Step 8: Subscriptions

Before you start selling subscriptions, make sure you have these key elements in place:

1. Integrated payment gateway – Stripe Online payment processing is essential for selling subscriptions. It allows customers to pay for their order immediately upon booking. Currently, to use subscriptions, you must have the Stripe payment gateway integrated.
   • You can find more information about configuring payment gateways here: Step 0: Payment Gateways Step 1: Payment Gateway Integration
2. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy When selling services online, having these documents is a legal requirement. Customers must accept your Terms of Service before making a payment.
   • You can learn more about how to prepare and link your Terms of Service in this article—Step 2: Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Creating a Subscription

To create a subscription, you must first have a paid appointment set up. You’ll find instructions in the article: Step 2: Sell Appointments

Next:

1. Go to Payments.
2. Click Add variant.
3. Enter a name for the option, e.g., Monthly Subscription.
4. Fill in:
   • Total price,
   • the number of sessions included in the subscription,
   • currency.
5. Enable the "Subscription" option using the slider.
6. Select the subscription renewal frequency:
   • weekly,
   • or monthly.

Once you save the changes, customers will be able to purchase a subscription when booking an appointment.

Customer Journey

Once the subscription is set up, the booking process works as follows:

1. The customer selects an available appointment time, e.g., the first Friday of every month at 9:00 a.m.
2. They enter their information and payment card details.
3. The first payment is charged when the subscription is purchased.
4. Subsequent payments are charged automatically according to the set frequency—weekly or monthly.
5. The selected date and time remain reserved exclusively for that customer. This means that, for example, the first Friday of every month at 9:00 a.m. will be permanently assigned to their subscription and will not be available for booking by others for the entire duration of the subscription.

Good to know: If a customer has an active subscription, you cannot remove it from the available payment methods. You must first end or cancel the customer’s active subscription before removing that payment option.