Step 3. Update Subscription Periods

In this step, you are offered to configure all the subscription periods you have selected in the previous step, one-by-one (not applicable to one-time fee service plans). The period you are editing at the moment is marked in the Edit column as Yes. All the settings can be adjusted later, after the service plan is added.

Under Details for Period, specify the following information:

  • Select the Trial checkbox to offer a trial subscription period.

    Note:
    - A customer cannot prolong a subscription for another trial period, they can only renew it for another non-trial period. It makes sense creating short trial periods.
    - When configuring service terms, you can set grace and hold periods for trial subscriptions independently of regular ones.
    - Resource upgrade is not possible for trial subscriptions. Therefore, when preparing a trial period, configure resource rates in a way that does not suppose purchasing additional resource amounts. For example, set included units equal to maximum allowed units.

  • Type a setup, recurring, renewal, and deposit fees into the Setup Fee, Recurring Fee, Renewal Fee and Deposit Fee fields respectively.

    • Type a free-form description into the Description field next to every price field. This description is shown in order.

      Note: All the Description fields are pre-filled with default text that starts with a placeholder. For domain service plans, a placeholder name is @@Subscription_Name@. For other types of service plans, a placeholder name is @@Subscription_Plan_Name@. The @@Subscription_Name@ placeholder is replaced with an actual domain name, and the @@Subscription_Plan_Name@ placeholder is replaced with an actual name of a service plan displayed in order details. We recommend you to keep using this placeholder in fee descriptions.

  • If you want to charge a customer for subscription cancellation, enter the subscription cancellation charge into the Cancellation Fee field. The cancellation fee can be entered in one of the following ways:

    • Plan and Resource Rates until Expiration Date: With this option, a cancellation fee is charged for a period from the next billing date to the subscription expiration date (for Charge Before Billing Period plans). For a Charge After Billing Period plan, a cancellation fee will be taken for the remaining period from a cancellation date. In both cases, resources are also charged.

      Important: Avoid using the Plan and Resource Rate until Expiration Date option for Charge Before Subscription Period plans. It results in illogical behavior when no refund is configured. Use the Plan and Resource Rate until Expiration Date option only for the Charge Before Billing Period and Charge After Billing Period plans.

    •  Custom: Enter explicit amount or use a formula that is based on placeholders. Compose a formula to calculate a cancellation fee depending on the actual subscription period used, the remaining unused period, and so on. The operations allowed in this formula are: +, -, *, /, and brackets (). You can use the following placeholders in this formula:
      • @@Subscription_SetupFee@: A subscription period setup fee.
      • @@Subscription_SubscriptionFee@: A subscription period recurring fee.
      • @@Subscription_RenewalFee@: A subscription period renewal fee.
      • @@Subscription_TransferFee@: A domain transfer fee (if applicable).
      • @@BillPerTillExp@: A number of remaining unused billing periods.

        Note: For example, the @@Subscription_SubscriptionFee@ * @@BillPerTillExp@ * 10 / 100 formula means that a cancellation fee is 10 %.

        Important: When setting the explicit amount, always use dots as separators (not commas) despite of a locale.

  • Select the Show Zero Price checkbox to make a subscription period price description displayed in an order even if a price is zero. By default, zero prices are not displayed.

    Note: A zero line is included in an order when a resource or service quantity is non-zero while its price is zero (due to an applied discount or promotion).

  • Type a sum into the Non Refundable Amount field. This sum is not refunded to a customer when they cancel a subscription.

  • Enter a number of days a customer may claim a full money back (minus the non-refundable amount) into the Full Refund Period (days) field.

  • Select one of the refund policies to use after a refund period is over from the After Refund Period menu:

    • Refund Prorated Recurring Fee: A customer is refunded in proportion to unused services (a refund is calculated based on the recurring fee paid minus the non-refundable amount);
    • No Refund: A customer is not refunded for the canceled subscription.

      Important:
      - A customer may be refunded for a service plan switching even if this option is set to No Refund.
      - We do not recommend you set the Full Refund Period (days) and the Non Refundable Amount parameters, if you prohibit refunding at all. We do not recommend to configure a refund for domain service plans. Generally, registrars do not return money for a domain registration.

  • Optionally, click the lens icon next to the Notification Schedule field. From the window that opens, select a notification schedule to use. The notification schedule will be assigned to every subscription for the subscription period. For more information on configuring notification schedules, refer to Managing Notifications.

  • Type a free-form description of all the fees into the Period Fees Description field. This description is displayed to a customer in the online store.

If you have selected several subscription periods, click the Go to next period button. You can navigate between subscription periods using the Go to next Period and Go to prev Period buttons.

After you pass all the subscription periods you have selected, you are offered to proceed to the next wizard step: resource configuration (if there are resources added to a service template the plan is based on). To configure resource rates, click Setup Plan Rates. Otherwise, click Finish to complete creating a new service plan.