SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments for WooCommerce - User Guide

SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments for WooCommerce - User Guide

Platform: WooCommerce • Audience: Store owners and managers • Purpose: Complete guide to managing subscription products, plans, and customer subscriptions using SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments plugin in your WooCommerce store.

Contents

1. Overview
2. Key Features
3. Getting Started
4. Installation
5. Configuration - API Settings
6. Setting Up Simple Product Subscriptions
7. Setting Up Variable Product Subscriptions
8. Subscriptions Management Page
9. Widget Customization
10. SubscriptionFlow Checkout Button
11. Customer Frontend Experience
12. Support
13. Frequently Asked Questions

1. Overview

SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments for WooCommerce is a powerful subscription management plugin that seamlessly integrates with WooCommerce to provide flexible recurring payment options for your online store. It helps you create, manage, and track subscription products and customer subscriptions all from your WordPress admin dashboard.

Whether you're selling subscription boxes, monthly product deliveries, digital content subscriptions, or recurring services, SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments gives you everything you need to build and grow your subscription business. The plugin works seamlessly with WooCommerce's built-in features and integrates with the SubscriptionFlow platform for advanced subscription management.

With SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments, you can configure subscription plans for both simple and variable products, set up flexible billing schedules with multiple discount options, view all customer subscriptions in one place, and customize the subscription widget that customers see on your product pages—all without leaving your WordPress admin.

Figure 1: SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments plugin overview

2. Key Features

• Simple & Variable Product Support: Configure subscriptions for both simple products and variable products with multiple variations.
• Flexible Billing Schedules: Set up custom delivery frequencies using days, weeks, months, or years with intervals from 1 to 6.
• Multiple Discount Types: Offer three types of discounts:
  • Percentage off (e.g., 10% discount)
  • Fixed amount off (e.g., $5 discount)
  • Flat rate pricing (e.g., $29.99 per delivery)
• Multiple Discount Schedules: Create different discount tiers based on delivery frequency (e.g., 5% off monthly, 10% off every 2 months, 15% off every 3 months).
• Subscription Management Dashboard: View all customer subscriptions in a dedicated admin page with filtering, pagination, and detailed information.
• SubscriptionFlow Integration: Seamless integration with SubscriptionFlow platform for advanced subscription management, customer portal, and payment processing.
• Customer Choice: Allow customers to choose between one-time purchase or subscription on product pages.
• Beautiful Subscription Widget: Modern, responsive subscription selector that automatically appears on product pages with subscription plans.
• Customizable Widget Labels: Customize all text labels in the subscription widget to match your brand.
• Checkout Button Customization: Configure SubscriptionFlow checkout button appearance, colors, and behavior.
• Sign-up Fees & Free Trials: Configure sign-up fees and free trial periods for subscriptions.
• Subscription Length Control: Set subscriptions to stop after a specific number of billings or continue until cancelled.

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3. Getting Started

3.1 Prerequisites

Before installing SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments, ensure you have:

• WordPress 5.0 or greater
• WooCommerce 3.0 or greater
• PHP version 7.2 or greater
• MySQL version 5.6 or greater
• An active SubscriptionFlow account (sign up at SubscriptionFlow.com)

3.2 First Steps

1. Install and Activate the Plugin:
   • Install SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments from the WordPress plugin directory or upload the plugin files.
   • Activate the plugin through the WordPress Plugins menu.
2. Configure API Settings:
   • Navigate to WooCommerce → SubscriptionFlow Settings.
   • Enter your SubscriptionFlow Instance URL, Client ID, and Client Secret ID.
   • Configure widget labels and checkout button settings (optional).
   • Save your settings.
3. Create Subscription Products:
   • Go to Products → Add New or edit an existing product.
   • Configure subscription settings in the Subscription tab.
   • Set up billing periods, discount schedules, and other subscription options.
   • Save the product.
4. View Subscriptions:
   • Navigate to WooCommerce → Subscriptions to view all customer subscriptions.
   • Monitor subscription orders and customer information.

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4. Installation

4.1 Automatic Installation

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to Plugins → Add New.
3. Search for "SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments for WooCommerce".
4. Click Install Now and then Activate.

4.2 Manual Installation

1. Download the plugin zip file.
2. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
3. Navigate to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
4. Choose the downloaded zip file and click Install Now.
5. Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress.

4.3 Post-Installation

After activation, you'll see a new menu item under WooCommerce:

• WooCommerce → SubscriptionFlow Settings - Configure API credentials and widget settings
• WooCommerce → Subscriptions - View and manage all customer subscriptions

You'll also see a new Subscription tab when editing products, allowing you to configure subscription settings for simple and variable products.

