Create Subscription Product

Refer to Before Creating a Product before beginning this process.

A Subscription product is a product that has a recurring price.

Complete the following steps to create a new subscription product:

Select Product Catalog from the Gotransverse application menu .
Click Products in the left pane.

Products Window

Click the icon in the left pane to hide it. Click the icon to open it.

You can manage which columns display in any table with a Configure or Columns button by clicking the button and selecting desired columns. In addition. If the table includes a Filter button, you can filter the table contents. If the table includes an Export button, you can export visible table contents (up to 50) to a CSV (comma-separated values) file. Refer to Data Tables for more information about using these features.
On the Products window, click the Create Product button and select Subscription.

Create Product Drop-down List
On the Create Product window, complete the required and relevant fields on the Product Information tab.

Create Subscription Product Window

Required fields are marked with an asterisk.

A icon next to a field name indicates that information about the field is available. Hover your mouse over the icon to see the information.
- Product Name* — Enter a name for the product. This is the official product name and will be displayed on invoices or services unless a Short Description is provided. The name must be unique and can include a maximum of 255 characters.
- Short Description — Enter a short description that will appear as a service name on a service on a billing account. You can overwrite the short description when you add the product to an order. The description can include a maximum of 255 characters.
- Description — Enter a description for the product. You can add the description to an invoice template. The description can include a maximum of 1000 characters.
- Internal Name — Enter the name your company uses internally for the product. You can add the internal name to an invoice template. The name must be unique and can include a maximum of 255 characters.
- External Name — Enter the name the product has in an external system. You can add the external name to an invoice template. The name can include a maximum of 255 characters.
- Introduction Date* — Select the first date and time the product can be ordered. A product cannot be added to an order before its introduction date. If you are using discounts, the product introduction date must be before or on the discount code start date.
  
  An introduction date is required to make the product available for sale. A product cannot be sold before its introduction date. If you will be using discounts, the product introduction date has to be before the discount start date.
- Sales Discontinuation Date — Select the last date and time a product can be ordered. The discontinuation date must greater than or equal to the product's introduction date.
  
  A discontinued product is no longer available for sale. However, it can still be billed to customers that have the product. Orders with a date beyond the product's discontinuation date will not be processed.
- Product Category* — Select from the list of categories used to segment your products. The Product Category groups similar products together for reporting, invoice display, GL posting, and overall organizational purposes. You can enter a partial name to filter the list.
- Product Level — Enter a value between 0 and 1000 to further organize your products. This is not available for one-time products.
- SKU — Enter the Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU) identifier for the product. This product code or internal identifier facilitates easier integration between customer systems and Gotransverse and consistency across different environments. The SKU must be unique and can include a maximum of 255 characters.
- Taxable checkbox — Select to have sales tax added automatically calculated and added to the price of the product when ordered. For products with discounts applied, consider the following examples:
  
  If you use the Avalara Communications Tax processor, and you select this checkbox, you will have the option to select a tax mode in the Price Definition section.
  - If the discount is taxable, the discount is applied to the taxable line items before the sales tax is calculated. This reduces the amount of sales tax charged to the customer.
  - If the discount is non-taxable, the discount is applied to the taxable line items after the sales tax is calculated.
  For users of Avalara Communications Tax (not Avalara Communications-Legacy), if the product is created to be Taxable, you can also select a tax mode for the product price. The default taxation mode is controlled by the Product Taxation Mode (Tax type) system setting. However, you can change the tax mode when creating either a recurring or one-time charge price.
  
  Although the Product Taxation Mode system setting applies to both the Avalara Communications Tax and External Tax (Tax Essentials) tax processors, the tax mode option for product prices is only available for Avalara Communications Tax.
- Agreement Mandatory checkbox — Select whether an agreement is required for this product. Agreements act as informal contracts that define time limits on recurring billing and determine what actions occur at the end of the term (renewal or deactivation) and how to price if a service is terminated early.
  
