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Setting Up a Subscription

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  2. Use Case Information
  3. How to Set Up a Subscription
  4. Adding Tabs to the Detail Page
  5. Learner Subscription Management
  6. Reporting
  7. FAQ's

 

Subscriptions are an offering you can create using the native Ecommerce Thought Industries functionality.

Use Case Information

A subscription grants learners access to select content through periodic payments, either monthly or yearly. Learners will only have access to the content that is included in the subscription for as long as they subscribe. You have full control over what content is included and for how long.

When configured you can control the following:

  • Create a subscription options based on a range of content offerings
  • Create an All Access subscription
  • Allow trials to subscriptions

Note

We highlight a single subscription on the course detail page. If you choose to use the All Access setting, we recommended that only one subscription should be marked as both all access and purchasable at a time.

How to Set Up a Subscription

  1. From your homepage, select Ecommerce > Products.
  2. Select Add Ecommerce Item.
  3. Select the subscription template.
    Subscriptions_Template_AdminView.png
  4. Add a title for your subscription.
    • This title will be displayed to the public.
  5. Next, you will be asked to add the settings/display information for your subscription, including:
    • Subscription Name: The learner-facing title.
    • Short Description: The description for used in the catalog, as well as the description that displays above the detail page image.
    • Tags: Use an organizational tag to help you stay organized, as well filter and find this collection easily in your eCommerce interface.

      Note

      Organizational Tags are different than content tags used for provisioning content, as noted below.

    • Custom Fields: Adding any value for your Custom Fields that were previously created in Courses > Settings > Organization and Display. This value will help your learners filter and find this collection.
    • Meta Title: Use for Search Engine Optimization purposes.
    • Meta Description: Use for Search Engine Optimization purposes.
    • Confirmation: This confirmation message displays after your learner completes a purchase.
    • Image: Use for both catalog thumbnail and detail page image.
    • Ribbon: Apply the appropriate Ribbon from the selection you have created in your Courses > Settings > Organization and Display.
    • SKU: Use for reporting purposes.
    • Monthly Price: The cost of the subscription if a user purchases on a recurring monthly paid basis.
    • Yearly Price: The cost of the subscription if a user purchases on a recurring yearly paid basis.
    • Trial Period: How long the trial period be should be, if any, before the initial transaction is taken.
    • Instructor Messaging Included: This allows learners to message the instructor and applies to any courses in this collection.

      Note

      Instructor messaging must be enabled in Utilities within the Content step when creating a course before including this feature in your collection. It is there where you include the instructor's email to be included in Instructor Messaging.

    • All Access: Enabling this toggle provides your users with access to all released content. By activating this option, all available content in your catalog widget becomes accessible for user enrollment, as they will be subscribing to the All Access plan.

      Tip

      If checked, all course detail pages will display an option to purchase this subscription as an upsell. The learner can still purchase the individual content.

      Note

      Learning Paths are not included in the All Access setting.

    • Select Content: Select the content to include in the subscription.
    • Learning Paths: Select the learning paths to include in the subscription.

      Warning

      Carefully consider the content items you include in a subscription. If you include a course as well as a learning path that contains that course, it’s possible that the learner could enroll in the course with out following the learning path order.

    • Content Tags: Select which tags learners should have access to. This includes Courses as well as other content such as Articles and Webinars. These tags are assigned at the content level and allows content to be provisioned to subscriptions in groups.
    • Taxable: The Avalara tax settings are configured at Ecommerce > Settings > Avalara and can be applied to make the subscription taxable.
    • Available for Purchase: Enable to expose the price in your catalog and allow learners to purchase the item.

      Note

      You will not be able to change price or trial information after this is checked.

      Warning

      Do not enable the Available for Purchase option until you are ready to make the bundle live to your learners.


      If you have Stripe set up on your instance, you will be unable to change a subscription's price once it is available for purchase. Therefore, you should ensure you input the correct price(s) before making it purchasable.

    • Show in Catalog: Enable to release the subscription so it is exposed in your catalog.

      Note

      Users can only add one subscription to their cart at a time.

    • Subscription Type: The template you used to create the subscription will be exposed to your learners, however, this is fully customizable and could be edited to reflect your language.
  6. Click Save.

