> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.payreque.st/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Creating Subscriptions

> Set up recurring billing for your customers with automatic payment collection

## Overview

Subscriptions enable you to automatically collect recurring payments from customers at regular intervals. PayRequest handles the entire subscription lifecycle: from initial setup and payment authorization, through billing cycles, to pausing, resuming, and cancellation.

<Tip>
  Subscriptions are ideal for SaaS products, memberships, retainers, maintenance contracts, and any service with regular billing.
</Tip>

## Key Features

* **Flexible Billing Intervals**: Monthly, quarterly, or yearly billing
* **Free Trials**: Offer trial periods before billing starts
* **SEPA Direct Debit**: Automatic payments via bank mandate
* **Invoice-Based Billing**: Send invoices instead of automatic collection
* **Quantity Support**: Bill per seat, user, or unit
* **Custom Pricing**: Override product prices per subscription
* **Custom Start Dates**: Schedule subscriptions to start in the future
* **Payment Limits**: Set fixed number of payments (e.g., 12-month contracts)
* **Custom Fields**: Collect additional information per subscription

## Prerequisites

Before creating subscriptions, ensure you have:

1. **Payment Provider Connected**: Mollie account configured in Settings → Payment Providers
2. **Recurring Product**: At least one product marked as "Recurring" or type "Subscription"
3. **Customer Record**: The customer you want to bill

<Note>
  Products must have **"Is Recurring"** enabled or product type set to **"Subscription"** to appear in the subscription product dropdown.
</Note>

## Creating a Subscription (Dashboard)

Navigate to **Subscriptions** in the sidebar, then click **Create Subscription**.

### Step 1: Select Customer

Choose the customer who will be billed for this subscription.

**Customer Selection Tips:**

* Search by name or email
* Customer must have a valid email address
* For mandate-based billing, customer needs a linked Mollie customer ID (created automatically on first payment)

### Step 2: Select Product

Choose a recurring product from your catalog.

**What appears here:**

* Products with "Is Recurring" enabled
* Products with type "Subscription"
* Only active products are shown

When you select a product, the form automatically loads:

* Base price and billing interval from product settings
* Trial period configuration (if product has trial enabled)
* Custom fields defined on the product

### Step 3: Configure Subscription Details

#### Quantity

Set the number of units to bill. Common uses:

* **Per seat pricing**: Charge per user (e.g., 5 users × €10/month = €50/month)
* **Tiered quantity**: Higher quantities for bigger packages
* **Default**: 1 unit

#### Custom Price (Optional)

Enable **"Use custom price"** to override the product's default price:

```
Product price: €49/month
Custom price: €39/month (promotional pricing)
```

<Info>
  Custom pricing is per unit. Total = Custom Price × Quantity.
</Info>

#### Trial Period

If the product has a trial period configured, it applies automatically. You can also manually set trial days:

```
Trial days: 14
Result: Customer can use service for 14 days before first charge
```

**Trial Behavior:**

* Subscription status = "Trial" during trial period
* No payment collected during trial
* First billing occurs when trial ends
* Trial end date shown clearly in subscription details

#### Custom Start Date

Enable **"Use custom start date"** to schedule when billing begins:

**Use cases:**

* Start billing on the 1st of next month
* Align with customer's fiscal year
* Replace an expiring subscription seamlessly

```
Today: December 5, 2025
Custom start date: January 1, 2026
Result: First payment collected on January 1, 2026
```

### Step 4: Payment Method

Choose how payments will be collected:

#### Mandate-Based (Automatic)

**How it works:**

1. Customer authorizes payments via SEPA Direct Debit
2. PayRequest automatically charges their bank account each billing cycle
3. No action needed from customer after initial authorization

**Requirements:**

* Customer must complete mandate authorization (via email link or checkout)
* Mollie payment provider configured
* Supported: SEPA Direct Debit, credit cards (with recurring capability)

**Mandate Status Scenarios:**

| Scenario                    | Result                                  |
| --------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Customer has active mandate | Subscription starts immediately         |
| No mandate exists           | Email sent to customer to authorize     |
| Mandate pending             | Subscription status = "Pending Mandate" |

#### Invoice-Based (Manual)

**How it works:**

1. PayRequest generates an invoice each billing cycle
2. Invoice emailed to customer with payment link
3. Customer pays invoice manually (iDEAL, bank transfer, card, etc.)

