Overview
Knowlix Subscriptions manages recurring revenue through automated billing, renewal workflows, and customer lifecycle tracking. Sell software licenses, service contracts, membership programs, or any product delivered on recurring intervals with flexible pricing and self-service customer management. The subscription platform automates invoice generation, payment collection, and renewal processes to reduce administrative overhead while ensuring consistent cash flow. Configure billing frequencies from weekly to annual cycles, offer multiple pricing tiers, enable customer plan switching, and track key metrics like Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) and churn rates. Integration with sales, invoicing, and CRM modules connects subscription lifecycles to broader business processes. Subscriptions created through sales orders or online purchases automatically generate scheduled invoices, trigger renewal reminders, process automatic payments, and update customer records with subscription status changes. Customer self-service portals allow subscribers to upgrade plans, add products, renew early, or cancel subscriptions without support team intervention. Automated workflows send renewal notifications, payment confirmations, and service updates based on configurable triggers and business rules. Key capabilities:- Flexible recurring billing periods (weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually)
- Automated invoice generation and payment processing
- Customer self-service for upgrades and cancellations
- Upselling and cross-selling through subscription modifications
- MRR and ARR analytics with retention tracking
- Renewal management and expiration workflows
- eCommerce integration for online subscription sales
Important: Subscription revenue recognition may require specific accounting treatments. Consult financial advisors regarding deferred revenue accounting, revenue recognition standards (ASC 606/IFRS 15), and tax implications of recurring billing.💡 Pro Tip: Ask Your Knowlix for subscription tasks: “Create a monthly subscription plan for $29” or “Show me subscriptions expiring this month”
Recurring Plans
Configure billing intervals and subscription parameters.Plan Configuration
Navigate to Subscriptions → Configuration → Recurring Plans to manage billing cycles. Default plans: Monthly, 6 Months, and Yearly plans included by default. To create plans: Click New to open plan form. Plan settings: Name: Descriptive title for billing cycle (e.g., “Monthly Subscription”, “Annual Contract”). DETAILS section: Billing Period (required): Interval between charges. Set unit (Weeks, Months, or Years) and numerical value. Daily billing not supported. Automatic Closing: Days until unpaid subscription automatically closes. If renewal due on 1st of month and automatic closing set to 15 days, subscription closes on 16th without payment. Align to Period Start: Bill new subscriptions on first day of next billing period rather than purchase date. Pro-rates first invoice for partial period. Example: Customer purchases on July 15th. With alignment enabled, billing occurs on August 1st for full price. July 15-31 invoice shows pro-rated amount for partial month. Company: Restrict plan to specific company (multi-company databases only). Invoice Email Template: Email template for subscription invoice notifications. Default is “Invoice: Sending” with dynamic fields for customer name, invoice number, and amount. SELF-SERVICE section: Closable: Allow customers to cancel own subscriptions through portal. Reduces support requests but eliminates retention conversation opportunities. Add Products: Enable customers to add products or change quantities on subscriptions. Generates upsell quotations when customers modify orders. Renew: Allow manual renewal quotation creation by customers. Optional Plans: Permit customers to switch between subscription tiers. Generates new quotation for plan change. Pricing tab: Product-specific pricing adjustments for this recurring plan. Add products with custom recurring prices that override default product pricing. Useful for promotional rates or bundle discounts. Smart buttons: Subscriptions: Count of active subscriptions using this plan. Links to subscription sales orders. Subscription Items: Itemized list of all active recurring services on this plan. 💡 Your Knowlix: “Create a quarterly subscription plan with 10% discount” or “Show me all monthly subscription customers”Subscription Products
Configure products for recurring sale.Product Setup
Navigate to Subscriptions → Products → Products for subscription product management. General Information tab: Product Type: Service, Consumable, or Storable Product. Typically Service for subscriptions. Invoicing Policy: When customer charges occur (based on delivered quantities, ordered quantities, prepaid, etc.). Unit of Measure: How product counted in system. Usually Units for subscriptions. Sales Price: Recurring cost per billing period.Important: Physical products require “Ordered quantities” invoicing policy. Incorrect settings cause invoice generation errors.Attributes & Variants tab: Configure product variations if subscription offers multiple choices (size tiers, feature sets, usage levels). Recurring Prices tab: Click Add a price rule for each billing interval offered. Pricing strategy: Longer billing periods typically feature discounts to incentivize annual commitments over monthly. Example: 100/year (17% savings).
