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Recurring Payments

Azotte's recurring payment system enables automated subscription billing with flexible scheduling, dunning management, and revenue optimization.

Subscription Models​

Fixed Recurring​

  • Monthly: Standard monthly billing cycles
  • Quarterly: Every 3 months billing
  • Annual: Yearly subscription charges
  • Custom: Define custom billing intervals

Usage-Based Billing​

  • Metered: Pay per usage metrics
  • Tiered: Progressive pricing tiers
  • Volume: Bulk pricing discounts
  • Hybrid: Combination of fixed + usage

Flexible Scheduling​

  • Pro-rata: Mid-cycle adjustments
  • Anniversary: Customer-specific billing dates
  • Calendar: Fixed calendar dates
  • Business Days: Skip weekends/holidays

Subscription Lifecycle​

Creation & Setup​

interface Subscription {
  id: string;
  customer_id: string;
  plan_id: string;
  status: 'active' | 'paused' | 'cancelled' | 'past_due';
  billing_cycle: 'monthly' | 'quarterly' | 'annual';
  start_date: Date;
  next_billing_date: Date;
  amount: number;
  currency: string;
}

State Transitions​

Payment Collection​

Automatic Retries​

  • Smart retry logic based on failure reasons
  • Configurable retry intervals and attempts
  • Payment method updating and optimization

Dunning Management​

interface DunningConfig {
  max_attempts: number;
  retry_intervals: number[]; // days
  email_notifications: boolean;
  webhook_notifications: boolean;
  grace_period_days: number;
}

Payment Method Updates​

  • Automatic card updating services
  • Customer self-service portal
  • Email notifications for expiring cards

Pricing & Discounts​

Promotional Pricing​

  • Free Trials: 14-day, 30-day trials
  • Discount Coupons: Percentage or fixed amount
  • Grandfather Pricing: Legacy plan protection
  • Volume Discounts: Multi-seat pricing

Price Changes​

interface PriceChange {
  subscription_id: string;
  new_price: number;
  effective_date: Date;
  proration_policy: 'immediate' | 'next_cycle' | 'none';
  customer_notification: boolean;
}

Revenue Recognition​

Accounting Integration​

  • Deferred Revenue: Proper revenue recognition
  • Proration Calculations: Mid-cycle changes
  • Tax Handling: Regional tax compliance
  • Refund Processing: Automated refund calculations

Reporting & Analytics​

  • Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)
  • Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)
  • Churn rate analysis
  • Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Webhook Events​

Subscription Events​

{
  "event": "subscription.created",
  "data": {
    "subscription_id": "sub_123",
    "customer_id": "cus_456",
    "status": "active",
    "plan": {
      "id": "plan_basic",
      "amount": 2999,
      "interval": "monthly"
    }
  }
}

Payment Events​

  • payment.succeeded
  • payment.failed
  • payment.retry_scheduled
  • invoice.created

Customer Communications​

Email Notifications​

  • Payment confirmations
  • Failed payment alerts
  • Upcoming renewal notices
  • Plan change confirmations

Self-Service Portal​

  • View billing history
  • Update payment methods
  • Change subscription plans
  • Download invoices

API Examples​

Create Subscription​

const subscription = await azotte.subscriptions.create({
  customer_id: 'cus_123',
  plan_id: 'plan_basic',
  payment_method: 'pm_456',
  start_date: '2024-01-01',
  trial_period_days: 14
});

Update Subscription​

await azotte.subscriptions.update('sub_123', {
  plan_id: 'plan_premium',
  proration_behavior: 'create_prorations'
});

Cancel Subscription​

await azotte.subscriptions.cancel('sub_123', {
  at_period_end: true,
  cancellation_reason: 'customer_request'
});

Advanced Features​

Subscription Pausing​

  • Temporary subscription holds
  • Automatic resumption scheduling
  • Pro-rated billing adjustments

Plan Migrations​

  • Seamless plan upgrades/downgrades
  • Custom migration rules
  • Proration handling

Multi-Product Subscriptions​

  • Bundle multiple products
  • Individual product management
  • Flexible pricing combinations

Testing​

Test Scenarios​

  • Successful recurring payments
  • Failed payment handling
  • Dunning management flow
  • Plan changes and cancellations

Webhook Testing​

// Test webhook endpoint
const testWebhook = {
  url: 'https://myapp.com/webhooks/azotte',
  events: ['subscription.*', 'payment.*']
};

Next Steps​