First Subscription
Set up your first recurring billing plan with trials and lifecycle management
What You Will Learn
- How to create a product with recurring pricing
- How to configure billing intervals (monthly, annual, etc.)
- How to add an optional trial period
- How to generate a checkout link for subscriptions
- How to monitor the subscription lifecycle in the dashboard
Time to complete: approximately 10 minutes.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have completed the following:
- First Payment -- You have successfully processed a one-time payment and are familiar with the product and checkout link workflow
Everything in this guide works in test mode. No real charges will be made to any cards.
Step 1: Create a Recurring Product
Subscriptions in RevKeen start with a product that has a recurring price attached.
Navigate to Products
In your RevKeen dashboard, go to Products in the sidebar navigation and click Create Product.
Fill in product details
Enter information for your subscription product:
- Name -- A clear name for the plan (e.g., "Pro Plan", "Growth Tier", "Monthly Membership")
- Description -- What the subscriber gets (e.g., "Full access to all features, priority support, and unlimited usage")
- Fulfillment Type -- Choose "None (Service)" for most SaaS subscriptions
Save the product
Click Save to create the product.
Step 2: Set the Billing Interval
Now add a recurring price to your product. This defines how much to charge and how often.
Add a recurring price
On the product detail page, click Add Price in the Prices section.
Configure the recurring price
- Price type -- Select "Recurring"
- Amount -- Enter the price per interval (e.g., 29.00 for $29/month)
- Currency -- Select your currency (e.g., USD)
- Interval -- Choose the billing frequency:
- Monthly -- Charged every month
- Quarterly -- Charged every 3 months
- Annual -- Charged every 12 months
- Custom -- Set a custom interval count
Save the price
Click Save to attach the recurring price to your product.
You can add multiple prices to the same product. For example, offer both a $29/month and a $290/year option so customers can choose their preferred billing cycle.
Step 3: Add a Trial Period (Optional)
Trial periods let customers try your product before being charged. The first invoice is generated at $0 during the trial, and billing begins automatically when the trial ends.
Enable trial on the price
When creating or editing a recurring price, look for the Trial Period section.
Set the trial duration
- Trial days -- Enter the number of free days (e.g., 7 or 14)
- The customer's card is collected at checkout but not charged until the trial ends
Save the updated price
Click Save to apply the trial period.
Trial periods require a valid payment method at checkout. The customer's card is authorized (not charged) to verify it is valid. Billing begins automatically when the trial period expires.
Step 4: Create a Checkout Link
Generate a shareable link so customers can subscribe.
Create the checkout link
Navigate to Checkout Links in the sidebar and click Create, or click Create Checkout Link from the product detail page.
Select your recurring product
Choose the subscription product and recurring price you created. Set quantity to 1.
Configure checkout options
Optionally customize:
- Success URL -- Where to redirect after successful subscription (e.g., your welcome page or app dashboard)
- Allow promotion codes -- Enable if you want customers to apply discount codes
Generate and test the link
Click Create Link to generate the checkout URL. Open it in a new tab and complete a test subscription using a test card:
- Visa (Approved):
4111 1111 1111 1111 - Use any future expiration date and any CVV
Step 5: Monitor the Subscription Lifecycle
After a customer subscribes, RevKeen handles the entire lifecycle automatically.
View active subscriptions
Navigate to Subscriptions in the sidebar. Your new subscription will appear with an Active status (or Trialing if a trial period is configured).
Review subscription details
Click on the subscription to see:
- Status -- Active, Trialing, Past Due, Canceled, etc.
- Current Period -- The current billing period start and end dates
- Next Invoice Date -- When the next automatic charge will occur
- Subscription Items -- The products and prices included
- Payment Method -- The card on file for automatic renewal
Check automatic invoices
Navigate to Invoices. You will see an invoice was automatically created when the subscription started. For subscriptions with trial periods, the first invoice will show a $0 amount.
Track renewal events
As the subscription renews, RevKeen automatically:
- Generates a new invoice at each billing period
- Charges the customer's card on file
- Records the transaction with full margin tracking
- Sends a receipt to the customer
- Updates the subscription's current period
Subscription Lifecycle Overview
Understanding the subscription states helps you manage your billing effectively:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Trialing | Customer is in a free trial period. No charges yet. |
| Active | Subscription is active and billing normally. |
| Past Due | Payment failed. RevKeen will retry according to your dunning settings. |
| Canceled | Subscription has been canceled. Access continues until the end of the current period. |
| Expired | The subscription period has ended after cancellation. |
| Paused | Subscription is temporarily paused. No invoices are generated. |
When a payment fails, RevKeen automatically enters the dunning process -- retrying the charge and sending reminder emails to the customer. You can configure retry schedules and escalation rules in Settings > Dunning.
What Happens Behind the Scenes
When a customer completes a subscription checkout, RevKeen automatically:
- Creates or links a customer record by email
- Creates a subscription with the selected product, price, and billing interval
- Generates the first invoice (at $0 for trials, or the full amount)
- Processes the initial payment through your connected gateway
- Stores the payment method securely for future renewals (Card on File)
- Schedules automatic renewals at each billing interval
- Tracks margins on every renewal, including processing costs
Next Steps
- Subscriptions Guide -- Advanced subscription management, upgrades, downgrades, and cancellations
- Dunning -- Configure failed payment recovery
- Webhooks -- Get notified of subscription events (
subscription.created,subscription.renewed,subscription.canceled) - Customer Portal -- Let customers manage their own subscriptions