Creating Subscription Quotations
Generate subscription sales proposals for customers.Manual Quotation Creation
Navigate to Sales or Subscriptions dashboard and click New. Quotation form fields: Customer: Contact purchasing subscription. Recurring Plan: Billing interval for subscription. Expiration Date: When quotation offer expires (creates urgency with limited-time discounts). Payment Terms: Timeframe for payment after confirmation. Order Lines: Add subscription products. Other Info tab: Online Signature: Require customer signature before confirmation. Online Payment: Require payment processing before confirmation.Quotation Actions
Send by Email: Deliver quotation to customer for review. Preview: View customer portal where client sees quotation, can sign, pay, and communicate. Confirm: Convert quotation to active subscription sales order. 💡 Your Knowlix: “Create a subscription quote for software licensing” or “Send renewal quotation to ABC Company”Automatic Subscription Creation
Online purchases generate subscriptions without manual intervention.eCommerce Integration
Products marked as Subscriptions on product forms and published on eCommerce site automatically create confirmed subscription orders when purchased online. Sales orders with defined recurring plans automatically become subscriptions with scheduled billing. Customers select subscription products, choose billing frequency, complete payment, and receive immediate access. System generates first invoice and schedules future recurring charges.Automation Rules
Configure triggered actions based on subscription events and criteria.Creating Automation Rules
Navigate to Subscriptions → Configuration → Automation Rules. Rule configuration: Action Name: Descriptive title for automation. Apply On section: Define which subscriptions trigger this rule: MRR Between: Target subscriptions within Monthly Recurring Revenue range. MRR Change More: Trigger on MRR changes exceeding threshold (percentage or currency amount). Over: Time period for KPI calculations. Rating Satisfaction: Target based on customer satisfaction scores. Status: Subscription stages (Quotation, Sent, Sales Order, Cancelled). Stage Goes From: Activation when subscription moves between specific stages. Subscription Plans, Products, Customers, Company, Sales Team: Additional targeting criteria. Blank fields apply to all subscriptions. Green subscription link at bottom shows count of subscriptions matching criteria. Action section: Action To Do: Create next activity: Generate follow-up task for team members. Send email to customer: Automated email delivery. Send SMS Text Message: SMS notification (requires messaging credits). Set Contract Health value: Update subscription health indicator (Neutral, Good, Bad). Trigger On: Modification: Activate when subscription data changes. Timed Condition: Activate at scheduled time relative to trigger date. Trigger Date: When condition evaluates. Blank triggers on subscription creation and updates. Delay After Trigger: Time offset (Minutes, Hours, Days, Months) before action execution. Negative values trigger before date. Trigger Now button: Manually execute automation on all matching subscriptions immediately. Activity section (if Create next activity selected): Activity Type, Title, Note, Due Date In, Assign To: Configure task details and assignment. 💡 Your Knowlix: “Create automation to email customers 30 days before renewal” or “Set up churn alerts for subscriptions over $500”Automatic Payments
Enable recurring charges without manual customer intervention.Payment Provider Setup
Configure payment provider supporting tokenization (saved payment information):- Supported providers: Adyen, Authorize.net, Flutterwave, Razorpay, Stripe, Xendit
- Follow provider setup guides for API credentials
- Enable payment provider in settings
- Configure payment methods
- Enable tokenization feature
Customer Payment Setup
Customers save payment details during initial checkout or through customer portal. Providers either automatically save information or offer opt-in checkbox. Saved payment methods enable automatic recurring charges without repeated manual payments.Payment Failure Handling
When automatic payment fails, system applies:- “Payment Failure” tag on sales order
