E-Commerce Subscriptions

 

Open Beta

The Subscriptions feature is currently in Open Beta status and is available to all E-Commerce Users.

This article provides an overview of the Subscriptions for E-Commerce feature, how it works, and instructions for both Administrators and Learners on configuring, purchasing, and managing Subscriptions within the platform.

Enabling Subscriptions Feature

Admins can enable the Subscriptions feature in the E-Commerce settings. The Subscriptions checkbox is located in the Payment Gateways section under the Customer Accounts sub-section.

The above option can only be enabled if the Enable learners to save their payment details during checkout checkbox is enabled.

Adding a New Subscription Plan

The Subscriptions Catalog allows Learners to browse available Subscription Plans before making a purchase.

To add a new Subscription, follow these steps:

1. Access the Admin Experience.
2. Open the E-Commerce Menu from the left hand side and select Subscriptions.
   
   
   

3. Click Add from the right hand side. The Add Subscription Plan page will open.
   
   
   
   

4. Configure the Subscription Plan.

   • Make certain to review the following when configuring the Subscription Plan:

     • Name

     • Description

     • Thumbnail

     • Courses

     • Payment & Billing

     • Availability Rules

     • Subscription Administrators

5. Update the Status of the Subscription Plan to Active by clicking the toggle.
   
   
   

6. Click Publish.
   

Setting up Subscriptions for the Learner Experience

There are two ways for Learners to access the Subscriptions Catalog:

1. From the new Subscriptions Tile.
   
   
   
2. From the Subscriptions menu item.
   

Both Tile and menu item are available for Public and Private Dashboards.

Configuring a Subscription Plan

When adding a new Subscription Plan, there are multiple sections and fields that may be referenced. This section details each field, and its function as it relates to the Subscription Plan. A Field name with an asterisk indicates the Field is required to Publish the Subscription Plan.

Field	Details
Status	A toggle that when clicked switches between two configurable options: Inactive: The Subscription Plan will not be available for purchase and renewal if Published. Active: The Subscription Plan will be available for purchase and renewal if Published.
Name*	The title of the Subscription Plan that will be displayed to Users.
Description	An explanation of the content, or function of the Subscription Plan.
Thumbnail	A 229 x 173px image that will be displayed to the User when reviewing the Subscription Plan from the Subscriptions Catalog.
Courses	The content made available from this Subscription Plan. The Manage Courses button may be selected to open the Select Courses modal frame. When configuring the Subscription Plan, click the checkbox next to a Course to add it to the Subscription Plan. Click Choose at the bottom of the modal frame when you are finished.
Billing Cycle*	You must select at least one pricing and payment schedule for a Subscription Plan. After selecting one (or multiple) of the options, the Price and Multi Currency Prices options will appear underneath the selected Billing Cycle. The Daily Billing Cycle payment option works with live payments same as the other selections. However, we recommend using it only for testing purposes.
Price & Multi Currency Prices	The cost incurred by a User to receive the content included in the Subscription Plan. This cost is displayed in the default currency of the Portal. Price is configured underneath the selected Billing Cycle option. Multi Currency Prices function similarly, but display the cost in other currencies.
Public Purchase	A single selection that determines if the Subscription Plan, once Active, is available for Public Purchase.
Enrollment Rules	The Enrollment Rules are presented here the same as they are when configuring a Course. Determine if Specific, or All Learners are allowed to purchase this Subscription Plan. If you select Specific, your rules may include Users, Groups or Departments.
Subscription Visibility	Determine if the Subscription Plan is visible to all Administrators, or only Administrators from a specific Department.

Managing Active Subscriptions

Admins can view and manage existing Subscriptions. To access information on the activity of your Subscription Plans, follow these steps:

1. Access the Admin Experience.
2. Open the E-Commerce Menu from the left hand side and select Subscriptions Activity.
   
   
   
3. Select the Subscription Plan you want to see activity for.
   
   
   
4. You will see all existing Subscriptions for the selected Subscription Plan.
   
   
   
5. If you want to Expire a Subscription, select a Subscription from the list and click the Expire button from the right hand side.
   

Manually Assigning Learners to Subscriptions

Administrators can manually assign Learners to active Subscription plans. This provides greater flexibility and control when managing access to subscription-based content.

