Set Up Subscriptions

Subscriptions let you charge customers on a recurring basis for ongoing services, membership plans, retainer agreements, or any product that bills on a repeating cycle. Instead of manually creating an invoice every month, you define the billing terms once and the platform handles generation, delivery, and payment collection automatically.

Prerequisites

Before creating your first subscription, make sure the following are in place:

A connected payment provider (Stripe or another supported processor)
At least one recurring product configured in your product catalog
Contacts imported into your CRM (subscriptions must be associated with a contact)
Tax and discount settings configured under Payments > Settings (optional but recommended)
User permissions that include Payments access

Connect Your Payment Provider

Navigate to Payments > Integrations and confirm that a supported provider (for example, Stripe) is connected and active. Without a payment integration, the platform cannot process recurring charges.

Click Connect with Stripe or select another supported provider
Log in to your payment processor account and authorize the connection
Once connected, click Manage to verify the integration is active

For detailed connection steps, refer to the Stripe Integration guide.

Create a Recurring Product

Subscriptions require at least one product with a recurring pricing model. The subscription inherits its billing cycle (weekly, monthly, annually) from the product itself.

Navigate to Payments > Products
Click + Create Product
Enter a product name and description (e.g., “Monthly SEO Retainer” or “Annual Membership”)
Set Type to Recurring
Enter the Amount to charge per billing cycle
Select the Billing Period (weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually)
Optionally enter a Trial Period in days (e.g., “14” for a two-week trial)
Optionally configure a Setup Fee that is charged immediately at the time of purchase
Click Save

Repeat this process for each subscription plan you offer. For more details, see the Products & Pricing guide.

Enable Auto-Pay Payment Methods

Confirm that card payments are enabled for your product areas. Manual methods like cash or bank transfer cannot be auto-charged on a recurring schedule.

Navigate to Payments > Integrations
Click Manage next to your connected Stripe account
Select Manage Payment Methods
Toggle on the payment methods you want available for subscriptions (e.g., credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay)
If you have subscription products, a dedicated Subscriptions dropdown appears. Configure payment methods specifically for subscription checkouts there
Click Save

Create a Subscription from a Contact Profile

The fastest way to start a subscription is directly from the contact record.

Navigate to Contacts and open the contact’s profile
Select the Payments tab
Click Actions and choose Create Subscription
Select a Recurring Product from your product catalog. The billing cycle displayed (weekly, monthly, annually) is inherited from the product configuration
Configure the start date (when the first billing cycle begins)
Adjust the quantity if the customer is purchasing multiple units
Apply a coupon if applicable (coupons are created under Payments > Coupons)
Select or add a payment method on file for Auto-Pay. If a saved card exists, Auto-Pay begins with the first invoice. If no card is on file, the customer must pay the first invoice manually before automatic billing starts
Review the first charge amount and billing schedule
Click Create to activate the subscription

The subscription appears immediately on the contact’s timeline and in the global Payments > Subscriptions list.

Configure Auto-Pay Settings

Auto-Pay is the core mechanism that makes subscriptions truly hands-off. When enabled, the platform automatically charges the customer’s card on each billing date without requiring manual intervention.

When setting up Auto-Pay, you choose one of three card sources:

Customer Card: Uses whatever card the customer first uses to pay any invoice in the subscription schedule. Auto-Pay begins on the next billing cycle after that initial manual payment.
Saved Card: Uses a card already stored in the customer’s profile under Payments > Cards on File. Auto-Pay starts immediately from the first billing cycle with no manual payment required.
New Card: Lets you enter a new card during subscription setup. The card is saved to the customer’s profile and Auto-Pay begins from the first cycle.

To enable or modify Auto-Pay on an existing subscription:

Navigate to Payments > Invoices & Estimates > Recurring Invoices
Open the recurring schedule you want to update
Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner
Select Manage Auto Payment
Toggle Enable autopayment on, select your card source, and click Save

Set Up Dunning and Failed Payment Recovery

When an automatic payment fails, the platform initiates a retry sequence to recover the charge. The system makes two additional retry attempts, spaced 24 hours apart. If all three attempts fail, automatic collection stops for that specific invoice and the invoice must be paid manually by the customer.

To reduce failed charges and involuntary churn:

Encourage customers to keep card details current by using the client portal’s card management feature
Set up workflow automations to tag contacts with failed payments and trigger recovery sequences (email reminders, SMS nudges, or team task assignments)
Send upcoming-charge reminders a few days before the billing date so customers can update expired cards

Enable Client Portal Subscription Management

Your customers can manage their own subscriptions through the client portal, reducing support requests and giving them self-service control.

Log in to the admin dashboard
Navigate to Settings > Client Portal
Ensure the Billing & Subscription section is enabled
Click Save

Customers access the portal by logging in, clicking Profile in the top right, and selecting Account Settings > Billing & Subscription. From there, they can view all subscriptions, cancel subscriptions, download invoices, and manage payment methods.

Test Your Setup

Before activating subscriptions for real customers, verify the end-to-end billing flow.

Create a test subscription using one of your recurring products
Set the Payment Mode to Test Mode
Use a test contact with a test card on file
Verify the first invoice is generated correctly and includes the correct product, pricing, and tax
Complete a test payment using a test card number from your payment processor
Check Payments > Transactions to confirm the test payment appears in the transaction log
Wait for the next scheduled billing date (you can manually trigger this in test mode) and verify the second invoice is generated and charged automatically

If the test subscription processes successfully and invoices are generated on schedule, your subscription system is ready for live use.

Next Steps

Now that subscriptions are set up, consider these enhancements:

Build workflow automations to send welcome emails when subscriptions are created, thank-you messages when payments are received, and recovery sequences when payments fail
Set up recurring invoice templates for subscription billing
Enable client portal access so customers can manage their own subscriptions and update payment methods
Monitor subscription metrics in the Payments dashboard to track total recurring revenue, successful versus failed payment rates, and average subscription lifetime
Create payment plans to split large invoices into multiple installments for customers who prefer flexible payment options