  If this checkbox is selected, the product will have a Draft status. To make the product Active, you must associate an agreement with the product. Agreements are created and managed in the Products application’s Agreements Module module and can be viewed in the Product Catalog application’s Agreements Module module.
- Unique checkbox — Select this checkbox if you want to configure the product as an individual item and you have unique numbers that track the product. You cannot update this checkbox once you save the product.
  
  Subscription, Add-On, and One-Time products are unique by default, but you can clear this checkbox to make them non-unique. This setting can make a considerable difference in the flexibility of One-Time products during the order process:
  - Unique: A generic product of professional services is an example of a unique One-Time product. You can add it multiple times to an order, and then for each line item, override the short description for such services as consulting services, setup services, or migration services. Each of these services can then be priced individually within the order by overriding the price.
  - Non-Unique: Examples of non-unique One-Time products include downloads of individual items such as wallpaper, ring tones, or physical goods purchased separately, such as a car charger.
  This field can not be edited after product definition is complete.
- Trial checkbox — Select this checkbox to include a free trial period with subscription products. Any child add-on products inherit the trial period from the parent subscription product. Trial periods are not available for one-time products. The following fields become available when you select the checkbox:
  - Default Length of Trial*: Enter the default number of days you want the trial period to last. The default value is 1 and you must enter a value greater than 0.
  - Trial Length Override checkbox: Select this checkbox to allow override of the length of the trial period at the time of order.
    
    When a product with a trial is ordered, the service that is created has a status of Trial. The customer is not charged for this trial service. At the end of the trial period, the service automatically converts to Active status. The customer is then charged for a regular subscription starting from the date that the service converted from Trial to Active. You can manually convert a Trial service to an Active service before the trial period has ended.
- Additional Fields — Select custom fields to capture custom information for the product. You can enter a partial name to filter the list. Additional fields appear at the bottom of the window and behave like any other field. Gotransverse saves the fields you select and displays them the next time you create this type of product.
  
  To view available fields, click the Additional Fields buttons at the top of the window and select each field you wish to add to the window.
  
  Custom fields are created in the Setup application’s Custom Fields module. Refer to Custom Fields Module for more information on working with custom fields.
Click Next.
Complete the required and relevant fields on the Usage Configuration tab.

Create Subscription Product Window - Usage Configuration Tab

Required fields are marked with an asterisk.
- Rule Mode — Select an option to determine how usage rules are applied when combining rules from subscription and Add-On products in a single rule stack:
- Rule Type — Select an option for how usage is priced (refer to Usage Models for more information about how the structure for the usage-based charges are constructed):
  - Tapered: The price is based on the rate assigned to each tier that usage falls within. Once a customer fills up a tier at a particular price, they move to the next tier and are charged a different price. For example, if each tier defines a range of ten units of the product with a price difference of $2 per tier, and the customer purchases 28 units of the product, then the customer buys:
    - 10 units at $19.95
    - 10 units at $17.95
    - 8 units at $15.95
  - Tiered: Uses a single price depending on the total quantity ordered. The price is based on the rate assigned to the tier that usage falls within. For example, for the same tiers list above, the customer buys 28 units at $15.95.
- Identifier Category — Select a category of unique identifier for usage. Examples include a login ID or a license key. This is also known as the Service Resource Category (refer to Service Resource Categories Module). This field is not available for one-time products.
  