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5. Configuration - API Settings

Before you can use SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments, you need to configure your SubscriptionFlow API credentials. These settings connect your WooCommerce store to your SubscriptionFlow account.

5.1 Accessing Settings

Navigate to WooCommerce → SubscriptionFlow Settings in your WordPress admin menu. This page contains three main sections:

• SubscriptionFlow API Settings
• Subscription Widget Labels
• SubscriptionFlow Checkout Button

Figure 2: SubscriptionFlow Settings page with API configuration

5.2 API Credentials

To configure your API settings, you'll need the following information from your SubscriptionFlow account:

• Instance URL: Your SubscriptionFlow instance URL (e.g., https://your-instance.subscriptionflow.com). This is the base URL of your SubscriptionFlow account.
• Client ID: Your SubscriptionFlow Client ID. You can find this in your SubscriptionFlow dashboard under API settings.
• Client Secret ID: Your SubscriptionFlow Client Secret ID. Keep this secure and never share it publicly.

5.3 Sync Products Setting

The Sync Products setting determines which products are synced to SubscriptionFlow:

• All Products: Syncs all products (both subscription and one-time) to SubscriptionFlow. This option creates both subscription plans and one-time purchase plans in SubscriptionFlow.
• Only Subscription: Only syncs products with subscription configurations. This is recommended if you're using WooCommerce checkout for all purchases.

5.4 Saving Settings

After entering your API credentials and configuring other settings:

1. Click the Save All Settings button at the bottom of the page.
2. You'll see a success message confirming that your settings have been saved.
3. Your store will now be connected to SubscriptionFlow and ready to sync products.

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6. Setting Up Simple Product Subscriptions

Simple products are the most straightforward type of product in WooCommerce. This section explains how to configure subscriptions for simple products.

6.1 Accessing Subscription Settings

To configure subscription settings for a simple product:

1. Go to Products → Add New or edit an existing simple product.
2. In the product data panel, you'll see a new Subscription tab.
3. Click on the Subscription tab to access subscription configuration options.

Figure 3: Simple product Subscription tab with billing period configuration

6.2 Billing Period Configuration

The billing period determines how often customers are charged for their subscription:

• Billing Period: Select the interval (1-6) and period type (day, week, month, year).
  • Example: "2 every month" means customers are billed every 2 months.
  • Example: "1 every week" means customers are billed weekly.
• Stop Renewing After: Choose when the subscription should stop:
  • Do not stop until cancelled: Subscription continues indefinitely until the customer cancels.
  • Specific number of billings: Set a limit (1-52 billings) after which the subscription automatically stops.

6.3 Sign-up Fee and Free Trial

Configure additional subscription options:

• Sign-up Fee: A one-time fee charged when the customer first subscribes. Enter the amount in your store's currency (e.g., 9.90).
• Free Trial: Set a free trial period before billing begins:
  • Enter the trial length (number of days, weeks, or months).
  • Select the trial period type (days, weeks, or months).
  • Example: "7 days" means customers get 7 days free before the first charge.

6.4 Subscription Title

Optionally set a custom title for your subscription plan. This title will be used when creating plans in SubscriptionFlow. If left empty, the product name will be used.

6.5 Discount Type

Choose how discounts are applied to subscription deliveries:

• Percentage off: Discount is calculated as a percentage of the product price.
  • Example: 10% off means customers pay 90% of the regular price.
• Amount off: A fixed amount is deducted from the product price.
  • Example: $5 off means customers pay $5 less than the regular price.
• Flat rate: Set a fixed price for each subscription delivery, regardless of the product's regular price.
  • Example: $29.99 per delivery means customers always pay $29.99, even if the regular price is $39.99.

6.6 Discount Schedules

Create multiple discount schedules with different delivery frequencies. This allows you to offer tiered discounts based on how often customers receive deliveries:

1. Click the + Add Schedule button to create a new discount schedule.
2. For each schedule, configure:
   • Delivery Frequency: How often deliveries occur (e.g., 2 means every 2 weeks/months).
   • Delivery Interval: The time unit (Weeks or Months).
   • Discount Value: The discount amount based on your selected discount type:
     • For Percentage: Enter a number (e.g., 10 for 10%)
     • For Amount: Enter the currency amount (e.g., 5.00)
     • For Flat Rate: Enter the fixed price per delivery (e.g., 29.99)
3. Add multiple schedules to offer different discount tiers:
   • Schedule 1: Deliver every 1 month - 5% off
   • Schedule 2: Deliver every 2 months - 10% off
   • Schedule 3: Deliver every 3 months - 15% off
4. Click Remove on any schedule card to delete it.