**When to use:**

* Customers prefer to review charges before paying
* Business customers requiring invoice approval
* Markets where SEPA Direct Debit isn't common

<Warning>
  Invoice-based subscriptions require Shop settings to enable this option. Go to **Shop Settings** → **Enable Invoice Subscriptions**.
</Warning>

### Step 5: Custom Fields

If the product has custom fields configured, fill them in:

**Common custom field types:**

* **Text**: Company name, project reference
* **Email**: Technical contact email
* **URL**: Website being hosted
* **Number**: Additional seats, storage GB
* **Toggle**: Add-on features with extra cost
* **Select**: Service tier, support level

<Tip>
  Toggle and select fields can have **price markup** - enabling them automatically increases the recurring amount.
</Tip>

### Step 6: Review Summary

Before creating, review the summary panel showing:

* **Customer name**
* **Product and quantity**
* **Recurring amount** (including any markup from custom fields)
* **Billing interval** (monthly/quarterly/yearly)
* **Trial period** (if applicable)
* **First billing date**
* **Payment method** (mandate or invoice)

### Step 7: Create

Click **Create Subscription** to finalize.

**What happens next:**

| Payment Method | Customer Has Mandate | Result                                         |
| -------------- | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| Mandate        | Yes                  | Subscription active, billing scheduled         |
| Mandate        | No                   | Email sent to customer with authorization link |
| Invoice        | N/A                  | Invoice created and emailed (if billing soon)  |

## Creating Subscriptions via Shop Checkout

Customers can self-subscribe through your shop:

### Customer Flow

1. Customer visits your shop
2. Selects a recurring product
3. Proceeds to checkout
4. Completes payment (first payment or mandate authorization)
5. Subscription created automatically

### Shop Configuration

Configure subscription checkout behavior in **Shop Settings**:

* **Allow trial signups**: Let customers start trials without payment
* **Show billing cycle**: Display "€49/month" or "€499/year" clearly
* **Require immediate payment**: Collect first payment at checkout
* **Enable invoice subscriptions**: Allow invoice-based billing

## Subscription Statuses

After creation, subscriptions progress through various statuses:

| Status              | Meaning                        | Actions Available            |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------ | ---------------------------- |
| **Active**          | Billing normally               | Pause, Cancel, Edit          |
| **Trial**           | In free trial period           | Convert early, Cancel        |
| **Pending Mandate** | Awaiting payment authorization | Resend email, Cancel         |
| **Paused**          | Temporarily stopped            | Resume, Cancel               |
| **Failed**          | Payment collection failed      | Retry, Update payment method |
| **Canceled**        | Permanently ended              | Reactivate (create new)      |
| **Completed**       | Reached payment limit          | N/A                          |

<Info>
  See [Subscription Lifecycle](/subscriptions/subscription-lifecycle) for detailed status transitions.
</Info>

## Use Cases

### 1. SaaS Monthly Subscription

```
Product: Pro Plan
Price: €49/month
Trial: 14 days
Payment: Mandate (automatic)
```

**Result**: Customer gets 14-day trial, then €49 charged automatically each month.

### 2. Annual Retainer

```
Product: Maintenance Contract
Price: €2,400/year
Custom start: January 1
Payment: Invoice
```

**Result**: Invoice sent on January 1 each year for customer to pay.

### 3. Per-Seat Pricing

```
Product: Team Plan
Price: €10/user/month
Quantity: 15
Custom field: Company Name = "Acme Corp"
```

**Result**: €150/month charged automatically for 15 seats.

### 4. Fixed-Term Contract

```
Product: 12-Month Premium
Price: €99/month
Payment limit: 12 payments
```

**Result**: 12 monthly payments, then subscription automatically completes.

### 5. Domain Renewal

```
Product: Domain Registration
Price: €15/year (based on TLD)
Custom field: Domain = "example.nl"
Interval: Yearly
```

**Result**: Annual renewal charged automatically for domain.

## Best Practices

### ✅ Do's

* **Use clear product names** that explain what's being billed
* **Set appropriate trial lengths** (7-30 days typical)
* **Configure payment reminders** for invoice-based subscriptions
* **Use tags** to organize subscriptions by type, customer segment, or sales rep
* **Review "Pending Mandate" subscriptions** regularly - follow up if not completed
* **Test the flow** by creating a test subscription for yourself