  If you selected a category, you must enter a range for the number of service resources that can be assigned to one instance of the product when the product is sold:
  - Minimum Identifiers*: Only Required for Usage. The minimum number of Service Resources. The value must be greater than or equal to zero and less than or equal to 2147483647.
  - Maximum Identifiers*: Only Required for Usage. The maximum number of Service Resources. The value must be greater than or equal to zero, less than or equal to 2147483647, and greater than or equal to the number of Minimum Identifiers.
- Rule Override checkbox — Select this checkbox to allow overriding of the default usage rules for a service at the time of order. This allows you to use different rating rules for different customers. You can only add usage rules to subscription or Add-On products with the Rule Override property enabled (refer to Create Usage Rule for Product’s Recurring Price).
- Consume Prepaid Balance checkbox — Select this checkbox if you are creating a consumption product for the Stored Value Service (SVS). SVS uses a prepaid register, similar to a gift card, that a customer funds and then draws down on the balance through usage consumption. The price for this product should be zero, as it will be paid by the one-time Fund Prepaid Balance product.
  
  The Order system setting Enable negative contributions to bring an SVS register balance below zero, if set to TRUE, allows a negative one-time charge from a product that is configured to fund a prepaid balance if the resulting register balance falls below zero. Refer to System Settings for more information.
  
  Also select the register type that this product will consume:
  - Register Type*: The register that keeps track of prepaid balances. Multiple consumption products can be associated with a prepaid balance register. Examples of register types include an amount of money with units of the same currency assigned to the billing account, or a count, which is a quantity of product or service against which usage is applied. Registers are managed in the Products application. Refer to Register Types Module for more information about managing registers.
Click Next.
Complete the required and relevant fields on the Price Definition tab. You can create either a recurring or one-time price. If you wish to add more prices to the product, configure the product after you create it (refer to Product Pricing).

The fields for configuring either a recurring or one-time price will display after you select the price type.

Create Subscription Product Window - Price Definition Tab Recurring vs One-Time Price Type

Required fields are marked with an asterisk.

A icon next to a field name indicates that information about the field is available. Hover your mouse over the icon to see the information.
- Price Type — Select the type of price you want to define. This determines which fields are available on the tab.
  - Recurring: Product pricing that is charged repeatedly on a set schedule, such as a service plan. Price type is available for subscription and add-on products. If you select this price type, the Recurrence Period field displays.
  - One-Time: Product pricing that is charged only once, such as a phone accessory.
- Price Category* — Select a category for prices and revenues. Also known as a charge category, the price category is a primary driver of GL posting rules. These categories are created in the Setup application’s Charge Categories modules. Refer to Charge Categories Module for more information.
- Tax Mode* — Only For users of the Avalara Communications Tax processor. If you selected the Taxable checkbox in the Product Information section, you must select a tax mode from the drop-down list. Options include:
  - EXCLUSIVE: The price is the taxable amount, and taxes will be calculated and invoiced in addition to the charge price.
  - INCLUSIVE: A portion of the price is the taxable amount, which is calculated based on the tax jurisdiction of the address so that the price and the taxes equal the charge price.
  - NONE: The price is not taxable, and no taxes will be calculated.
- Recurrence Period — This field is only visible if the Allow different Pricing Period Billing system setting (Billing System Settings) is set to True (refer to System Settings for information on how to view or change system settings). The recurrence period specifies when the product is charged to the billing account, which determines the service period length once the product is ordered and may be different than the bill cycle, which defines the frequency of invoicing. For example, a bill cycle may be once per month, but you could set your product recurrence period to be charged semi-annually or annually. The recurrence period should be same time period or longer than the billing cycle. The default value is Month.
  
  Products can have multiple recurring prices. Each recurring price must have a different recurrence period. For example, you could sell a product at $10 per month or $28 per quarter.
  
