Auto Orders (Subscriptions) Overview

UltraCart's Auto Order feature provides a robust system for managing recurring billing and "autoship" schedules for your products. This functionality is essential for businesses offering subscription boxes, recurring product shipments, or membership services.

What is an Auto Order?

An Auto Order, often referred to as a subscription, allows you to configure an item to automatically generate subsequent orders based on predefined settings. While commonly used for consumable products, the system is flexible enough to handle various recurring subscription models.

Why are Auto Orders Important?

Auto Orders are crucial for businesses relying on continuity programs and recurring revenue. They enable merchants to:

• Generate consistent revenue: By automatically rebilling customers, you can establish predictable income streams.

• Enhance customer convenience: Customers can subscribe to products and have them delivered regularly without needing to place new orders each time.

• Offer flexible models: From free trials converting to full subscriptions to fixed-term enrollments, UltraCart's Auto Order system supports diverse business strategies.

How Auto Orders Work

UltraCart offers two primary types of Auto Orders:

1. Customer Selectable Auto Order

The Customer Selectable Auto Order is a basic version that re-orders the same item purchased in the original order. With this type, customers are given the opportunity to choose their preferred re-occurrence schedule (frequency) during checkout. You, as the merchant, pre-define the available recurring schedule options for the customer to select from.

Configuration Highlights:

• Frequency Selection: You specify the intervals (e.g., weekly, monthly) that will appear in a drop-down menu for the customer during checkout.

• Shipping Options: You can offer free shipping or a fixed alternate shipping cost for auto-ship orders.

• Future Item ID & Cost: Allows you to change the item and its cost for future recurring orders.

• Pre-shipment Notice Days: Set the number of days before shipment to notify the customer.

• Prohibit Cards Expiring Within: Define the minimum number of months into the future a card must be valid for the purchase.

2. Automatic Auto Order

The Automatic Auto Order provides significantly more flexibility. With this type, customers are automatically enrolled in an auto order program that you define through a series of "purchase item" and "delay (days)" steps. The enrollment can be for the same original item or for one or more different store items that you define.

A common use case is offering a "Free Trial" product which, upon purchase, automatically enrolls the customer into a periodic purchase of the full product at normal or discounted prices. The customer is not given the option to select a schedule during checkout as it is predetermined by the merchant.

Key Concepts:

• Initial Item vs. Recurring Item(s): Typically, you'll have two store items: a "trial" or initial item (which has the Auto Order configuration) and the "recurring order item" (which does not have an Auto Order configuration itself).

• Steps: This is where you build the recurring order schedule. You can define various steps, including:

  • Item Step: Specifies which store item will be ordered automatically in that step. This can be the original item or a different one.

  • Delay Step: Allows you to set a delay (in days) before or after an Item step. This is useful for scenarios like a 7-day trial followed by a monthly recurring order.

• Arbitrary Unit Cost vs. Override Unit Cost: You can set an arbitrary unit cost for an item within a step, which will override the cost defined in the item editor for that specific auto order customer record.

Options for Automatic Auto Orders:

• Free Shipping: Apply free shipping to the initial and rebilled items.

• Pause Rebilling: Allows active auto orders for an item to be paused, pushing back future orders.

• Cancel Other Auto Orders: If checked, any other active auto orders a customer has will be canceled when this item is purchased.

• One Per Customer: Prevents a customer from purchasing the same auto order item more than once, using email and address information to prevent abuse.

• No Easy Cancel: If checked, the auto order notification will not be sent, requiring the customer to contact you to cancel.

• Cancel Item ID: When an auto order is canceled, this feature allows you to charge the customer one more time for a specified item before cancellation.

• Upgrade/Downgrade Item Ids: Enter Item IDs that can be used to build a customer service-friendly drop-down list for modifying auto orders.

• Refund Other Auto Orders: If a refund is attempted on an order containing this item, other associated auto orders will also display for refund.

• Prohibit Cards Expiring Within: Sets the minimum future validity period for a card to purchase the auto order item.

"Regular" Items & "Kit" Items with Auto Orders

You can configure an auto order schedule on a component item within a kit item, but only if the kit item itself does not have an auto order schedule defined. It's an "either/or" scenario: either the kit item has an auto order, or its component items do.

Grandfathered Pricing

This feature allows you to set different pricing schedules for existing auto order customers versus new ones. You can define a "last date to receive the pricing," and any orders placed on or before that date will receive the specified grandfathered price, while new orders will be at the regular price.

Visa Subscription Rules Updates

As of April 18, 2020, Visa has updated rules for merchants offering free trials or discounted introductory offers as part of a subscription service. Merchants must comply with new requirements, including:

• Express Consent: Cardholders must expressly consent to entering an ongoing subscription at enrollment.

• Terms and Conditions: Provide a copy of the terms and conditions, including subscription confirmation, start date, goods/services details, ongoing transaction amount, billing frequency, and an easy online cancellation mechanism.

• Reminder Notification: Send a reminder at least seven days before a recurring transaction if a trial is expiring or the agreement has changed (e.g., price change).

• Explicit Transaction Receipts: Disclose trial period length, clear information about future charges, initial and subsequent transaction amounts and dates, and an online cancellation link on receipts.

• Statement Descriptor: A specific descriptor (e.g., "trial," "free trial") is required in the Merchant Name field for the first transaction after a trial period, appearing on cardholder statements.

• Easier Cancellation: Provide an easy online method for customers to cancel their subscription.

• Expanded Dispute Rights: Visa has expanded dispute conditions for misrepresentation, particularly where cardholders were not clearly advised of future billing. Merchants can remedy disputes by proving express consent to future transactions and electronic notification before processing new transactions post-trial.