SubscriptionBridge: recurring billing and subscription management system - Documentation

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====== Notification Settings ======

===== Overview =====

A core component of SubscriptionBridge is the system's ability to automatically notify you (the Merchant), your customers, and (if needed) an external system (e.g. your Web site) when certain events happen.

===== Notification Types =====

SubscriptionBridge sends two types of notifications:

  * **E-mail Notifications**
    * To the Merchant (e.g. John Smith's subscription payment failed because his credit card had expired)
    * To the Customer (e.g. Your subscription payment failed because your credit card expired. Click here to update...)
  * **XML Notifications** ([[developer_guide:developer_guide|SubscriptionBridge API]]) \\ XML data is sent to a **Callback URL** specified in the SubscriptionBridge Merchant center (see below under //General Settings//).

===== E-mail Notifications =====

There are many scenarios in which e-mail notifications are sent ([[notifications_list|view a list]]). Whenever a message is sent, SubscriptionBridge uses the settings specified at the Store level under //Notification Settings//. Here is a description of those settings.
==== General Settings ====

These settings are used whenever an e-mail notification is sent by SubscriptionBridge on your behalf ([[notifications_list|view a list of e-mail notifications]]). They are **set at the store level**. So if you have more than one business running through your SubscriptionBridge account, you can have different settings for each one of them.

  * **From E-mail**: this is the e-mail address that messages will be sent from (e.g. 'no-reply@yourBusiness.com')
  * **From Name**: the person/department that notification e-mails are sent from (e.g. 'Great Company Customer Service').
  * **Font Family**: type of font used in the e-mail notifications (this setting maybe overwritten by settings set by the receiving e-mail client software).
  * **Font Size**: size of the font used in the e-mail notifications (this setting maybe overwritten by settings set by the receiving e-mail client software).
  * **Customer Account Login URL**: Where your customers will log in. If you are using the SubscriptionBridge Customer Center, then select //**Use default**//. If you are using the SubscriptionBridge API and managing subscriptions in your own customer account management system, enter the login URL for that system under //**Use the following URL**//. This second option should only be selected by advanced users.
  * **Disable Email Notifications**: this is an optional feature that will allow you to disable emails to either the merchant, customer, or both.
  * **Post-back URL**: this is an optional, advanced setting. It's the URL that SubscriptionBridge sends information to when an event happens. Programmers can receive that information and perform specific tasks (e.g. automatically turn off a customer account due to non-payment). [[merchant_guide:notifications_list_callbackurl|View a list of XML notifications sent to the Callback URL]].
==== Additional Copy for E-mail Templates ====

You can add some additional copy to many of the e-mail notifications sent by SubscriptionBridge ([[notifications_list|view a list of e-mail notifications]]). For example, you may have special instructions on what to do after a trial account has been setup. The additional text is typically shown in the lower section of the notification, after details for the subscription are listed (e.g. subscription payment date, subscription amount, etc.).

Some details on each of the custom messages that can be added to the e-mail templates:

  * **New Trial Account Welcome** \\ This message is sent when a new subscription is activated and there is a trial period at the beginning of the subscription. The trial may or may not be a "free" trial. This is defined when you create the "Package" that you are selling. In your additional text you could provide special information about the trial period, for example.
  * **Account Welcome (No Trial)**  \\ This message is sent when a new subscription is activated, and there is no trial period. In your additional copy, for instance, you could remind customers of the benefits of signing up with your company and include a reminder of your return/cancellation policy.
  * **Subscription Statement** \\ This is the message that is sent every time a successful subscription payment is processed. Your custom message could include standard information about how you appreciate your customers' business.
  * **Unsuccessful Payment** \\ This is the message that is sent after a subscription payment failed. Your additional text could remind customers of what your policies are with regard to failed payments.
  * **Subscription Ended** (N/A for ongoing subscriptions) \\ This message is sent when a subscription that included a limited number of subscription occurrences reached the last occurrence. The message is sent after the last payment was processed. This is not a frequent scenario as most subscriptions are setup to be ongoing (i.e. there is no predefined end to the subscription). However, there are cases in which a subscription could only last for a certain time (e.g. a year-long subscription to a magazine, paid monthly). Your additional copy could include information on how to reactivate the subscription.
  * **Subscription Canceled Automatically** (Billing Reasons) \\ This message is sent when a subscription is canceled automatically by the system after a certain amount of time following failed payments. You custom message could remind the customer of why the subscription was canceled, referencing your Terms and Conditions of use.
==== Message/Event Triggers ====

  * **Trial Ending Reminder** \\ You can specify the number of days before the end of the trial at which time the reminder is sent.
  * **Trial Ending: Final Reminder** \\ You can specify when (number of days) the system should send a final reminder before the trial ends and the subscription becomes a full subscription (which often means access to a different set of products/services and a higher payment).
  * **Balance Due** \\ You can specify when the system will send a reminder to the customer that a subscription payment failed and that there is an outstanding balance.
  * **Balance Due: Final Notice** \\ A final reminder sent to the customer that there is an outstanding balance and that certain events might happen if the balance is not paid (e.g. access to certain products/services is no longer available if payment is not submitted).
  * **Balance Due: Action Taken** \\ This notification tells the customer that the events mentioned in the "Balance Due: Final Notice" message have now taken place (e.g. access to certain products/services is now no longer available).
  * **Subscription Canceled** \\ Sent if you want the system to automatically cancel the subscription if payment is still outstanding after the number of days specified.

<note important>When you leave the //Number of Day//s field empty or set to 0, the corresponding trigger is not executed. Therefore, even if that event occurs, an e-mail will __not__ be sent and a //silent post// will __not__ be posted to the Callback URL.</note>

==== Dunning process ====

Some of the notification settings allow you to control the "dunning" process. //Dunning// refers to the process of communicating with your customers to ensure the collection of accounts receivable. SubscriptionBridge allows you:

  * Define when customer should be contacted
  * What additional language should be included in those messages (e.g. to clarify what happens if payment is not received)
  * Whether or not the subscription should be canceled at the end of the dunning process



Note that the customer receives a notification at the time the payment fails. So the second, "Balance Due" notification should be sent a few days after the payment failed. If all notifications are sent, the customer will have received 3 messages before any action is taken (notification of failed payment at the time the payment is processd, "Balance Due" notification after N days, "Balance Due: Final Notice" notification after some additional time).

Particularly important is the "Action Taken" notification: if you have a separate application that is //listening// to silent posts that are posted by SubscriptionBridge, that is the time when you will want to turn-off or change the level of access that the customer has to the products or services that you are providing.

==== Related articles ====

  * [[merchant_guide:notifications_list|View a list of e-mail notifications]] sent by SubscriptionBridge
  * [[merchant_guide:notifications_list_callbackurl|View a list of XML notifications]] sent by SubscriptionBridge to the Callback URL