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Maximum duration of subscription (for custom free trials, etc.)

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Dan Kamins

13 Apr, 2010 09:33 PM

We would like to offer a subscription with a maximum duration. Specifically for now we want the maximum to be 1 month, though presumably this would be configurable.

We are using this to offer a limited time free trial. Our free trial has different allowed usage than any of our other plans, so we can't use the regular "bill after 30 days" type setup.

Are maximum durations like this supported? Is it something that might be easy for CG to add?

In the absence of support for this, we need to write custom code to monitor the free trial plans, which might become overly complicated. If you can't support this, are there some shortcuts or advice you can give relating to how we might implement this?

Thanks.

1. Support Staff 1 Posted by Marc Guyer on 14 Apr, 2010 02:35 PM

   

   This is a feature that is on our short list for development. The plan is for paid plans to have a trial period and to not require a credit card for signup. CG would then notify the customer some time before the end of the trial period indicating that they must now enter a credit card to continue using the service otherwise, the subscription is auto-canceled.
   

   We have a couple of sister companies that need this feature as well but they have implemented a workaround. The workaround is relatively simple. Customers are initially subscribed to a free plan that has the usage limitations to your specifications. Upon login, or otherwise, check the customer's signup date against your chosen trial length. If the customer's trial has ended, require that the customer now choose a paid plan. This works quite well and requires very little logic in your app.

   Upon a second read of your requirements, the above "workaround" may be your only option long term. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think what you're saying is that the usage limitations during the free trial will be different than that of any paid plan. In this case, you will always need to use to different plans to achieve the behavior you're looking for.

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2. Marc Guyer closed this discussion on 14 Apr, 2010 02:35 PM.

3. Dan Kamins re-opened this discussion on 14 Apr, 2010 05:34 PM

4. 2 Posted by Dan Kamins on 14 Apr, 2010 05:34 PM

   

   So basically we should just check the free trial plan subscription start date, and if it was more than 30 days ago, we deny service? (And cancel the subscription too probably, for clean bookkeeping?)

   That seems simple enough... But it would be nice if we could embed the "30 days" into the plan definition itself such that the app only needed to check if the plan was still active or not. (And the plan would cancel itself after such maximum time passed).

   Not a huge deal really, but figured I'd put it out there for consideration and in case something like this is coming soon anyway.

   Thanks, Marc

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5. Support Staff 3 Posted by Marc Guyer on 15 Apr, 2010 06:23 PM

   

   So basically we should just check the free trial plan subscription start date, and if it was more than 30 days ago, we deny service? (And cancel the subscription too probably, for clean bookkeeping?)

   That's exactly right -- You may cancel them if you like though it will be difficult to know if the customer chose to cancel or were auto canceled by you.

   That seems simple enough... But it would be nice if we could embed the "30 days" into the plan definition itself such that the app only needed to check if the plan was still active or not. (And the plan would cancel itself after such maximum time passed).

   Yup -- that's on the agenda.

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6. Marc Guyer closed this discussion on 15 Apr, 2010 06:23 PM.