Recurring Subscriptions with SOLO Server

With SOLO Server's integrated eCommerce, the customer will need to make an initial purchase through the SOLO Server shopping cart. This will create the License ID with an initial expiration date and also start the customer on a payment plan, which will automatically bill them on a recurring basis. The customer will activate the software with their License ID and get the initial expiration date, and it will check SOLO Server for an updated expiration date once it is about to expire. If the payment plan successfully charges the customer's credit card, it will update the expiration date of the customer's License ID in SOLO Server. If the payment plan fails to charge the customer's credit card, or if the customer cancels their subscription, then the expiration date will remain the same, and the customer will get an expiration warning message in the software a few days before it expires. Here is a diagram of the process:

To implement the above process, you will need to configure your project settings in the Instant Protection PLUS 3 wizard, as well two product options and one payment plan in SOLO Server.

The customer will purchase a subscription product option, which is linked to a payment plan, which is linked to an installment product option. When the payment plan charges the customer, it will add the installment product option to the customer's account for invoicing purposes. To configure these elements, we will start with the installment product option, then create the payment plan that links to that installment, and then create/modify the subscription product option that links to the payment plan. Both product options should be created under the same product. If you need help creating or modifying a product option, please refer to the SOLO Server manual topic for Adding Products and Product Options.

Installment Product Option Configuration

The installment product option is simply a line item on an invoice that shows you and your customer when an automatic charge from a payment plan was successful. The customer will be emailed an invoice that lists the installment product option, and they can also view all their invoices in the Payment History section of the Customer License Portal.

Log into SOLO Server, go to the menu Configure / Products, expand out the correct Product, and click the Add New Option link. Use the following product option settings:

All other settings can be ignored. Click the Submit button at the bottom.

Payment Plan Configuration

The payment plan is the automatically recurring charge that will add the installment invoice and update the subscription license if it successfully charges the customer's credit card. To create a new payment plan, go to the menu Store / Payment Plans (Recurring Billing) and then click the Add New button. Use the following settings:

The following fields will be displayed to your customers:

• Purchase Text: Displayed in the shopping cart, subscription purchase and installment invoices. Example: “For billing inquiries, please contact support@company.com.”
• Purchase License Text: Displayed above the Purchase Text on the cart and subscription purchase invoice. Example: “You will automatically be billed $XX every month. If a payment fails or if you choose to cancel your subscription, then you will no longer be able to access this software.”
• Installment Text: Displayed above the Purchase Text on installment invoices. Example: “This invoice is for your software subscription renewal.”

Click the Save button at the bottom.

Subscription Product Option Configuration

The customer will purchase this product option through the shopping cart. Activating with the License ID they receive will allow them to use the software through the initial expiration of the subscription.

Go to the menu Configure / Products, expand out the correct Product, and click the Add New Option link. Use the following product option settings:

Use the following settings:

Note that other settings may be changed, but these do not affect the subscription functionality. Click the Submit button at the bottom.

Using the SOLO Server menu Store / Get Ordering Links, you can now generate a link to purchase the license subscription. Select the Product Name from the drop-down list, and click Change to generate a list of URLs.

In your Instant Protection PLUS 3 project, you need to enable periodic expiration, and configure your application to check SOLO Server for a new expiration date. Listed below are the relevant steps in the Instant Protection PLUS 3 wizard:

1. Choose SOLO Server Product: You need to synchronize with a product in SOLO Server.
   
   
   • If you have not synced before, choose the I would like to use an existing product option on SOLO Server option, and then choose the Subscription Product Option created above in this tutorial.
   • If you have already synchronized with an existing product option, choose the I would like to use my currently selected SOLO Server product option and note the Option Name/ID at the bottom. The subscription product option created above needs to have the same Trigger Code Seed, RegKey2 Seed and OffAct Key as the Option ID your project is synchronized to, as this is how one project can be synchronized to multiple product options. View the Product Configuration topic for more details. Log into SOLO Server and copy the Trigger Code Seed, RegKey2 Seed and OffAct Keyvalues from the synchronized product option to the subscription product option created in this tutorial.
2. General Product Information: The Product Purchase Link can be an Ordering URL generated from SOLO Server, or a link to your webpage which then has links to the shopping cart.
3. Periodic Expiration: enable the I want to allow periodic expiration option.
   
   
   • Enable Begin warning user 0 days before the license expires (set the days to zero) and set the Grace days to 3. This way, the customer will only see the warning message if their credit card was not successfully charged, but will not immediately lose access to the software.
   • Enable Check SOLO Server for new expiration during warning/grace period.
   • Update the Warning/Grace Period Message to: "The [varProductName] subscription will expire in [varPeriodicDaysLeft] days. Please check that your payment information is up to date." If you also offer a subscription that is not automatically recurring, you will need to generalize the warning message.

Note that other settings may be changed, but these do not affect the subscription functionality. To apply these changes, you will need to re-wrap your application if using the Instant Protection PLUS 3 wrapper, or generate a new XML file if using the Instant Protection PLUS 3 DLL.

Once a customer has purchased the subscription with the payment plan, you will be able to view the order and payment plan instance on their Customer Information page. You can update their payment plan instance if necessary, or update their credit card in the Stored Payment section of their customer record in SOLO Server.

Setting User Permissions in SOLO Server

You can control which SOLO Server Users have access to view and update payment plan instances. This would be your staff or customer service representatives. The following permissions can be enabled for a SOLO Server User and email address:

• Create Payment Plan
• Edit Payment Plan
• Edit Payment Plan Instance
• Create Stored Payment
• Edit Stored Payment
• Notify Successful Payment Plan Payments
• Notify Declined Payment Plan Payments
• Notify Final Declined Payment Plan Payments

View the Managing Users, Groups, and Email Notifications topic for more information.

Optional Customer Email Notification

SOLO Server can be configured to send notification emails to customers with a pending payment plan payment coming due. This customized email can serve as a reminder of an upcoming charge. You can send the email a set number of days before the charge is set to occur, and you can also choose to only send a notification if the customer's credit card will be expired when the charge is scheduled to occur. This allows you to automatically give the customer ample warning to update their credit card.

Please contact SoftwareKey support for assistance in setting this up.

How Customers can Update their Credit Card

The customer can update their credit card by following these instructions:

1. Log in to the Customer License Portal. (details on the URL to provide can be found here)
2. Click on the Recurring Payments section.
3. Click the Payment Plan to update.
4. Click the Update Billing Information button.