Manage subscriptions for recurring payments

When a buyer makes a purchase using a payment link configured to collect recurring payments, or a quote integrated with payments that includes recurring line items, HubSpot will create a subscription record. If a recurring payment is made via ACH, a subscription record will be created once the ACH payment is authorized and submitted, even if the ACH payment is still pending.

The subscription record will be associated to the buyer's contact, company, deal, and payment record. Moving forward, the buyer will be charged every billing cycle per the terms set on the quote or payment link. For each charge, the buyer will receive a receipt and the associated subscription properties will be updated in HubSpot. You can also turn on reminder emails so your buyer is notified 14 days before their next subscription payment.

Please note: you will only receive a payment notification for the buyer's first subscription payment. You can use workflows to send internal notifications for subsequent payments.

You can edit the subscription name, send a link to a buyer to update their payment method, or cancel a subscription. You can also use subscription data in other HubSpot tools, including lists, workflows, and custom reports.

Recurring payments subscriptions cannot be created manually, and are different from email subscription types that represent the lawful basis to communicate with contacts.

View subscriptions on records

On the buyer's associated contact, company, deal, or payment records, you can check the status of a subscription, edit the subscription name, or send a buyer a link to update their payment method.

• Navigate to your records:
• Click the name of the record associated with the subscription.
• In the right sidebar, navigate to the Subscriptions card to view the subscription status:
  • Active: all scheduled payments have been processed successfully.
  • Unpaid: the scheduled payment for the current billing cycle failed. An email will be sent to the buyer requesting that they update their payment information. Learn more about addressing failed subscription payments.

• • Canceled: the subscription has been canceled before term. Customers will not be charged for canceled subscriptions.
  • Expired: the customer has been charged as per the initial billing term and no further charges are expected. Customers will not be charged for expired subscriptions.
• Hover over the subscription and click Preview.

• In the right panel, you can see the subscription's details and edit the subscription name or associated contact.

• If a buyer reaches out and needs to update their payment method on file, you can send them an email with a link to update their payment method. In the top right of the panel, click the Actions dropdown menu and select Update payment method.

Please note: if you need to pause or update a subscription's terms, you must cancel the subscription first, then create a new payment link or quote for the updated or resumed subscription.

Cancel subscriptions

If a buyer asks to cancel their subscription, you can cancel the subscription via the subscription record in HubSpot. The subscription will be canceled immediately and the customer will no longer be charged. You can wait to cancel until the end of the billing term, or cancel the subscription and issue a refund for the unused service days. If you cancel a subscription that has a pending ACH payment, the pending payment will not be automatically canceled and refunded, so you will also need to issue a refund for that pending payment.

Please note: if you don't have a refund policy, it is recommended to cancel closer to the billing date.

• Navigate to your records:

• Click the name of the record associated with the subscription.
• In the right sidebar, navigate to the Subscriptions card.
• Hover over the subscription and click Preview.
• In the top right of the panel, click the Actions dropdown menu then select Cancel subscription.

• In the dialog box, select the I understand the customer won't be charged again checkbox.
• Click Cancel subscription.

The customer will receive a subscription cancellation email.

If you canceled the subscription before the end of the billing term, learn how to issue a refund from your payments dashboard. You can also create a subscription-based workflow to send a notification to your team when a customer's next payment is due to remind them to cancel the subscription.

Turn on payment reminder emails

You can send a payment reminder email to your buyers 14 days before their next subscription payment is due.

• In the left sidebar menu, navigate to Payments.
• Click the General tab.
• Click to toggle the Upcoming payment reminder switch on.

• Click Save.

Moving forward, an email reminder will be sent to a buyer before their next payment. You can also use workflows to send notifications for an upcoming subscription payment. 

Work with subscriptions

You can use subscription data in other HubSpot tools, including workflows, lists, and reports.

• Create subscription-based workflows to automate actions based on subscription information. For example, send an internal notification to your team when a subscription's status is past due, or automatically update the subscription owner. Learn more about subscription enrollment triggers.
• Track recurring revenue in the subscriptions analytics tool, or create a custom report based on subscription data. When creating a custom report, make sure to select Subscriptions as the data source, or the single object if creating a single object custom report.
  
• Segment your contacts or companies into lists based on subscription properties. For example, create a list of contacts with a known subscription end date, then send an email to the list of contacts encouraging them to renew.