Subscription Payments Overview

Subscription payments ‌automatically charge your customers on a monthly basis. When you create a subscription, your customer receives an email from QuickBooks to review the details. They enter their preferred payment information and accept the subscription. They’re automatically charged every month for the subscription and sent a receipt by email.

If you regularly charge customers for the same services on a monthly basis, subscriptions can help you get paid faster with automatic monthly charges. And you save time, because you don’t need to create and send a monthly invoice.

To create a subscription: 

1. Go to Sales
2. Select Subscriptions.
3. Select create subscription.

You can choose the frequency of Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Annually to customize your subscription according to your business needs.

1. On the subscription open Subscription Settings
2. Set the interval frequency (For example: If you need a subscription every first day of the month, the interval is Monthly on day 1st of every 1 month.)
3. Enter the start and end dates.
   1. If you select Never, then it will repeat without end.
   2. If you select By, enter the end date.

No, at this time, invoices and estimates can’t be converted into subscriptions.

No, at this time, subscriptions can’t be duplicated.

To subscription payments, you need an active Merchant Services Account. QuickBooks Payments rates apply to each payment made under a subscription plan. There are no separate costs to create or setup a subscription.

Subscriptions and recurring invoices are similar but have some key differences.

In both cases, you never have to manually enter your customer’s payment info.

Active: the subscription consent is accepted by your customer and payments are successful.

Canceled: you or your customer has canceled the subscription.

Completed: Subscription was active and has passed the end date that was set by the merchant when the subscription was created.

Not paid: Current billing period hasn't received payment. A new payment method is required to return the subscription to Active status.

Not accepted: Subscription consent wasn’t accepted by the expiration date (start date set by merchant, or 30 days after Charge Immediate)

Pending: Subscription is created but not accepted by your customer and the subscription hasn’t expired yet.

Payments fail when there’s an expired or invalid payment method. If the subscription is already activated when the payment fails, the invoice is created in your QuickBooks Online account but it isn't marked as paid. If you don’t update the payment method by the next charge date, the subscription is canceled.

Customers manage their payment info with the link in the subscription confirmation email.

• Credit card
• ACH
• PayPal and Venmo aren’t currently supported

All admin and standard user roles can create, manage and delete subscriptions.

Additionally, any preset role that provides full access to sales, including the ability to send invoices, record payments, record sales receipts, process payments on invoices and receipts, and send payment links, can create, manage and delete subscriptions to customers.

The subscription holder has the ability to cancel on their end. 

Learn how to

• add and manage users in QuickBooks Online
• add and manage custom roles in QuickBooks Online Advance.

You can only cancel an active subscription. 

1. Open a subscription. 
2. Select View/Edit, then select Cancel.