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.

[LHW170]

How can I set up recurring payments in different amounts for different clients at different times of the month?

[jean_sq]

@LHW170 Without more detail, it’s hard to know the best option but upon reading it may be a good use case for recurring invoices.

[1221]

How can I edit the Subscription Payment landing page? What is the best method for utilizing your subscription option to create a VIP portal on my website?

[1221]

Furthermore, How can I edit a subscription invoice to where I can add preset notes to every invoice sent. I've found the way to do this with "receipts" but my special notes don't come up on subscription receipts/invoices.

[jean_sq]

@1221 I’m sorry but at this time, you do not have the ability to add preset notes to your subscription invoices.

[jean_sq]

@1221By “Subscription Payment landing page”, I’m assuming you are referring to the payment link page for the subscription. Customizations to this page are a bit limited right now but you can make a few branding tweaks by following these instructions.

For your VIP portal idea, could you elaborate a bit more on what this is?

[dancerdawn]

I'd love to find out how to set up a membership/ subscription  for my Dance & Fitness studio. Pitfalls, best practices...everything from soup to nuts! TY

[jean_sq]

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

[SheSparkles]

What subscription services and/or boxes do you see that get the most subscriptions?  Also, what are some of the steps to having a successful subscription service and what are some of the shortfalls?  

[jean_sq]

@SheSparkles For some best practices in starting a subscription business, I’d recommend this article (Square is not associated with this article).

[gabby_s]

Is this the closest option sqaure offers to taking any sort of automatic payments? I have alot of clients that are looking for more of an ACH autodebit option.

[jean_sq]

@gabby_s For recurring/automatic payments with Square, Invoices and Subscriptions are two major options. However, Subscriptions does not support ACH payments, but recurring invoices do support ACH.

[FigCreate]

I was wondering if a subscription service includes things such as the POS systems/physical setup like the card swiper? Is there a free subscription as our store does not bring in much revenue and trying to weigh if it is worth the cost?

[jean_sq]

@FigCreate The Square subscription service does not include any hardware (eg. card swiper). There are a few inexpensive/free hardware options like the Square Reader ($49) which works wirelessly or Square Reader for Magstripe (free) which plugs into your device either via headset jack or a Lightning connector (you choose which one you prefer when ordering). 

Both of these hardware options connect to the free Square Point of Sale app.

It was also announced today that Square now supports Tap to Pay on iPhone!

The subscription service itself is free to use with your Square account. You only pay processing fees on the subscriptions you sell.  You can easily create subscriptions right at your Square Point of Sale and capture their payment information with a card reader.

[Tomy]

Hi, I have a small spa (beauty) business Im very interested in a membership base program --- how can I set it up where it makes sense for my business for example: $200/ 3 visits a month ONLY on regular and gel polish nail services etc... please advise 

[jean_sq]

@Tomy At this time, Subscriptions could help with handling the recurring payment (eg. $200/month) for the membership. However, we don’t have a way to track the membership benefit (eg. how many visits has a member used in a particular month). We are digging into that work stream in 2023 but for now you would need to track it some other way.

[wendyhawkins]

Hello!! I'm a mental health professional and I've been wanting to have a membership/subscription service for a couple of years now but feel very overwhelmed when trying to visualize it. I don't want to do the regular therapist stuff like e-classes or workshops. Any brainstorming or suggestions would be great! Thanks! 

[jean_sq]

@wendyhawkins I don’t have any ideas off the top of my head but for some best practices on what to offer as a subscription, I’d recommend this article (Square is not associated with this article).

[NorCalSarah]

I make artisan chocolates, and I would LOVE to offer a monthly/biweekly pick-up subscription. What kind of customization could I offer? Looking forward to this!

[jean_sq]

@NorCalSarah 

I’m certainly not an expert in the chocolate business, but here’s a few ideas I’m thinking:  

• Try a monthly subscription to get early access to new flavors you are offering in your shop
• Offer subscription boxes to particular types of chocolates: eg. dark chocolate box, truffles box, nut-based chocolates, etc.
• “Surprise box” with a different mix chosen by you every time

You might also want to check out this article (Square is not associated with this article) for some best practices when developing a subscription business. 

FYI currently Subscriptions supports shipping use cases but not pick-up or delivery.

[Ladysol]

I'm setting up a subscription box now. Can I  utilize my existing software or is there something additional I  will need. What would be the advantage of using square vs shopify?