- “Contract in exception” checkbox (Other Info tab, Subscription section)
- Navigate to subscription order
- Check chatter for payment confirmation
- If payment NOT made:
- Enable developer mode
- Open Other Info tab
- Uncheck “Contract in exception”
- Reload order (Payment Failure tag disappears)
- If payment WAS made:
- Create and post new invoice manually
- Enable developer mode
- Uncheck “Contract in exception”
- Reload order
Subscription Closures
Manage subscription cancellations and terminations.Enabling Self-Service Closure
Navigate to Subscriptions → Configuration → Recurring Plans and open plan. Enable Closable in Self-Service section to allow customer-initiated cancellations through portal.Administrator Closure
After quotation confirmed:- Subscription shows “In Progress” status
- Close button appears on subscription order
- Click Close
- Enter close reason in popup
- Click Submit
Customer Portal Closure
Customers see Close Subscription button in portal. Closure workflow:- Customer clicks Close Subscription
- Selects reason from pre-configured list (not custom text entry)
- Clicks Submit
- Subscription marked “Closed”
Subscription Renewals
Process subscription continuations at billing cycle end.Manual Renewal Creation
Prerequisites:- Quotation with subscription product confirmed
- Recurring plan selected
- Initial payment invoiced and registered
- Navigate to subscription (shows Sales Order stage, “In Progress” tag)
- Click Renew button
- System generates renewal quotation with “Renewal Quotation” tag
- Start date and next invoice date logged in chatter
- Follow standard sales flow (confirm, invoice, register payment)
Upselling Subscriptions
Increase subscription value through product additions and upgrades.Upsell Strategy
Target customers: Loyal Customers: Established trust enables higher-priced offerings. New Customers: Discounts on premium plans build trust while increasing initial transaction value.Discount Configuration
Navigate to Sales → Configuration → Settings and enable Discounts in Pricing section. Enables discount field on sales order lines for promotional pricing.Upsell Process
Prerequisites: Subscription sales order must be invoiced before upselling. Upsell workflow:- Open subscription in Sales or Subscriptions app
- Click Upsell button
- New quotation opens with “Upsell” status banner
- Original subscription product appears in Order Lines
- Warning notes recurring products pro-rated for time remaining
- Click Add a product to include upsell items
- Adjust pricing, taxes, discounts as needed
- Click Send by Email for customer approval
- Customer approves and quotation confirmed
- Sales History smart button shows related orders with statuses
Note: Pro-rating only applies to Service product types. Consumable and Storable products not pro-rated despite warning message appearing.💡 Your Knowlix: “Create upsell quote to add premium features” or “Show average upsell revenue per customer”
Subscription Reports
Analyze subscription performance through comprehensive analytics.Report Access
Navigate to Subscriptions → Reporting for analytics dashboards. Available reports:- Subscriptions Analysis
- Retention Analysis
- MRR Breakdown
- MRR Timeline
Report Controls
Filters and Group By: Click dropdown arrow beside search bar for filtering and grouping options. Save combinations as favorites for quick access. Favorite configuration:- Name saved filter
- Set as default filter
- Share with other users
- Flip axis option
- Expand all rows/columns
- Download as .xlsx
Subscriptions Analysis Report
Default view: Bar chart in graph mode with “In Progress or Paused” and “Recurring” filters. Measures available:- Monthly Recurring (default)
- Quantity
- Recurring Revenue
- Untaxed Total
- Yearly Recurring
- Count
Retention Analysis Report
Unique format: Data chart only (no alternative views). Measures available:- Amount to invoice
- Margin
- Margin (%)
- Prepayment percentage
- Shipping Weight
- Unpaid Amount
- Count (default)
MRR Breakdown Report
Default view: Bar chart with stacked display. Filter: “Event Date: Month > Event Type”. Measures available:- Active Subscriptions Change
- ARR Change
- MRR Change (default)
- Count
MRR Analysis Report
Default view: Line chart with stacked and cumulative options. Filter: “Event Date: Month”. Measures available:- Active Subscriptions Change