Figure 4: Multiple discount schedules configured for a simple product

6.7 Saving and Syncing

After configuring all subscription settings:

1. Click Update or Publish to save the product.
2. The plugin will automatically sync the product to SubscriptionFlow if:
   • The product status is "Published"
   • The billing period is "month" or "week"
   • At least one discount schedule is configured
3. You'll see SubscriptionFlow Plan IDs and Plan Price IDs appear in each schedule card after successful sync.

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7. Setting Up Variable Product Subscriptions

Variable products allow you to sell a product with multiple variations (e.g., different sizes, colors, or attributes). Each variation can have its own subscription settings.

7.1 Creating Variable Products

To set up subscriptions for variable products:

1. Create or edit a variable product in WooCommerce.
2. Configure product attributes and variations as you normally would.
3. For each variation, you'll see a Subscription Settings section at the bottom of the variation panel.

Figure 5: Variable product variation with Subscription Settings section

7.2 Configuring Variation Subscriptions

For each variation, configure subscription settings similar to simple products:

• Billing Period: Set the interval (1-6) and period type (day, week, month, year) for this specific variation.
• Stop Renewing After: Configure when the subscription should stop for this variation.
• Sign-up Fee: Set a one-time sign-up fee for this variation.
• Free Trial: Configure a free trial period for this variation.
• Discount Type: Choose percentage, amount, or flat rate for this variation.
• Discount Schedules: Add multiple discount schedules specific to this variation.

7.3 Variation-Specific Pricing

Each variation can have different:

• Regular price (used as base subscription price)
• Sale price (used for one-time purchases)
• Subscription discount schedules
• Billing periods

This allows you to offer different subscription options for different product variations. For example:

• Small size: Monthly subscription with 5% off
• Large size: Bi-monthly subscription with 10% off

7.4 Frontend Behavior

When customers view a variable product:

• The subscription widget appears once a variation is selected.
• The widget updates automatically to show subscription options for the selected variation.
• Prices and discount schedules change based on the selected variation.
• If a variation doesn't have subscription settings, the widget shows "Select variation" until a valid variation is chosen.

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8. Subscriptions Management Page

The Subscriptions page is your central dashboard for viewing and managing all customer subscriptions. Access it by navigating to WooCommerce → Subscriptions.

Figure 6: Subscriptions management page with subscription orders list

8.1 Subscription List

The subscriptions table displays all subscription orders with the following information:

• Order: The WooCommerce order number. Click to view full order details.
• Customer: Customer name and email address. Click the name to edit customer details.
• Product: The product name and variation (if applicable) included in the subscription.
• Delivery Schedule: How often the customer receives deliveries (e.g., "Every 2 months").
• Discount: The discount type and value applied to the subscription.
• Price: The final subscription price. If discounted, the original price is shown with a strikethrough.
• Date: The date and time when the subscription order was created.
• Status: The current order status (e.g., Processing, Completed, On Hold).

8.2 Pagination

The subscriptions list is paginated with 15 subscriptions per page. Use the pagination controls at the bottom to navigate through multiple pages of subscriptions.

8.3 Viewing Order Details

To view full details of a subscription order:

1. Click on the order number in the subscriptions list.
2. This opens the WooCommerce order edit page with complete order information.
3. You can see customer details, billing address, shipping address, payment method, and order items.

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9. Widget Customization

Customize the text labels displayed in the subscription widget on your product pages to match your brand and messaging. These settings are found in WooCommerce → SubscriptionFlow Settings under the "Subscription Widget Labels" section.

Figure 7: Widget Labels customization settings

9.1 Customizable Labels

You can customize the following widget labels:

• Subscription Label: The main label for the subscription option (default: "Subscription").
  • This appears as the radio button label in the widget.
• Description After Label: Optional description text that appears inside the subscription option card (supports HTML).
  • Use this to add additional information, benefits, or promotional text.
  • Leave empty to hide the description.
• One-time Label: The label for the one-time purchase option (default: "One-time purchase").
• Deliver Every Label: The text that appears before the delivery frequency dropdown (default: "Deliver every").
• Select Frequency Placeholder: The placeholder text in the delivery frequency dropdown (default: "Select delivery frequency").

9.2 Example Customization

Here's an example of customized labels:

• Subscription Label: "Subscribe & Save"
• Description After Label: "Get 10% off every delivery and never run out!"
• One-time Label: "Buy Once"
• Deliver Every Label: "Ship every"
• Select Frequency Placeholder: "Choose delivery frequency"

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10. SubscriptionFlow Checkout Button

Configure the SubscriptionFlow checkout button that appears on your product pages and cart. This button redirects customers to SubscriptionFlow's checkout system for subscription purchases.

10.1 Enabling the Checkout Button

In WooCommerce → SubscriptionFlow Settings, under "SubscriptionFlow Checkout Button":

• Enable SubscriptionFlow Checkout Button: Choose from:
  • Disabled: Don't show the SubscriptionFlow checkout button (default).
  • SF Checkout Button only: Show only the SubscriptionFlow checkout button for subscription purchases.

