[intro]When you have completed this Guide, you will have set up products that can be purchased with subscriptions on your EKM online shop. 

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[remember]Subscriptions are not available to EKM online shops on the EKM Lite tier. You will need to upgrade your account to access subscriptions.[/remember]

[caution]Before you begin, you must set up the EKMPay Payment Method on your EKM online shop, as it is through this gateway that your subscriptions will be processed. You will also need to install the Customer Login feature, as your customers will need to log into their accounts on your EKM online shop to manage their subscriptions.  [/caution]

[remember]A product can have Variants and be purchased using a subscription if all of the Variants are the same price. If you have a Variant that is priced differently from the rest, you will need to make this a separate product in its own right and then apply a subscription to it. [/remember]

Activating Subscriptions

1. From the Dashboard, click Features on the left-hand menu:

2. Click Feature Library on the left-hand side:

3. Click View More for the Made By EKM group of features:

4. Click the Subscriptions icon:

5. Click Install Feature in the bottom right-hand corner:

6. Now you need to click the Launch button in the top right-hand corner:

Subscriptions Feature Settings

7. Within the feature, you’ll see a check box for your Subscription Settings. Tick this:

8. Here you can add a figure for the specific number of days that a customer has as a deadline for making changes to their subscription plan. You will need to set this according to the needs of your EKM online shop. When you have added your number into the Deadline field, click the green Save button in the bottom right-hand corner:

9. When you have set a deadline, your EKM online shop will attempt to take payment and create the next subscription order that many days in advance of the normal subscription interval date. For example, if you have added 2 days into the Deadline field, two days before the subscription is due, the system will attempt to take payment, and if this is successful, create the order and charge your customer.

If your customer attempts to cancel the order three days before the subscription is due, it will be cancelled, payment will not be taken, an order will not be created and your customer will not be charged. However, if the customer attempts to cancel within the period of time specified in your Deadline field - in this case 2 days - the subscription will be cancelled, but the system will still attempt to take payment, create the order and the customer will be charged accordingly. With this in mind, it's a good idea to create a Webpage all about subscriptions and detail what products are offered, how customers can manage their subscriptions and how they can cancel their subscriptions should they not wish to continue.

Setting up your Subscription Product

10. When you have set up the product you would like to offer a subscription for, within the Add/Edit Product window, click More Options: 

11. Now you need to click Subscriptions:

[remember]A product can have Variants and be purchased using a subscription if all of the Variants are the same price. If you have a Variant that is priced differently from the rest, you will need to make this a separate product in its own right and then apply a subscription to it. [/remember]

12. Now you can set up the Subscription using the fields provided. Use the drop-down menu within the Delivery Interval field to select Days, Weeks, Months or Years, and add a figure on the left-hand side for the number of days/weeks/months/years between orders: 

13. Add a Percentage Off in the field provided, and click the green cross to add this subscription. You can add different plans to a single subscription, like this:

14. When you have finished adding your Subscription plans, click the Save & Close button in the bottom right-hand corner:

What your Customers see

15. When visiting the front end of your EKM online shop, the Product Page of the subscription Product will look like this:

16. When your customer clicks the Subscribe box, they will be able to select the frequency that they would like to receive this product, according to the subscription plan you’ve set up within the Add/Edit Product window:

17. When the customer has selected the relevant option from the Delivery Intervals drop-down menu, they need to click the Set Up Now button:

18. This will redirect your customer straight into the Checkout Flow, where they will finish paying for their subscription. At the point of adding their card details, they will also need to tick the box to confirm that they are away that they are purchasing a subscription product:

19. When your customer has purchased their subscription they will receive an email from your EKM online shop:

How your Customers manage their Subscriptions

1. When your customers log into their accounts on your EKM online shop, there is an icon they can click to manage their subscriptions:

2. This will display any active subscriptions they have. Click View Subscription Details to manage that specific subscription:

3. On this page, they can Cancel a Subscription, Change Payment Method, Change Address or Contact you about your subscription:

How to process Subscription Orders

1. When a customer has placed a subscription order, this will be highlighted by a blue banner on the order itself:

2. When the subscription interval elapses (and the initial payment has been processed successfully), another order will automatically be created on the Orders page. This too will be highlighted as a subscription product. You can filter all of the subscription orders by using the Filter Orders element on the Orders page:

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[contact] If you need our help with your EKM online shop, contact your Ecommerce Expert or the Customer Support Team, who will be able to point you in the right direction. We're open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-5.30pm weekends. If you'd like to suggest a feature or an upgrade on any of the EKM platforms, please let us know on the EKM Suggestions Board. If you have a non-account-specific question to ask the EKM Team, join us in the EKM Community. [/contact]