  Select from the following recurrence period options:
  - Bill Cycle:The recurrence period matches the customer's bill cycle. For example, if the customer has a Monthly bill cycle, the product is charged once per month. If the customer has a Daily bill cycle, the product is charged once per day.
  - Day: Daily.
  - Week: Weekly on the same day of the week.
  - Two Weeks: Every two weeks on the same day of the week.
  - Twice a Month: Twice per month, which is different than every two weeks. For a 30-day month, the recurrence period would be 15 days instead of 14 days.
  - Month: Once per month.
  - Two Month: Once every two months.
  - Twelve Weeks: Once every 12 weeks.
  - Quarter: Once per quarter of the year, or once every three months, which is four times in a 12-month cycle.
  - Four Months: Once every four months.
  - Twice a Year: Once per half year, or once approximately every six months, which is two times in a 12-month cycle.
  - Year: Once in a 12-month cycle.
  - Two Years: Once in a 24-month cycle.
  - Three Years: Once in a 36-month cycle.
  - Four Years: Once in a 48-month cycle.
  - Five Years: Once in a 60-month cycle.
  The following examples show how bill cycles and service periods work together to achieve a product and billing model that meets your business needs:
  - In a B2C environment, you want to invoice your customers based on the signup date for the service. You use a Daily bill cycle and a recurrence period of Month, Quarter, and Year for three different price points and invoicing periods.
  - In a B2B contracts business, you want invoice your customers on the first day of the month to help their finance team align pricing. You use a Monthly bill cycle with a recurrence period of Month.
  - You want to invoice the customer annually for a monthly recurring product. You set their billing account to a Yearly bill cycle so they receive one invoice a year with a separate line for each month’s recurring price.
  The recurrence period is not available for one-time products or one-time prices. A child Add-On product inherits the service period from the parent subscription product if the child Add-On product matches the price’s recurrence.
  
  The recurrence period and currency combination must be unique. You can create multiple combinations per product.
- Billing Type — Only for Recurring charges. Select a billing option for recurring prices:
  - Bill in Advance: Billing occurs at the beginning of the service period, before services are rendered. The customer will be invoiced for the service on their next bill cycle run. Also, complete the following fields:
    - Additional Bill in Advance Quantity: Enter a whole number value (1-999) for the number of periods to bill in advance.
    - Additional Bill in Advance Period*: Select a period of time to bill in advance. This becomes available after you enter the amount (number of periods) to bill in advance. When combined, the two options determine the length of time to bill in advance. Options are Bill Cycle, Day, Week, Month, or Year. For example, to bill for 3 months of service in advance, enter 2 for the amount and select Month for the period.
  - Bill in Arrears: Billing occurs at the end of the service period, after services are rendered.
- Valid From* — The date the price becomes valid and can be used for purchase. The Valid From date must be equal to or later than the Introduction Date for the product. For an Active product, Valid From cannot be earlier than the current date and time and can be equal to or later than the Product Introduction date.
- Price Group — Select a price group to assign this product to a group of products with related volume pricing for quantity or usage. Price groups allow you to implement a volume pricing strategy across multiple services, rather than having tiered or tapered pricing apply to only one service at a time.
  
