Subscription setup

[foaf]

We are having a hell of a time trying to get a subscription service set up that is for pickup only, no shipping. We tried to use the payment link, which looked like it was going to work in preview, with the option to pay once or every month, but then live it doesn't work. Trying to set up a subscription requires you ship, but we don't want to do that. Any ideas for how to do this??

[TheRealChipA]

Hi @foaf.  This is a known deficiency in Square Subscriptions.  See screen shot which is from the Subscriptions FAQ document.  This feature has been requested numerous times, but I can not tell you if the team is working on it yet.  So, if you need something for pickup subscriptions ASAP, rather than wait head over to the Square App Marketplace and look at third-party subscription apps that integrate with Square.  One I would recommend checking out is Submatic, but there are others.

[ryanwanner · Accepted solution]

Hello @foaf !

I completely agree with what @TheRealChipA said, but I've also kinda sorta came up with a workaround for my subscriptions: I've listed two variations on pricing: Delivery (or pickup for you) and Shipping. Since I use a flat $6 for my shipping, I made the delivery price $6 less. I then make it clear in the description of what the customer should expect. The people set up on it seem to understand.

Now, the challenge on this is that the customer has to choose the Shipping option on the site to see the subscriptions, so I recommend setting up a Subscriptions page on your site that has those items listed. Customers are able to get past the Shipping/Pickup selector at first to see your offerings. Yes, they'll still have to give their address on checkout, but it's the best option I've come across short of putting a third party software in place.

You can see how i have this set up on my Subscriptions Page.

[TheRealChipA]

@ryanwanner Wow.  That’s a pretty elegant workaround.  Yes, it has its gotchas but it’s something that works.  How have your customers reacted to what no doubt looks like a kludge? 

[ryanwanner]

@TheRealChipA  So far, no. I lay it out relatively clearly on the subs page about why they're charged shipping feels without actually paying for shipping. The only question I've seen is a verification on my delivery radius.

I tried to make a coupon for free shipping, but coupons aren't available for repeat invoicing. So that didn't work.

On the back side, it's just the matter of tweaking the sales data to take those shipping fees and transferring it to the right sales category. A little hoop jumping, but better than losing the subscriptions because "why should I pay for shipping when your shop is only a mile from my house?"

[Deesseboutique]

Thanks for the example, I am still struggling trying to figure out how to set up the subscription program.

Gotta ask though, how do you offer "hand delivered" coffee to anyone anywhere? I checked your subscription page and I can 

choose that option before it knows where I am located.

Are you using Door Dash or something similar?

Angela

1889Products

[ryanwanner]

Hi @Deesseboutique !

I offer a free home delivery option within a 25 mile radius of my location. I do those deliveries myself. If a customer outside of that radius tries to set up a subscription, I will reach out to them and explain that it’s too far and cancel the subscription. So far I haven’t had to do this. It’s a risk that I felt I had to take just to get some of my regular coffee buyers onto a subscription model. It’s worked for me: my subscriber count tripled as soon as I offered the home delivery option. 

Im hoping that at some point subscriptions will be able to link to the fulfillment methods instead of delivery only, but for now it’s the best workaround I could come up with.