SubscriptionBridge: recurring billing and subscription management system - Documentation

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====== Notifications: List of E-mail Messages Sent ======

===== Overview =====

This is a list of e-mails that are sent to the customer, the merchant, or both. Some of these messages are sent automatically when events happened which are not configurable within SubscriptionBridge (e.g. a new customer purchases a subscription: you don't control when that happens). Others are sent when certain, "configurable" events happen (e.g. a reminder after a payment failed). These events  are configured in the [[merchant_guide:notifications|Notification Settings]], which are defined at the store level within the SubscriptionBridge Merchant Center.

===== List of e-mails sent =====

==== 1. Confirmation Email ====

  * Scenario: Customer signs up for new product/service and a new subscription is created in SubscriptionBridge. There may or may not be a trial period.
  * Messages:
    * (1.a) Sent to Customer: Confirmation Message (Trial Period)([[http://www.earlyimpact.com/images/2009/sb_notification_trialAccount.gif|see example]])
    * (1.b) Sent to Customer: Confirmation Message
    * (1.c) Sent to Merchant: New Subscription Message
    * (1.d) Sent to Merchant: New Trial Subscription Message
==== 2. Trial To Expire ====

  * Scenario: new subscription included a trial period, which is about to expire. The trial may or may not have been free (could have been just a reduced rate), but in any case there is a change in the subscription amount or in the terms of the subscription.
  * Messages:
  * (2.a) Sent to Customer: alert message: "N days to go"
  * (2.b) Sent to Customer: final alert message: "M days to go" ([[http://www.earlyimpact.com/images/2009/sb_notification_trialAccountExpiring.gif|see example]])

... where the number of days ("N" and "M") is defined in the [[notifications|Notification Settings]] for the store.

==== 3. Subscription Status Switched ====

  * Scenario: new subscription included a trial period, and the trial is stopped before it was scheduled to end. The trial may be stopped directly by the customer (e.g. via the SubscriptionBridge Customer Center) or by the merchant (e.g. customer calls in or sends an email asking for the subscription to be switched to full mode).
  * Messages:
    * (3.a) Sent to Customer: confirmation of subscription updated from "Trial" to "Full" status ([[http://www.earlyimpact.com/images/2009/sb_notification_trialAccountToFull.gif|see example]])
    * (3.b) Sent to Merchant: notification of change in subscription status

==== 4. Successful Payment ====

  * Scenario: Regular subscription payment, charged successfully. This is not a payment receipt, since SubscriptionBridge is not the payment processor. A separate payment receipt might be sent directly by the payment gateway. This notification is instead a "Subscription Statement" which confirms that payment has been processed and provides other information on the subscription.
  * Messages:
    * (4.a) Sent to Customer: Subscription statement following successful payment
    * (4.b) Sent to Customer: Final subscription statement following last payment occurrence (limited time subscription)
    * (4.c) Sent to Merchant: Notification of successful payment
==== 5. Unsuccessful Payment ====

  * Scenario: Regular subscription payment that does not go through successfully. A separate "payment declined" message might be sent directly by the payment gateway. That message, however, does not tell the customer what to do next, unlike the message sent by SubscriptionBridge.
  * Messages:
    * (5.a) Sent to Customer: Payment NOT OK -> Action to take
    * (5.b) Sent to Merchant: Unsuccessful payment message
==== 6. Subscription Balance Paid ====

  * Scenario: one or more subscription payments did not go through successfully. Therefore, there was an outstanding balance on the account, which the customer has now paid (e.g. through the SubscriptionBridge Customer Center). There is no notification for unsuccessful payment because the notification is in real time, on the payment page, since this is not an automatic payment.
  * Messages:
    * (6.a) Sent to Customer: "Thank You" message for Balance Paid. Subscription Account Statement.
    * (6.b) Send to Merchant: notification of successful customer payment against outstanding balance
==== 7. Balance Due ====

  * Scenario: one or more subscription payments did not go through successfully. Therefore, there is an outstanding balance on the account. The customer has not paid the balance and a certain number of days have passed (where "P", "Q", and "R" - the number of days mentioned below - are defined in the [[merchant_guide:notifications|Notification Settings]] area of the Merchant Center).
  * Messages:
    * (7.a) Sent to Customer: P days have passed since unsuccessful payment
    * (7.b) Sent to Customer: Q days have passed since unsuccessful payment, final notice
    * (7.c) Sent to Merchant: notification of 7a
    * (7.d) Sent to Merchant: notification of 7b
    * (7.e) Sent to Customer: R days have passed since unsuccessful payment, action taken
    * (7.f) Sent to Merchant: notification of action taken in 7.e

==== 8. Subscription Canceled ====

  * Scenario: the subscription has been canceled. There are different reasons for it, which lead to different notifications.
  * Messages:
    * (8.a) Sent to Customer: confirmation of subscription cancellation (customer canceled the subscription)
    * (8.b) Sent to Customer: subscription canceled for non-payment: sent S days after 5.a is sent (where "S" is the number of days after which a subscription is cancelled for non-payment, which is set in the [[merchant_guide:notifications|Notification Settings]] area of the Merchant Center)
    * (8.c) Sent to Customer: confirmation of subscription cancellation (merchant canceled the subscription: e.g. violation of certain terms of the Merchant’s Terms and Conditions, unrelated to billing).
    * (8.d) Sent to Merchant: notification of subscription cancellation (sent in scenario 8.a & 8.b, not needed for 8.c since the cancellation was triggered by the merchant)

==== 9. Subscription Changed ====

  * Scenario: the customer upgraded (different Packages sharing the same Plan), downgraded, added Feature(s), removed Feature(s).
  * Messages:
    * (9.a) Sent to Customer: confirmation of change of Package
    * (9.b) Sent to Customer: confirmation of change of Features
    * (9.c) Sent to Merchant: notification of change of Package
    * (9.d) Sent to Merchant: notification of change of Features 


==== 10. New Balance ====

  * Scenario: Merchant **adds a feature** on behalf of the customer, and there is a balance due for the current billing period (pro-rated amount), or makes a **Custom Subscription Change** that is associated with a balance due for the current billing period.
  * Messages:
    * (10.a) Sent to Customer: Notification of New Balance

==== 11. Credit Card Expiring ====

  * Scenario: The system detects that the credit card expiration date is before the next payment date.
  * Messages:
    * (11.a) Sent to Customer: Notification of expiring credit card
    * (11.b) Sent to Customer: Notification credit card has expired

==== 12.  ====

==== 13. Reminders ====

  * Scenario: The system detects that the next payment date  is approaching and sends the customer a reminder. This is useful with long subscription periods in which the customer may forget they are still subscribed. It also helps reduce chargebacks.
  * Messages:
    * (13.a) Sent to Customer: Notification of upcoming payment
    * (13.b) Sent to Customer: Notification of upcoming renewal


===== Related articles =====

  * [[merchant_guide:notifications|Notification settings]]
  * Notifications sent via [[merchant_guide:notifications_list_callbackurl|Silent Posts]] \\ A list of "silent posts" that are posted to the **Callback URL** to allow third-party applications to programmatically react to an event.
  * [[developer_guide:developer_guide|SubscriptionBridge API home]]