To manually add a Learner to a Subscription, follow the steps below:

1. From the Admin Experience, navigate to Subscriptions Activity Report.
2. Select Add User (Offline Payment).
   
   
   
3. Select a Subscription Plan from the drop down.
4. Select a Billing Cycle, either Annual, Monthly, or Daily. 
5. Choose a start date for the Subscription. A Subscription can have a Start Date in the past, the current date, or a future date.  
6. Assign Users to the Subscription. You can either assign Users individually, or by Group/Department. Note that at least one User, Group or Department must be assigned.
   
   
   
7. Click Save. 

The Subscriptions Activity Report has an Assigned By column to easily find manually assigned Users. If this column is not already present on the Report, you can add it by clicking the Display Columns button and selecting it.

Manual Subscriptions are extended automatically. Admins have full management over these Subscriptions, and can cancel, expire or resume them. 

Learner Experience

When the Learner is assigned to a Subscription, an automatic email is triggered requiring Learners to activate the Subscription.

After the activation is complete, Learners are granted access to the Subscription.

Message Templates for Subscription Events

Admins can configure automated Message Templates to notify Learners about key Subscription events. These messages ensure Users stay informed about their Subscription status.

Available Message Templates:

Message Template Name	Function
Access Purchased For Subscription	Sent when a Learner successfully subscribes.
Receipt With Subscriptions	Message with the receipt.
Subscription Course Change Notification	Sent when Courses are deleted and/or new Courses are added to the Subscription.
Subscription Renewal Failed	Sent when the Subscription could not be renewed because of a payment issue.
Subscription Renewal Reminder	Sent 5 days before the Subscription renewal date.
Subscription Canceled by Admin	Sent when an Admin cancels a Subscription.
Subscription Assigned by Admin	Sent when an Admin assigns a Subscription.
Subscription Expired by Admin	Sent when an Subscription is expired by an Admin.
Admin-Assigned Subscription Renewal Reminder	Sent when an Admin creates a Renewal Reminder for the Subscription.

Handling Failed Payments

Failed payments follow a retry logic:

• First Attempt: Reattempt after 24 hours.
• Second Attempt: Reattempt after another 24 hours.
• Final Attempt: After the third failure, the Subscription expires, and access is revoked.

Learners are notified of failed payments via automated emails.

Admins can review failed payments from the Failed Transactions E-Commerce Report.

Subscription Expiry & Cancellation

Subscriptions expire if the Learner cancels or payments fail.

Admins can manually Expire Subscriptions via the Subscription Activity Report.

Disabling Subscriptions

If Subscriptions need to be disabled, Admins must:

1. Ensure there are no active Subscriptions.
2. Navigate to the Subscription Plan editor and set the Status toggle to Inactive.
3. Confirm the action (cannot disable while active Subscriptions exist).

Finding & Purchasing Subscriptions

Learners can find and purchase Subscriptions through the Subscriptions Catalog.

Browsing the Subscriptions Catalog

A Learner may access the Subscriptions Catalog from the Learner Experience via either a Menu option:

Or a configured Tile on a Dashboard:

From here a Learner will be able to review the available Subscription Plans, Pricing and Billing Cycles.

Purchasing a Subscription

Once a Learner has determined they want to purchase a Subscription Plan, they must follow these steps to complete the transaction:

1. Choose the Billing Cycle and click Add to Cart.
   
2. Enter payment details and complete the checkout process.
   • You will receive a confirmation email.

Managing Subscriptions

Learners can manage their active Subscriptions within their account settings.

Viewing Active Subscriptions

A Learner can review their active Subscriptions by following these steps:

1. Access the Learner Experience.
2. Open the Profile by clicking the button in the top right.
   
   
   
3. Click Subscriptions to open that section.
   
   
   
4. Active and Expired Subscriptions for the Learner will be listed.
   

Credit Card Management

Learners can update their credit card data for existing and new Subscriptions.

When they have at least one Subscription, the new Credit Card tab will appear in their Profile. Through it they can see and update their payment details.

Only one saved credit card is supported. When credit card is updated, it will be applied to all existing and new Subscriptions.

Canceling a Subscription

If a Subscription Plan has been purchased, but the Learner wants to cancel it. They may follow these steps:

1. From the Subscriptions section of the Profile page, click Cancel Subscription next to an active Subscription.
2. Confirm the cancellation.

The subscription will remain active until the next Billing Cycle.