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Subscriptions

Subscriptions are the core of BillaBear's billing system. They represent an ongoing financial relationship between your business and your customers, allowing you to charge customers on a recurring basis for your products or services.

What is a Subscription?​

A subscription is an agreement between your business and a customer where the customer pays regularly (weekly, monthly, or yearly) for continued access to your products or services. In BillaBear, a subscription connects a customer to a specific subscription plan and price.

Key Subscription Concepts​

Subscription Plans​

Subscription plans define what products or services your customers receive. Each plan can have multiple prices associated with it, allowing you to offer the same plan at different price points based on billing frequency, currency, or other factors.

Prices​

Prices determine how much and how often your customers pay. BillaBear supports various pricing models, including:

  • Fixed price (flat fee)
  • Per unit/seat pricing
  • Package pricing
  • Tiered volume pricing
  • Tiered graduated pricing

For more information on pricing models, see the Pricing Models documentation.

Billing Cycles​

Subscriptions can be billed on different schedules:

  • Weekly
  • Monthly
  • Yearly

All subscriptions for a customer must use the same billing cycle and currency.

Subscription Status​

Subscriptions can have different statuses:

  • Active: The subscription is currently active and billing
  • Cancelled: The subscription has been cancelled but may still be active until the end of the current billing period
  • Expired: The subscription has ended and is no longer active

Managing Subscriptions​

BillaBear provides a comprehensive set of tools for managing subscriptions throughout their lifecycle:

Creating Subscriptions​

You can create new subscriptions for customers, selecting the appropriate plan, price, and payment method. For detailed instructions, see Create Subscription.

Viewing Subscriptions​

You can view all details of a customer's subscription, including billing history, upcoming payments, and subscription status. For detailed instructions, see View Subscription.

Changing Subscriptions​

BillaBear allows you to make various changes to active subscriptions:

  • Change Plan: Move a customer to a different subscription plan. See Change Plan.
  • Change Price: Adjust the price of a customer's subscription. See Change Price.
  • Change Payment Details: Update the payment method used for a subscription. See Change Payment Details.
  • Mass Change: Make the same change to multiple subscriptions at once. See Mass Change.

Cancelling Subscriptions​

When a customer no longer wishes to continue their subscription, you can cancel it with various options for timing and refunds. For detailed instructions, see Cancel Subscription.

Subscription Billing​

Subscriptions generate invoices automatically according to their billing cycle. The system handles:

  • Creating invoices at the appropriate time
  • Attempting payment using the customer's payment method
  • Handling successful and failed payments
  • Managing subscription status based on payment outcomes

Reporting and Analytics​

BillaBear provides reporting tools to help you understand your subscription business:

  • Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) tracking
  • Subscription growth and churn metrics
  • Revenue forecasting
  • Customer lifetime value analysis

These reports help you make informed decisions about your subscription business.

Common Subscription Tasks​

Here are some common tasks you might need to perform with subscriptions:

For detailed instructions on each task, click the corresponding link.