Understand Trialing Subscriptions

Advanced Billing lets you offer trials so potential subscribers can try your Plan before paying, at little to no charge.

Here are a few examples of the types of trials you can offer your subscriber:

• Free trial with no obligation to enter a credit card
• Free trial with setup fee charged at the end of the trial
• Paid trial with setup fee charged at the beginning of the trial
• Paid trial with setup fee charged at the end of the trial

A subscriber's experience during the trial period depends on how a Plan is configured in Advanced Billing, as well as the validity of the subscriber's credit card. See Trial Billing Scenarios for detailed tables covering exactly what's charged, and when, for each combination of trial type, Product type, and payment status.

Trial types and terminology

The trial billing scenarios assume the following:

1. Trial Period: split into two sections, paid and free trials. Advanced Billing lets you define the length and cost of a trial.
2. Recurring period: When the trial period ends, the first recurring period begins. The Plan on the Subscription defines the length of the recurring period, and the Subscription renews every time another recurring period passes.
3. Plan price is greater than $0.00. A $0.00 trial period on a $0.00 Plan never transitions to Trial Ended; the Plan must have an amount due at the start of the non-trial recurring period for the Subscription to reach Trial Ended.
4. Require Payment Method is unchecked in the Plan's settings.

The column headers used in those scenario tables have these meanings:

• Setup Fee: A one-time fee. It's normally charged at signup, but if the Plan has a trial period, it may instead be charged at the end of the trial. Setup fees don't automatically require a payment method. To guarantee a card is collected, enable Require Payment Method and use an automatic collection method.
• Trial Type:
  • No Obligation Trials: If no card is on file at the end of the trial, the state the Subscription transitions to depends on the Subscription type:
    • Automatic Subscriptions transition to Trial Ended.
    • Remittance Subscriptions transition to Active.
  • Payment Expected Trials: If no card is on file at the end of the trial, the Subscription transitions to Past Due.
• Card required on signup: Whether a valid credit card is required at signup depends on the Plan's settings and collection method. Typically, if Require Payment Method is enabled and automatic collection is used, a card is required. Setup fees alone don't trigger this requirement. For more on Plan options, see Creating Plans.
• Charges applied at signup: The charges applied at signup for the given scenario.
• Status at end of the trial with failed charge: The Subscription's status at the end of a trial if a failed transaction occurs.
• Status at end of the trial with no card on file: The Subscription's status at the end of a trial if there's no card on file at the end of the trial.

Trial with introductory offer

Advanced Billing offers a range of tools to make sure your subscribers have all the necessary information regarding their trial Subscriptions. To enable additional introductory offer settings, check the This trial period represents an introductory offer checkbox on the Plan Price Point.

Emails

You can use the default templates to add additional information to emails sent after signup for an Introductory Offer Plan:

• Signup Email
• Receipt Email

Transaction receipts

Transaction receipts (Invoice, Statement, or Relationship Invoicing Invoice) generated at signup or migration to an Introductory Offer Plan include the trial length, trial end date, the date of the first subsequent transaction, and its estimated amount. Enabling the Billing Portal along with cancellations gives Customers an easier way to cancel their Subscriptions; once enabled, a link to the Customer's Billing Portal is included on their signup transaction receipts.

Past Due and Trial Ended Subscriptions

As a Subscriber nears the end of the trial period, it's important to understand whether they enter the dunning process.

If a Subscriber's status is Past Due, they've already entered the dunning process. The timeline set by your Dunning Settings takes over from here, collecting any existing failed transactions on the Subscription.

If a Subscriber's status is Trial Ended, this is a dead state. Dunning doesn't apply at this point; instead, reactivate the Subscription to proceed. Review the reactivation documentation, since it covers multiple reactivation options.

Related information

For full information on configuring Plan pricing, including recurring period and price, see Creating Plans.

For ways to end a trial before its scheduled end, including manual activation, see End a Trial Early.

For a full overview of all Subscription states, see Understand Subscription States.

For the reactivation options referenced above, see Reactivate or Resume a Subscription.