### ❌ Don'ts

* **Don't create duplicate subscriptions** for the same service
* **Don't use trial for invoice-based** (customers might not pay after trial)
* **Don't forget setup fees** - configure them on the product if applicable
* **Don't ignore failed payments** - configure [dunning](/subscriptions/failed-payment-handling)
* **Don't change product prices** without considering existing subscriptions

## After Creation

Once a subscription is created:

1. **Monitor the dashboard** for status updates
2. **Check transaction history** for payment records
3. **Review customer portal** - customers can see their subscriptions
4. **Set up automations** for status changes (failed payment notifications)

## Troubleshooting

### Customer Didn't Receive Mandate Email

**Causes:**

1. Invalid email address
2. Email in spam folder
3. Mail delivery issues

**Solutions:**

* Verify customer email address
* Ask customer to check spam
* Resend mandate email from subscription detail page
* Check email delivery logs in Settings

### Subscription Stuck at "Pending Mandate"

**Causes:**

1. Customer hasn't clicked authorization link
2. Customer abandoned the mandate process
3. Bank rejected the mandate

**Solutions:**

* Contact customer to complete authorization
* Resend mandate email
* Consider switching to invoice-based billing
* Check Mollie dashboard for mandate errors

### Wrong Amount Being Charged

**Causes:**

1. Product price changed after subscription creation
2. Custom field markup not calculated correctly
3. Quantity mismatch

**Solutions:**

* Edit subscription to update amount
* Subscription amounts are fixed at creation (product price changes don't affect existing subscriptions)
* Update quantity if seats changed

### Trial Not Applied

**Causes:**

1. Product doesn't have trial configured
2. Trial days set to 0
3. Customer already had a trial (if trial-once logic exists)

**Solutions:**

* Check product settings for trial configuration
* Manually set trial days when creating subscription
* Create new subscription with correct trial settings

## Related Documentation

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Subscription Lifecycle" icon="arrows-spin" href="/subscriptions/subscription-lifecycle">
    Understand status transitions
  </Card>

  <Card title="Managing Mandates" icon="building-columns" href="/subscriptions/managing-mandates">
    SEPA authorization management
  </Card>

  <Card title="Billing Cycles" icon="calendar" href="/subscriptions/billing-cycles">
    Configure payment intervals
  </Card>

  <Card title="Failed Payments" icon="triangle-exclamation" href="/subscriptions/failed-payment-handling">
    Handle payment failures
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Frequently Asked Questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I change the price of an existing subscription?">
    Yes! Edit the subscription and update the recurring amount. The new price applies from the next billing cycle. Customers are not automatically notified of price changes - consider sending a manual email.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens if a customer's mandate expires?">
    SEPA mandates don't expire, but they can be revoked by the customer or bank. If this happens, the subscription status changes to "Failed" and you'll need to request a new mandate authorization.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can customers have multiple active subscriptions?">
    Yes, customers can have unlimited active subscriptions. Common scenarios include multiple products, different billing entities, or separate projects.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I migrate existing customers to subscriptions?">
    Create subscriptions manually for each customer. Set a custom start date to align with their current billing cycle. For mandate-based billing, they'll need to authorize payments once.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I link an existing subscription to an order?">
    Yes! If a subscription was created separately and needs to be associated with an order, go to the **Order Detail** page. In the **Order Subscriptions** card, use the "Link an existing subscription" dropdown to select and connect the subscription. This is useful for reconciling historical data or fixing accidentally unlinked subscriptions.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I offer different prices to different customers?">
    Yes! Use the "Custom price" option when creating each subscription. This lets you offer promotional pricing, grandfathered rates, or negotiated enterprise pricing.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What's the difference between pausing and canceling?">
    **Pausing** temporarily stops billing - the subscription can be resumed later and retains all settings. **Canceling** permanently ends the subscription - to restart, you'd create a new subscription.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Need Help?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Products Setup" icon="box" href="/products-and-pricing/creating-products">
    Create recurring products
  </Card>

  <Card title="Trial Periods" icon="gift" href="/products-and-pricing/trial-periods">
    Configure free trials
  </Card>

  <Card title="Order Management" icon="shopping-cart" href="/shop-and-checkout/order-management">
    Link subscriptions to orders
  </Card>

  <Card title="Payment Providers" icon="credit-card" href="/payment-processing/setting-up-payment-providers">
    Connect Mollie/Stripe
  </Card>
</CardGroup>