@example.com"
    },
    "canceled_at": 1705852800,
    "cancellation_reason": "customer_request"
  }
}

• Subscription temporarily suspended
• Remove active access, keep user data

• Subscription reactivated after pause
• Restore full access

• Sent 3 days before trial ends
• Remind customer, encourage engagement

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Payment Events

{
  "event": "invoice.payment_succeeded",
  "invoice": {
    "id": "inv_abc123",
    "subscription_id": "sub_abc123",
    "customer": {
      "email": "customer@example.com"
    },
    "amount_paid": 2900,
    "period_start": 1703174400,
    "period_end": 1705852800,
    "billing_reason": "subscription_cycle"
  }
}

• Extend access for another billing period
• Send custom thank you email
• Update internal analytics
• Trigger renewal confirmation

{
  "event": "invoice.payment_failed",
  "invoice": {
    "id": "inv_abc123",
    "subscription_id": "sub_abc123",
    "customer": {
      "email": "customer@example.com"
    },
    "amount_due": 2900,
    "attempt_count": 1,
    "next_payment_attempt": 1703433600
  }
}

• Send custom dunning email
• Notify in Slack
• Update CRM status to “Payment Issue”
• Start grace period timer

• Sent 7 days before renewal
• Remind customers of upcoming charge
• Opportunity to update payment method

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Integration Example: Grant Discord Access

const Discord = require('discord.js');
const client = new Discord.Client();

app.post('/webhooks/pocketsflow', async (req, res) => {
  const event = req.body;

  switch (event.event) {
    case 'customer.subscription.created':
    case 'customer.subscription.updated':
      // Grant Discord role
      const guild = client.guilds.cache.get(DISCORD_SERVER_ID);
      const member = await guild.members.fetch(
        await getUserDiscordId(event.subscription.customer.email)
      );

      const role = guild.roles.cache.find(
        r => r.name === 'Premium Member'
      );

      await member.roles.add(role);
      console.log(`Granted Premium role to ${member.user.tag}`);
      break;

    case 'customer.subscription.deleted':
      // Revoke Discord role
      const guild2 = client.guilds.cache.get(DISCORD_SERVER_ID);
      const member2 = await guild2.members.fetch(
        await getUserDiscordId(event.subscription.customer.email)
      );

      const role2 = guild2.roles.cache.find(
        r => r.name === 'Premium Member'
      );

      await member2.roles.remove(role2);
      console.log(`Revoked Premium role from ${member2.user.tag}`);
      break;

    case 'invoice.payment_failed':
      // Send Slack notification
      await sendSlackAlert({
        channel: '#billing-alerts',
        text: `⚠️ Payment failed for ${event.invoice.customer.email}`,
        color: 'danger'
      });
      break;
  }

  res.status(200).send('OK');
});

​

Analytics & Metrics

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Key Subscription Metrics

• Total monthly revenue from all active subscriptions
• Excludes one-time fees and setup charges
• Formula: Sum of all monthly subscription prices

• MRR × 12
• Used for yearly planning

• Percentage of subscribers who cancel each month
• Formula: (Cancellations this month / Active subscribers start of month) × 100
• Target: < 5% monthly churn

• Average revenue per customer over their lifetime
• Formula: Average subscription price / Churn rate
• Example: $29 / 0.05 =$580 LTV

• Net new subscribers each month
• Formula: ((New subs - Cancellations) / Starting subs) × 100

• Percentage of trials that convert to paid
• Formula: (Paid conversions / Trial starts) × 100
• Target: > 40% conversion

• Percentage of charges that fail
• Target: < 10%

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Revenue Breakdown

• New MRR (new subscribers)
• Expansion MRR (upgrades)
• Contraction MRR (downgrades)
• Churned MRR (cancellations)
• Net New MRR (total change)

• Track subscriber retention by signup month
• See how long different cohorts stay subscribed
• Identify seasonal patterns

• How many subscribers on each plan/tier
• Revenue contribution by plan
• Most/least popular plans

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Best Practices

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Pricing Strategy

• Offer annual discount (15-30% off vs monthly)
• Create 3 tiers (good, better, best)
• Highlight most popular plan
• Test pricing with small audience first
• Show monthly cost even for annual plans ($24/month, billed annually at$288)

• Change pricing frequently (confuses customers)
• Make cancellation difficult (increases disputes)
• Hide that it’s a subscription
• Forget to show currency clearly

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Onboarding & Retention

• Send content digest
• Announce new features
• Share success stories
• Host live events (Q&A, workshops)
• Create exclusive content

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Communication

• ✅ Clearly state it’s a subscription on product page
• ✅ Show exact renewal date and amount
• ✅ Send reminder before charging
• ✅ Explain cancellation policy upfront
• ✅ Make terms of service accessible

## Subscription Terms

- Billing: Monthly on the [day] of each month
- Renewals: Automatic unless canceled
- Cancellation: Anytime from customer portal
- Refunds: No refunds for partial months
- Changes: We may update pricing with 30 days notice

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Troubleshooting

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High Churn Rate

1. Exit survey: Ask why customers cancel
2. Improve onboarding: Ensure customers get value quickly
3. Engagement: Send regular content, reminders of benefits
4. Retention offer: Discount or pause option before canceling
5. Product improvements: Address common complaints
6. Payment failures: Reduce involuntary churn via better dunning

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Low Trial Conversion

1. Engagement during trial: Onboarding emails, push to use features
2. Trial length: Test 7 vs 14 vs 30 days
3. Reminder emails: 3 days before trial ends
4. Remove friction: Simplify signup, don’t require too much info
5. Show value: Highlight quick wins, success stories

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Payment Failure Issues

1. Update card reminders: Email before expiration
2. Retry timing: Use smart payment retries (automatic)
3. Payment method options: Support PayPal, ACH (if available)
4. Pre-charge emails: Warn customers charge is coming
5. Grace period: Give time to fix payment before revoking access

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Subscription Management Confusion

1. Prominent links: Include in every email footer
2. Help docs: “How to cancel” guide
3. Customer portal: Make it obvious and easy to use
4. Support: Quick response for cancellation requests
5. Transparency: Never hide cancellation options

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FAQ

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Can customers pause subscriptions?

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What happens if a customer disputes a charge?

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Can I change billing interval after creation?

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Do I need to handle taxes?

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Can customers get invoices?

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What if I want to grandfather old pricing?

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Next Steps