- ARR Change
- MRR Change (default)
- Count
Scheduled Actions
Automate subscription invoice generation and expiration handling.Accessing Scheduled Actions
Enable developer mode, then navigate to Settings → Technical → Scheduled Actions. Search “Subscription” to find:- Sale Subscription: generate recurring invoices and payments
- Sale Subscription: subscriptions expiration
Generate Recurring Invoices and Payments
Prerequisites: Configure Deferred Expense and Deferred Revenue accounts at Accounting → Configuration → Settings → Default Accounts. Invoice creation logic: Action creates invoice when current date matches “Date of Next Invoice” on subscription. Uses Recurring Plan to update next invoice date. Free products: If invoicing policy is “Delivered quantities” and delivered quantity is 0, no invoice created. Chatter logs: “Automatic renewal succeeded. Free subscription. Next invoice: [date]. No email sent.” Payment token handling: With payment token: Customer receives email notification of charge. Without payment token: Invoice created and sent for manual payment. Online payment checkbox: If enabled, invoices generated only when customer completes manual payment (not on scheduled date). Closing conditions:- No payment token: Create and post invoice
- With payment token: Attempt charge
- Success: Create and post invoice
- Failure: Send reminders periodically
- Close subscription if failure continues 14+ days
Subscriptions Expiration
Automatically closes subscriptions when:- End date passed (configured on subscription sales order)
- Invoice unpaid beyond payment terms deadline
Subscription Best Practices
Offer Annual Discounts
Annual plans at 15-20% discount versus monthly encourage longer commitments and reduce churn. Predictable cash flow benefits both parties.Enable Self-Service Management
Allow customers to upgrade, add products, and manage subscriptions independently. Reduces support overhead while improving customer experience.Monitor Payment Failures Closely
Address failed payments within 24-48 hours. Automated retries combined with personal outreach maximize recovery rates.Track Churn Metrics
Calculate monthly churn rate and identify patterns. Exit surveys reveal improvement opportunities.Use Renewal Reminders
Send automated reminders at 60, 30, and 7 days before renewal. Early warnings improve collection rates.Implement Usage-Based Pricing
Consider tiered pricing based on usage metrics for software and services. Aligns customer value with revenue growth.Segment Communications
Different subscription tiers receive appropriate messaging. VIP customers receive white-glove treatment, while mass market gets automation.Analyze Cohort Performance
Track retention and revenue by customer cohort. Identify which acquisition channels produce best lifetime value.Simplify Upgrade Paths
Make plan upgrades one-click process. Friction-free upsells increase average revenue per user.Provide Value Throughout Lifecycle
Don’t just collect payments. Engage subscribers with exclusive content, early access, and community benefits.Troubleshooting Common Issues
Invoices Not Generating Automatically
Possible causes:- Scheduled action deactivated
- Date of Next Invoice not reached
- Online payment checkbox enabled
- Deferred accounting accounts not configured
Customer Cannot Close Subscription
Possible causes:- Closable option not enabled on recurring plan
- Subscription not confirmed (still quotation)
- Customer not logged into portal
Pro-Rated Pricing Not Calculating
Possible causes:- Product type not Service
- Align to Period Start not enabled
- Date calculations incorrect
Upsell Button Not Appearing
Possible causes:- Subscription not invoiced yet
- Quotation not confirmed
- Insufficient user permissions
Related Documentation
- Sales - Quotations and sales orders
- CRM - Customer relationship management
- Members - Membership programs
Need Help?
Ask Your Knowlix:- “Create a monthly subscription plan for $49”
- “Show me all subscriptions expiring next month”
- “Generate renewal quotations for annual customers”
- “What’s our MRR growth rate this quarter?”
- “Send payment failure alerts for overdue subscriptions”
- “Create an upsell quote to add premium support”