Live Q&A: Learn how to get paid again and again (and again) with predictable revenue streams

[Tom]

Square’s subscription management software allows any business to easily create recurring revenue streams. If your business utilizes subscriptions, memberships, donations, or other forms of recurring payments, our product team wants to hear from you. Not using this service but interested in learning more? This is also the discussion for you. 

On Wednesday, September 28, we welcomed back @jean_sq from the Subscriptions team for another Question & Answer session! Her team is always eager to learn about how they can better address your business's recurring payment needs as well as answer any questions you may have.

Have a look below to see what topics business owners brought up, and be on the lookout for a "Best Answers" summary post (coming soon) that covers the main takeaways from this discussion.

Note: Although we can't share specific details on our product roadmaps, this information will be helpful as we continue to make improvements.

 Photo Credit: Ambitious Creative Co. - Rick Barrett on Unsplash.

[jean_sq]

Hi @Souleskincare!

I’d start with our getting started article - that walks you through getting started with subscriptions through Square Dashboard and Square Point of Sale.

[SLSetbrown]

What are the differences between a Square Subscription Plan and a Recurring Series Invoice?

Is there a way to automatically apply a discount if the subscriber sets up auto-pay with a Credit Card or ACH?

[jean_sq]

Hello @SLSetbrown,

Subscriptions does not currently support ACH payments. With regards to the discount, you would need to build that into your subscription price.

Though there is some crossover in the features between a recurring invoice and a subscription, there are a few key differences. 

Scaling is easier with subscriptions as you can create "buy button" code and embed it on your website and allow customers to sign-up themselves. Or you could create a shareable subscriptions link and share it out via social media channels. With recurring invoices, each one needs to be set up individually by the seller.

Additionally, with subscriptions you have access to other management features such as allowing for pausing and resuming a subscription or offering a free trial. In the future we hope to expand these features to include things like bulk changes, billing adjustments, plan swaps, etc.

[SudsandSutras]

Is there a way to add a comment section so the buyer can specify details about their subscription? 

is there a way to get notified prior to the automatic payment so that an email can be generated to customers before the recurring transaction takes place. This would allow customers to update, add, or remove any items in their package prior to sending it out to them. For example, I make soap boxes and a customer may want to pick a new scent for their next soap box.

[jean_sq]

Hi @SudsandSutras,

Subscriptions does not currently handle automatic email notifications (eg. payment reminders, renewal reminders, etc.). I’m not sure if there is a way to do what you are requesting with Square Marketing?

[RebCo]

Hi there! I am a salon owner and candle company owner. I’d love a few examples of how I can integrate the subscription model into my business. 

[jean_sq]

Hi @RebCo,

For some best practices on what to offer as a subscription, I’d recommend this article (Square is not associated with this article). This is one quote from it that I think is relevant:

“decision makers must ensure that a new subscription business is a sustainable model based on a value proposition and business case tied to an unmet consumer need, and that it supports the retailer’s overall strategy.”

When you are ready to start building subscription plans through Square, I’d start with our getting started article - that walks you through getting started creating subscription plans either through Square Dashboard or Square Point of Sale.

[Seb719]

Hey there. Great timing. I am launching a subscription box. Also, I am creating a tiered payment option for my digital course. Can Square Subscriptions serve as a tiered payment platform also (ie 3, 6 or 12 installments of $xyz)?

[jean_sq]

Hi @Seb719 

Could you share a bit more about the payment structure you are envisioning? Thanks!

[velegancebeauty]

I currently have a membership subscription for my hair business and I’m struggling with customer retention for the membership. How can I keep customers engaged? EX: Some people subscribe, get what they need and then cancel. Prevention tips?

[jean_sq]

Hi @velegancebeauty,

You could possibly try mixing up what they receive with the subscription. I’d recommend this article (Square is not associated with this article). They do talk a bit about the reasons why customers churn from subscriptions - maybe there is some inspiration in there for you.

[jlam41]

I love the subscription feature, I use it for membership payments. I wish there was a way to easily print out all of my subscriptions. Right now I just screen shot a bunch of times and put it into a word document to have a printout of all the subscribers. I also wish there was a feature to categorize the subscriptions (by date of subscribing/alphabetical order/etc). Thank you! 

[jean_sq]

Hi @jlam41,

Great suggestions! I’ll add them to our feature backlog. I’m sorry you are having difficulty with those tasks. We are hoping to improve subscription and plan sorting/searching in 2023.

[Foxysbl]

Just starting out what is the best way to offer/market a salon/spa subscription for services without actually losing money on those services (ex: massage therapy, sugaring, lash extensions). 

[jean_sq]

Hi @Foxysbl,

That’s a little out of my wheelhouse but maybe some other salon sellers in the community may have some suggestions for you?

[sigmamemphis]

Is there a way to create a Tier Subscription Plan for my users in my non-profit organization?

[jean_sq]

Hi @sigmamemphis, 

Possibly. Theoretically, you could create a subscription plan for each tier. However, I’d need to know a bit more about the structure of these tiers to better answer the question.

[Mi-Assistant]

Is there any way to update the pricing of my subscriptions after creation? Or simply delete subscriptions created that are not in use? There are times when I would create a couple as samples, but decided later that price would not be a good for launch... But I cannot change/delete the subscription created.

I would love the ability to manage my subscriptions with more control! This is what has held me back from launching subscriptions for my business, despite it fitting perfectly within 50% of my services offered. Just include an automated email blast if pricing changes for the customer to then decide to stay or go with a "Pricing increases in 30 days" or some kind of notification.

[jean_sq]

Hey @Mi-Assistant,

Appreciate the feedback! Unfortunately you are not able to update the pricing of a subscription plan after creation. The team is looking to tackle that in 2023. We know that this is a highly requested feature!

[HEALOR]

We are a medical practice /medical spa and have been using square subscriptions for about a month.  square is way behind other competitors in offering a subscription-type model.  square subscription platform is very basic and has a lot of room for improvement

few issues that need to be resolved

- subscription payments go to uncategorized income in reports.  As of now there is no way around it.  Would be ideal for square to auto categorized them under subscription revenue.

-  ability to add a subscription contract to the subscription

- the ability to sort multiple subscription plans.  As of now,  there is no sorting option available and we just need to scroll down on the page

-  there is no way to analyze subscription data in square

[jean_sq]

Hello @HEALOR,

Greatly appreciate the feedback. Square’s subscription offering is still relatively new and building new features. We are looking to improve reporting, sorting and filtering in early 2023. 

With regards to your contract need, are you requiring customers to acknowledge a contract (eg. read and check a box) when signing up for a subscription? Any additional details you can provide on that workflow would be very interesting to know.