Subscriptions! Why is this so hard!?!?!

[KettleCornCrew]

I can not figure out how to set up a recurring subscription for my customers.  Between Square and Weebly, I would think it would be figured out.  On the weebly forums, they suggest to use an app through paypal (which I despise).  Trying to play with a link on square to perhaps add to my store over on weebly and it kicks back my email saying I should log onto weebly to accomplish what I'm trying to do.   This is really frustrating!  What am I missing?  I want to offer my customers the option to pick from 4-5 different bundle boxes (at different prices) and then customize the flavors of items in each box.  Can someone point me in the right direction?

[isabelle · Accepted solution]

Hey @KettleCornCrew 🍿 

You're not alone. This is confusing. Let me just first clarify what your options are. 

1) Square Online which is powered by Weebly allows you to sell one time memberships on your Square Online site.

I would only ever suggest this option if you're selling a one time subscription, which it sounds like you're not. 

2) Square Checkout Links for subscriptions. These are like payment links. They aren't on your website or anything, you just send them to your customers and they can pay. Square Checkout Links has a subscription feature. You can learn about this option here. It's pretty easy to set up. 

*The only downside of this is that as of right now, your link will give your customer the option to pay one time:

This means you'll have to instruct your customer to make sure to select the recurring payment option.

3) Recurring Invoices. Before we had Square Online powered by Weebly or Square Checkout Links, there were recurring invoices. I like this option because it doesn't give your customers the option to 'pay one time'. Essentially you send them the invoice, then they enter their card payment and are charged recurringly moving forward. 

Learn more about this option here.

I realize this was a lot of information, so please let me know if you have any questions. I can elaborate on any of these options after you've taken a look at the articles I suggested.

Let me know ✨👩🏼‍💻

[BBDesigns]

I have recurring invoices set up for my Tee Klub and they are sent to customers the 5th of every month. Several of my customers have stated that they set it up to have their invoice paid automatically but it is not working. Is there a trick to charge them automatically each month or do they have to manually pay it? Thank you. 

[isabelle]

Hey @BBDesigns! 💫

I went over some of the options in this thread. Please take a look and then let me know if you have any questions. 

[BrightBoxFarms]

I run a hydroponics farm and we sell weekly produce bag subscriptions.  I love when they first sign up and I get a nice pop up in my online orders tab that I can print and easily fulfill.  After that first order though, it quickly becomes a management nightmare. 

I was using the recurring invoices for automatic reminders and billing.  What I don't like is that I have to manually cancel invoices if a customer wants to skip a week or suspend their subscription.  I also have to keep a manual spreadsheet to monitor customer preferences, total bags in their order, and note any changes (like skipping a week or putting on hold for a month or more).  It's very time consuming.  Then, I have to keep another sheet for the actual orders being fulfilled each week. 

I was excited to hear about the subscription link, except that it becomes very clunky when I have four different subscription options.  I wasn't really excited about having to make four links and then figure out how to make it easy on the online store for them to order.  Why can't the subscription option  be built into the online checkout process and for my Greens Club a customer can choose the number of bags and preferences and then click weekly or biweekly subscription option.  Then, it would show up in my orders/subscriptions tab each week where I can then note pickup times, fulfillment, etc.

Right now, neither the recurring invoicing or subscription link are robust enough to make it useful for my business.