Recurring orders are orders which get automatically created, without any interaction from you, on a repeated frequency. Sometimes they are referred to as 'subscriptions'.
Some scenarios which are ideal for recurring orders:
You sell consumable products, which customers order regularly in a predictable pattern (e.g. contact lenses, pet food, cosmetics etc)
You sell a service or intangible product which repeats on a set frequency
What plan do I need to be on to use recurring orders?
You will need to be on one of our commerce plans (Small, Medium or Large).
How do I allow customers to purchase products on a recurring basis?
First set up your recurring order frequencies under Website > Products > Recurring order frequencies. We've added some defaults already for you.
Then for each product, assign which recurring order frequencies you want to allow. You can either edit each product one by one, or you can do a bulk update on the product list.
That's it! Customers will then see an option to choose the frequency when adding the item to the cart. When the order is processed, we automatically create the recurring order for you.
How do I manually add a recurring order?
To add a recurring order:
Go to Contacts > People.
Find the person and click View.
Look for the Recurring orders section and click Add.
Choose how often the order will repeat.
Choose a Start date.
Choose a Tax zone. Tax is calculated based on where the order is being 'shipped' to. If the items aren't being physically shipped, then this should be where the customer is located.
Choose a Currency.
Choose a Payment method.
Optionally enter any Special instructions. These will come through as a normal order would, the customer will see these.
Optionally enter a Shipping address if the order will be shipped.
Click Add.
Once you've added the order, you can then add items to it:
Next to Items, click Add.
Choose the Item.
Change the Quantity if more than 1.
Optionally choose to enter a Price. If left blank the price set against the item is used instead. This means it will always charge the customer the most up-to-date price. If you enter a price here instead, the price will always stay the same until you change it here.
Click Add.
As you add items it'll show what the subtotal, tax and total is.
If you're shipping this item, you'll need to add a shipping rate:
In the Total column, you'll see Shipping, click Edit to change it.
Choose a Shipping rate.
Click Update.
That's it; orders will automatically start being created based on your start date and repeat frequency.
What happens when a recurring order is created?
Everything happens just like a normal order:
The order is created.
Stock is deducted.
The customer gets charged (if payment method is credit card).
We create an invoice in Xero (if applicable).
The customer receives an order confirmation email.
You receive an order received email.
Where do I add a person's credit card, in order to charge them for the order?
Credit card processing is done via Stripe. You would first need to have a Stripe account setup and connected to Airsquare.
Once connected, you can then associate a Stripe customer record to the person record in Airsquare. Find the person under Contacts > People, click View, then look for the External records section, you'll see an option to associate a Stripe customer to the person.
If the customer isn't there, you can either add them into Stripe first (along with their card details) or the customer will be sent an order confirmation which is Awaiting payment with an option to Pay online.
What happens if a person's credit card fails during the renewal process?
A credit card can fail for a variety of reasons. Typically this is because the card has expired, has insufficient funds or requires further verification (e.g. Strong Customer Authentication).
An order is always created regardless if the credit card is successfully charged or not.
If it does fail, you will be notified by email and the order will be marked as Awaiting payment. The customer will receive an order confirmation which is Awaiting payment with a link to Pay online. They will also receive an email explaining that their credit card failed.
Once the customer has paid online successfully you'll be notified by email that a payment has been received.
Can I manage membership renewals using recurring orders?
You can (using an intangible product), but we highly recommend you use person memberships instead!
Can I manage repeating donations using recurring orders?
Not yet, but if you need this, let us know and we'll gauge demand before we roll out.
Why isn't my recurring order creating an order?
A few things to check:
Are you on an ecommerce subscription plan?
Does your recurring order have any items in it?
Does every item in your recurring order have a price?
Do you have enough stock for each item?
Is shipping set correctly?
How do I know if the order generated is from a recurring order?
Any order created from a recurring order will be recorded on the Recurring channel.
How can I see the order history for a recurring order?
Go to Contacts > People.
Find the person and click View.
Under Recurring orders, find the order and click View.
Under Orders you'll see all the orders generated by this recurring order.
How do I edit a recurring order?
To edit a recurring order:
Go to Contacts > People.
Find the person and click View.
Look for the Recurring orders section and click View next to the order you want to edit.
Click Edit, top right.
Change any details.
Click Update.
To edit the price / quantity of an item:
In the Items section, find the item, and click Edit next to it.
Change any details.
Click Update.
To change the shipping:
In the Total column, you'll see Shipping, click Edit to change it.
Change the Shipping rate.
Click Update.
How do I delete a recurring order?
To delete a recurring order:
Go to Contacts > People.
Find the person and click View.
Look for the Recurring orders section, find the order you want to delete, click Delete next to it.
Click Delete.