  For example, you can use a price group to track usage volumes across periods within a calendar year, where multiple accounts and multiple services can contribute to the total usage consumed. This means that a parent holding company could have five child accounts that are invoiced individually, but the usage for each account is combined to determine which tier to use for rating of usage on each individual child account. Price Groups are created in the Products application’s Product Price Groups module (refer to Product Price Groups Module).
- Price Override checkbox — Select this checkbox to allow the price to be overridden at the time of order. If this is not selected, the price cannot be changed on the order.
- Pay on Purchase checkbox — Select this checkbox to require payment at the time of purchase when this product is added to an order.
- Default Quantity* — If the Unique checkbox is not selected, enter a whole number or number up to 5 digits after the decimal point for the default quantity of the item when ordered. For example, 1, 2.34566, or 12. The default value is 1. You must enter a value greater than 0. and you can enter decimal values. The maximum default quantity allowed is defined by the Maximum Quantity for non-unique product Billing system setting (refer to System Settings).
- Require Scheduled Charges checkbox — Only for One-Time prices. Select this checkbox to require that scheduled charges be set up when this product is ordered. Scheduled charges requires that the number of payments and the amount and date for each payment are specified during the order process.
  Pay on Purchase, Charge at Renewal, and Price Tiers are not available when this checkbox is selected.
- Auto-Payment Required checkbox — For Recurring prices only. Select this checkbox to require that an automatic recurring payment method be set up for the customer when this product is added to an order.
- Charge at Renewal — Only for one-time prices on Subscription or Add-On products. Select this checkbox to charge the customer the one-time price when the agreement is renewed. If this checkbox is not selected, the customer will not be charged the one-time price on renewal.
- Price Proration — Only for Recurring prices. Select any of the following checkboxes to reduce the price charged for an initial or final service period when the service changes in mid-bill cycle.
  - On Order: If a customer takes delivery of the product during a current billing cycle, the prorated amount is the amount owed for the remainder of the current billing cycle. For example, if the customer starts monthly service on Jan 15th with a service period of Jan 15-Feb 14 and their monthly bill cycle invoices on the 1st of every month, they are billed for the active portion (Jan 15-Jan 31) of the first service period. If this option is not selected, the customer will be billed for the full month.
  - On Cancel: If the customer cancels the product or service before the end of the billing cycle, the customer pays only for the time that the product was used. If a customer ends monthly service on Aug 15th and their monthly bill cycle invoices on the 1st of every month, instead of being billed for the full month on the final invoice, they are billed for Aug 1-Aug 15. Select this option if you want to refund a partial amount to your customer when they cancel the service in the middle of a period. Many subscription providers do not provide refunds but rather let the customer use the service until the end of the current period and then cancel or deactivate the service.
  - On Order – No Charge: The product price is prorated on the order, but the customer is not charged the prorated amount. If a customer takes delivery of the product during a current billing cycle, the prorated amount is the amount owed for the remainder of the current billing cycle, but the customer is billed for the first month’s partial service period at $0. This option is rarely used.
- Price Tiers* — Tiered pricing uses a single price depending on the total quantity over the service period or at the time of order. The price is based on the rate assigned to the tier that usage falls into. For each tier, enter an ending quantity and price. Click Add Price Tier to add another tier.
  - Starting Qty (exclusive): Gotransverse automatically provides the starting quantity for each tier based on the previous tier's ending quantity, starting with zero. You cannot change this value.
  - Ending Qty (Inclusive): Enter the ending quantity for the tier. This must be greater than the starting quantity for the tier and left empty for the last tier. This automatically becomes the starting quantity for the next tier. You can include no more than 17 digits before the decimal point.
  - Price* : Enter the amount to charge for the product. The price is required if there is another tier after this one. Leave this empty for the last tier.
  NOTE: The following system settings apply to price tiers (refer to System Settings):
  - Maximum number of tiers allowed for tiered pricing. Controls the number of tiers that are available. For example, when this setting is set to 5, you can add up to five tiers. When this setting is set to 1, you cannot have any tiers and can only enter a price.
  - Show product price maximum fractional digits. When set to True, you can set up to five fractional digits in the price. When this setting is set to False, fractional digits are based on the currency, which is rounded to two decimal places. Exceptions to the two decimal rounding are Chile Peso, Iceland Krona, Japanese Yen, and South Korean Won.
Select an option to save the product:
- Save as Draft — Creates a Draft product that cannot be added to orders. You must activate a draft product to make it available for ordering.
- Create — Creates an Active product that can be added to orders. This button is available if a subscription product has a recurring price, and an agreement is not mandatory.

After you create the product, the Product Details window displays, where you can work with or further configure the product.

If you have the Avalara Communications Tax processor and configured the product as Taxable, the Recurring and/or One-Time Prices details tab data table will include a Tax Mode column.

If you do not see the Tax Mode column, click the Configure button to select which columns you see in the table. Also refer to Data Tables for more information on exporting, configuring, and other actions that can be done with the tables.

Subscription Product Details Window - Tax Mode

Subscription Product Details Window - Tax Mode (For Avalara Communications Tax Users)

Refer to the following topics for more information about working with products:

Topic updated: 03/2024.