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Subscriptions overview

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Subscriptions allow you to charge your customers a periodic fee for using the service.

Example

Owl Telecom offers 1000 minutes to the EU for a monthly recurring charge of $9.99.

To start charging customers a recurring fee for each billing period, you need to create a subscription plan in PortaBilling and assign it to a customer. In a subscription plan, you should define:

  1. When the subscription charges should apply. You can charge your customers for an active subscription:
    • At the end of the billing period
    • At the beginning of the billing period (in advance)
    • Progressively each day of the billing period
  2. When the subscription should be activated. You can configure the subscription to be activated right upon assignment, or at a later time – either on a specific date or upon the account’s first usage.
  3. Subscription fees. PortaBilling allows you to set three types of charges for each subscription:
    • Activation fee (optional)
    • Periodic fee. When a customer signs up for or cancels a subscription in the middle of a billing period, you can charge either the prorated or full periodic fee. Also, you can configure PortaBilling not to charge customers for the days when they don’t have access to the service. This may be necessary based on market conditions or local regulations.
    • Early cancellation fee (optional)

You have the flexibility to offer your customers promotions, discounts, or apply markups which will adjust the subscription fees.

Additionally, you can configure PortaBilling to automatically deduct the subscription fee charged in advance from customers’ credit cards. This ensures that customers can use the available funds on their balance specifically for pay-as-you-go charges, such as for calls, and guarantees a predictable cash flow for you as a service provider.

Subscriptions can be assigned to customers in two ways:

  • In conjunction with a product.
    Example

    A user activates an add-on product on the self-care web interface, and the corresponding subscription is automatically assigned.

  • Independently from any specific product.
    Example

    A customer wants to share 1000 minutes for $9.99 between all their accounts. An admin manually assigns the $9.99 subscription to the customer directly.

Comprehensive guide to subscriptions

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Find further details on subscription functionality:

  1. Subscription activation and charging methods
  2. How much to charge for subscriptions
  3. Sale modes based on business scenarios
  4. Applying subscriptions in advance
  5. Applying or waiving subscription charges

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