10.2 Button Customization

Customize the checkout button appearance:

• SF Checkout Button: The text displayed on the button (default: "Subscribe Now").
• CheckOut Button Background Color: Choose the background color using the color picker (default: #374726).
• CheckOut Button Text Color: Choose the text color using the color picker (default: #ffffff).
• Open Checkout Link: Check this box if you want the checkout link to open in a new window/tab.

Figure 8: SubscriptionFlow Checkout Button customization settings

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11. Customer Frontend Experience

This section describes what customers see and experience when purchasing subscription products on your store.

11.1 Product Page Widget

When customers visit a product page with subscription settings, they'll see a subscription widget that allows them to choose between:

• One-time Purchase: Buy the product once at the regular or sale price.
• Subscription: Subscribe to receive the product on a recurring schedule with discounts.

Figure 9: Subscription widget on product page

11.2 Selecting Subscription Options

When customers select the subscription option:

1. They see the subscription price (with discounts applied).
2. A "Deliver every" dropdown appears with available delivery frequencies.
3. Each frequency option shows the discount percentage or flat rate price.
4. Prices update dynamically as they select different frequencies.
5. They can see savings compared to one-time purchase.

11.3 Adding to Cart

When customers add a subscription product to cart:

• The cart displays the subscription details (delivery frequency, discount, price).
• Both subscription and one-time products can coexist in the same cart.
• Customers proceed through the standard WooCommerce checkout process.

11.4 Checkout Process

The checkout process depends on your configuration:

• WooCommerce Checkout (Default): Customers complete checkout through your standard WooCommerce checkout page. Subscription information is stored with the order.
• SubscriptionFlow Checkout: If enabled, customers click the SubscriptionFlow checkout button and are redirected to SubscriptionFlow's checkout system to complete their purchase.

11.5 Order Confirmation

After checkout, customers receive:

• WooCommerce order confirmation email (if using WooCommerce checkout).
• Order details showing subscription information.
• Access to manage their subscription through SubscriptionFlow (if configured).

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12. Support

If you need additional help with SubscriptionFlow Recurring Payments for WooCommerce:

• Plugin Documentation: Review this user guide for detailed information on configuring and using the plugin.
• SubscriptionFlow Documentation: Visit SubscriptionFlow Documentation for information about the SubscriptionFlow platform.
• WooCommerce Documentation: Review WooCommerce's official documentation for information about products, orders, and general store management.
• Contact Support: Reach out to SubscriptionFlow support team through:
  • Email: support@subscriptionflow.com
  • Website: SubscriptionFlow Support
• Check Your Settings: Many issues can be resolved by:
  • Verifying API credentials are correct
  • Ensuring products are published (not draft)
  • Checking that discount schedules are properly configured
  • Confirming billing period is set to "month" or "week" for syncing

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13. Frequently Asked Questions

13.1 Do I need a SubscriptionFlow account?

Yes, this plugin requires an active SubscriptionFlow account to manage subscriptions. You can sign up at SubscriptionFlow.com.

13.2 Can customers purchase both subscriptions and one-time products?

Yes! Customers can choose between subscription or one-time purchase for subscription-enabled products, and both types can coexist in the cart.

13.3 What payment gateways are supported?

The plugin works with all WooCommerce payment gateways. Subscription management is handled through SubscriptionFlow, which supports a wide range of payment gateways. Check SubscriptionFlow.com for the latest list of supported payment gateways.

13.4 Why isn't my product syncing to SubscriptionFlow?

Products only sync to SubscriptionFlow if:

• The product status is "Published" (not Draft)
• The billing period is set to "month" or "week"
• At least one discount schedule is configured with valid values
• API credentials are correctly configured

13.5 Why isn't the subscription widget showing on my product page?

The subscription widget only appears if:

• The product has a billing period configured
• At least one discount schedule exists with delivery frequency 0 and discount value 0
• For variable products: at least one variation has subscription settings

13.6 Can I have different pricing for different delivery frequencies?

Yes! You can set up multiple discount schedules with different delivery frequencies. For example:

• Deliver every 1 month: 5% off
• Deliver every 2 months: 10% off
• Deliver every 3 months: 15% off

13.7 Is the plugin translation ready?

Yes, the plugin is fully translation-ready with the text domain 'subscriptionflow-recurring-payments-for-woocommerce'. You can translate it using WordPress translation tools or plugins like Loco Translate.

13.8 Where can I see all subscriptions?

Navigate to WooCommerce → Subscriptions to view all subscription orders with filtering and pagination. For advanced subscription management (pause, cancel, modify), use the SubscriptionFlow platform.

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WooCommerceSubscriptionsSubscriptionFlowUser Guide

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