Admin View of Configuration

  Subscriptions_SetUpPage_AdminView.png

Note

Learners will access subscription content, and choose which course(s) they would like to view, via the Catalog widget on their dashboard. Therefore, it is crucial that the Catalog widget remain on the learner dashboard. Once a learner opens a course, it will move to the Dashboard Access widget that shows which courses are in progress, completed, etc.

Editing a Subscription

You can easily edit your subscription at any time by going to eCommerce > Actions > Edit. This path will bring you back into the Settings tab for that particular subscription item. Remember, price and trial information are not editable after Available to Purchase is enabled.

Adding Tabs to the Detail Page

At the left of the subscription editor, you will have the option to add custom tabs using the provided templates. To do this, click Add Tab and select a tab type.Subscriptions_Tabs_AdminView.png

There are 3 different tabs available:

01

Free Text

A Free Text editor, also known as a WYSIWYG, to allow you to add any infomation, images and formation as needed.

02

Instructors

The Instructors tab allows for the addition of a full name as standard text, a bio (which is also a free text editor), and a headshot. The headshot has a suggested size of 400px by 400px.

03

Products

The Products tab allows you to attach products, digital or physical, that you have set up in the eCommerce section of Thought Industries. These Items can then be added to the cart and made purchasable by the user visiting the detail page.

Learner View:

SettingSubscription_LearnerView.png

Tip

If you are interested in offering a discount for your learners, you can create coupons for them to apply to their purchases. You can create a subscription coupon to apply to any of your subscriptions created in the eCommerce section of the platform. You can set up the desired coupon, along with any limits that should apply, and distribute to learners for use at checkout. To understand more visit our article Creating a Subscription Coupon.

Learner Subscription Management

Having the chance to manage subscriptions is important for your learners. Managing subscriptions includes:

  • Viewing subscription activity.
  • Managing, renewing, or canceling subscriptions.
  • Editing credit card details.

Note

Currently, Thought Industries does not offer a notification feature to alert learners when their subscription is due for renewal.

Below are the steps to follow for learners to manage their subscriptions:

  1. From the Learner Dashboard, click the arrow to expose the dropdown menu beside the learner profile picture.
  2. Click Profile.
    Subscriptions_LearnerProfile1.png
  3. To change/update credit card information, select Credit Card from the left side menu.
    Subscriptions_LearnerProfile5.png
  4. To manage subscriptions, select Subscriptions from the left side menu.
    • Here is where learners can view subscription details.
      Subscriptions_LearnerProfile2.png
  5. Click Manage Subscriptions
    • Here is where learners can cancel subscriptions.
      Subscriptions_LearnerProfile3.png
      Subscriptions_LearnerProfile4.png

Note

In the event of a failed charge or expiration of the learner's credit card, there will be three payment retry attempts within a span of 7 days. Default notifications will be sent to the learner, prompting them to update their credit card information. Failure to update within this period will result in access being revoked after the 7th day.

Reporting on Subscriptions

Subscription Transactions Log contains all charges, refunds, and disputes related to subscriptions. Trial periods are displayed with the label “Trial”, while 100% off subscription coupons are labeled “Free”. Each individual charge, refund, dispute, or free transaction is displayed on its own line with a timestamp denoting the date it occurred.

To view the Subscription Transactions Log, go to Reporting > Reports > Ecommerce and click into the report.

Values for Subscription Transaction Types

  • trial: A trial is when a user enters into a trial period for a subscription.
  • charge: A charge is when a user purchases a subscription.
  • free: free is when a user purchases a subscription with a 100% off coupon.
  • dispute: A dispute (also known as a chargeback) occurs when a cardholder questions your payment with their card issuer.
  • refund: A refund is when a user is given a refund for a subscription.

FAQ's

If an admin is canceling a subscription and creating a new one, does the admin need to cancel the subscription themselves, or should they ask the users to cancel and repurchase the new subscription?

We suggest creating a communication to send to users currently subscribed. This communication should include links to make the process easier. Ask users to:

1.  Cancel their current subscription by linking them to their Learner Profile where they can manage their subscriptions.

2.  Repurchase the new subscription by providing a link to the catalog.

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