Subscriptions
Offering Subscriptions on Onside
Subscriptions allow you to offer users recurring access to content, features, or services within your app for a set period. This guide explains how to create and manage subscriptions in the Onside Developer Console.
Overview: How Subscriptions Work & Setup
Onside's subscription system allows you to structure offerings with multiple base plans (differing in price or billing period) and enhance them with introductory or promotional offers.
(Image: Screenshot of the "How subscriptions work" diagram showing Subscription "Premium" with Monthly/Yearly base plans and Introductory/Promotional offers.)
Important: Make sure your subscription structure (the core subscription grouping) is correct from the start, as this fundamental structure cannot be changed later. Users also cannot be moved between different top-level subscription offerings after they are created.
Setting up Subscriptions involves two main phases:
Create and Configure Subscription in Onside Console: Define the subscription, its base plans, pricing, availability, and any special offers.
Integrate Onside Payment SDK: Implement our SDK in your app to manage the subscription purchase flow, verify status, and unlock content.
This guide focuses on the first phase. For SDK details, see our [Payment SDK Documentation (Link_To_SDK_Docs_Here)].
Creating a New Subscription
Navigate to Subscriptions:
In the Onside Developer Console, select your app (e.g., "Superlist").
In the left-hand menu, under your app's settings, click on "Subscriptions."
If you have no subscriptions yet, click the "Create Subscription" button (or similar prompt). If you have existing subscriptions, you'll find a button to add a new one (e.g., "+ Create" on the "Base plans" list view).(Image: Screenshot of the "Create Subscription | empty" modal or the Subscriptions tab.)
Define Initial Subscription Details: A modal or page titled "Create Subscription" will appear.
Primary language: Select the primary language for your subscription's display information (e.g., English). You can add more localizations later.
Tooltip Hint: This subscription will be created in your app's Primary Language. You can add more languages later.
Subscription name: Enter a user-facing name for this subscription group (e.g., "Premium," "Pro," "Family Access"). This name helps you organize your offerings and will be visible to users.
Must be less than 30 characters.
Cannot be a name already used by another subscription in this app.
Tooltip Hint: Your subscription name will be displayed on the Onside Store product page. Choose a name that reflects the base plans it includes.
Click "Create."
Configuring a Base Plan
After creating the subscription group, you need to define at least one Base Plan. A base plan sets the subscription's standard price and billing period. Users can only have one active base plan from the same subscription group at a time; the previous one ends automatically when a new base plan from the same subscription starts (e.g., upgrading from monthly to yearly).
Create Base Plan:
After creating the subscription, you'll likely be prompted to create a base plan, or you can add one to an existing subscription.
You'll define:
Base plan name: A descriptive name for this specific plan (e.g., "Monthly access," "Yearly Gold").
Billing period: How often the user is billed (e.g., Weekly, Monthly, Every 3 Months, Yearly).(Image: Screenshot of the "Base plan duration" dropdown.)
Grace period: (Optional) The time a user keeps access after a failed payment, while Onside retries billing. Changes apply to future renewals.
Recommended grace periods vary by billing duration (e.g., Weekly: 3 days recommended, 7 days max; Monthly: 7 days recommended, 30 days max).
Minimum grace period is 1 day. If a user is already in a grace period, new settings won't change their current one.
Tooltip Hint: A grace period keeps access after failed payments while billing is retried. Changes apply to future renewals only and may take up to 24 hours. Duration can't exceed plan length – up to 28 days for 4-week plans, 30 days for monthly or longer.
Hold period: (Optional) The time Onside retries failed renewals (up to 60 days). If payment succeeds, service resumes, and the renewal date may shift. If it fails, the subscription may be paused or cancelled.
Tooltip Hint: Onside retries failed renewals for up to 60 days. If you've paused access, be sure to restore it when payment is recovered. Service resumes from the renewal date.
Click "Create."(Image: Screenshot of the "Create Base Plan" modal with fields for name, billing period, grace period.)
Configure Full Base Plan Details: You'll be taken to the full configuration page for your new base plan (e.g., "Monthly access," initially in "Draft" status).(Image: Screenshot of the base plan configuration page, e.g., "Monthly access | Draft" status.)
Localizable: Edit the Base plan name and provide a Description (e.g., "Full access to all features with monthly billing"). Add localizations as needed.
General: Review Billing period, Grace period, Hold period, and the Base plan ID (e.g., com.superlist.accessplans.premium.6m).
Image (Optional): Upload an image for this base plan (JPG, PNG, HEIC, min 1024x1024, up to 1MB).
Availability: Click "Set Up Availability" to choose countries where this base plan is offered.
Prices: Click "Add Price."
Set a Base price.
Review/confirm Country prices.
After setting the current price, you can add Introductory or Promotional offers for this base plan.(Image: Screenshot of the "Prices added | Draft with Activate button" state, showing "Current Pricing," "Introductory," "Promotional" tabs.)
Save and Activate Base Plan:
Click "Save."
When ready, click "Activate base plan."
Introductory and Promotional Offers
For each Base Plan, you can create special offers to attract new subscribers or retain existing ones. Access these options under the "Prices" section of a specific Base Plan, using the "Introductory" and "Promotional" tabs.
Introductory Offers:
Targeted at new subscribers to a particular subscription group.
Types:
Free Trial: Users get free access for a limited time. After the trial, the subscription renews at the standard base plan price.
Pay Upfront: Users pay a one-time discounted price for a set period, gaining full access without recurring billing during that offer period. Afterwards, it renews at the standard base plan price.
The trial will be applied first, followed by any discount, before regular billing begins.
Only one of each offer type (e.g., one free trial, one pay upfront) can be active per country during the same period for a base plan.(Image: Screenshots of "Introductory | Empty" and "Introductory | all set up" states.)
Promotional Offers:
Can be targeted at returning or existing customers (specifics of targeting capabilities to be detailed by Onside's system).
Typically involve a discounted price for a limited number of billing periods (e.g., 50% off for 3 months).
Managing Base Plans
You can view a list of all base plans within a subscription group.(Image: Screenshot of the "Base plans" list view showing different plans with their level, name, ID, billing period, and status, including drag-and-drop indicators.)
Reordering (Level): You can drag and drop base plans to change their display order or "level." This is important for upgrade/downgrade logic.
Deleting a Base Plan:
If you need to delete a base plan (e.g., "Delete Premium access base plan?"), it will be permanently deleted and cannot be restored. Existing subscribers will retain access until their current plan expires.
Important Steps Before Deletion (as prompted by the console):
Make it unavailable to stop new sign-ups and prevent automatic renewals.
Notify users and keep the plan accessible for 31+ days after removal (required to avoid legal/policy issues).
If the plan is longer than 1 month and you cannot deliver full content, contact Onside.
Remove plan promotions to prevent new purchases.(Image: Screenshot of the "Delete Base plan confirmation" modal with the checklist.)
Upgrade/Downgrade Logic (Within the Same Subscription)
Onside handles transitions between different base plans within the same subscription group as follows:
Upgrade (to a higher-level base plan):
The new, higher-level plan activates immediately.
The user receives a prorated refund for the unused portion of their current, lower-level plan.
The user is then charged the full price for the new, upgraded plan, and a new billing cycle begins.
Downgrade (to a lower-level base plan):
The user selects the new, lower-level plan.
Their current, higher-level plan continues until the end of the current paid period.
At the next renewal date, the subscription then renews at the new, lower price and level.
After configuring your subscriptions and base plans in the console, remember to integrate the Onside Payment SDK into your app to allow users to purchase and manage these subscriptions.
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