Edit subscriptions billed in HubSpot

Below, learn about the ways that you can edit a subscription, including:

• Editing a subscription's line items, including price, quantity, and discounts
• Editing a subscription's next payment due date
• Updating the payment method used for a subscription
• Updating the contact associated with a subscription

Please note: this article is not about editing your account's HubSpot subscription. Learn how to manage the products included in your HubSpot subscription.

Edit a subscription's line items

Whether your customer wants to upgrade or downgrade their subscription, there may be times when you want to change a subscription's details without having to cancel it. In HubSpot, you can edit any active or scheduled subscription from within the subscription side panel. 

For example, you can:

• change the price of existing line items.
• add a new line item that the buyer agreed to subscribe to.
• remove an existing line item that the buyer doesn't want to subscriber to anymore.
• increase or decrease the line item quantities a buyer originally subscribed to.
• add or remove line item discounts.

When editing a subscription, view the limitations below.

Editing a subscription

To edit a subscription:

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Commerce > Subscriptions.
• From the subscription index page, click the name of the subscription.
• In the right panel, click Actions in the upper right, then select Edit subscription.
  
  
• In the subscription editor, update the subscription:
  • To add new line items, click Add line item in the upper right, then select Select from product library (Professional or Enterprise only) or Create custom line item. In the right sidebar, set up the line item details, then click Save.

Please note: any newly added line items will be billed based on the frequency already set in the subscription. For example, if a subscription recurs monthly, any line items that you add will be billed monthly. This also applies to adding products from your product library that are set to a different frequency. New line items will also be billed for the remaining term length of the subscription.

• • To remove a line item, hover over the line item, click Actions, then select Delete.
  • To edit a line item's price, quantity, or discount, use the columns in the line item editor.
  • To edit a line item's name, SKU, description, or unit cost, click the line item's name. In the right panel, edit the line item's details, then click Save.

• By default, your changes will apply during the next billing cycle. To apply the changes immediately and collect or refund the prorated amount automatically on save, click to toggle the Prorate changes switch on. Learn more about prorating subscription changes.

Please note: if an online payment option isn't added to the subscription, proration isn't possible.

• In the dialog box, enter any internal notes that you want to leave. These notes will be added to the associated deal, contact, and companies timelines. You can also access these notes in other tools such as lists, workflows, and reports through the Last modification reason property. When you're done, click Update subscription.

Once your changes are saved, the following will happen:

• An email will be sent to the contact associated with the subscription to notify them of the changes. The email will appear similar to the following example:

• In HubSpot, the subscription record will also update to show the changes:
  • Under the Last modified on date, the record will note that there are edits to the subscription that will be applied after the next payment.
    
    
  • The Line items section will show any changes that you've made to the line items. You can click See current billing cycle to view what your buyer is currently paying for. 
    
    
  • Once the changes take effect, the Monthly recurring revenue and Annual recurring revenue properties will also update to match the changes.

Limitations

Keep in mind the following when editing a subscription:

• You can only edit subscriptions with a status of Active or Scheduled.
• You can't edit a subscription within two days of its next payment due date so that buyers have adequate notification before the next payment date. 
• If you aren't prorating your changes, you can make as many changes as needed before the next billing cycle. The next payment of the subscription will be collected based on the last successfully saved change.
• Modifying a subscription paid by PADs may have compliance implications, please consult your legal team for more information.

Update the payment method used for a subscription

If a customer needs to update the payment method used for a subscription, you can manually send them a link to update the payment method on their end.

Please note: the payment method can only be updated if the collection process is automated. For example, if a subscription is set up to automatically bill a customer, but payment isn't automatically collected as part of the billing subscription, it won't be possible to update the payment method for this subscription.

To send a customer a payment method update link:

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Commerce > Subscriptions.
• From the subscription index page, click the name of the subscription.
• In the right panel, click Actions in the upper right, then select Update payment method.

• In the dialog box, review the content then click Send link. The link will be sent to the subscription's associated contact's email address. The customer will receive the link in an email similar to the one below:

When the buyer clicks Update payment method in the email, they'll be taken to a checkout page where they can review their subscription and enter a new payment method. Once updated, the new payment method will be used for all future auto-payments of the subscription.

Edit the next payment due date of a subscription

You can update a subscription's next payment due date from the subscription record, giving you and your buyers more flexibility for upcoming payments. After rescheduling the next due date, the contact associated with the payment will receive a confirmation email and the subscription record will reflect the new billing cycle in the Next payment due date and End date properties.

Please note: only subscriptions with an automated collection prcoess can be prorated. For example, if a subscription is set up to automatically bill a customer, but payment is not automatically collected as part of the billing subscription, it will not be possible to prorate this subscription.

To edit the next billing due date of a subscription:

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Commerce > Subscriptions.
• From the subscription index page, click the name of the subscription.
• In the right panel, click Actions in the upper right, then select Edit next billing date.
  
  
  
  
• Use the date picker to select the next payment date.
  • By default, the customer won't be charged or refunded for the updated billing date. To collect or refund the customer for the updated billing cycle, edit the subscription and toggle on prorating.
• Click Update.

With the next billing due date updated, HubSpot will send the buyer an email confirming the new next billing date.

The subscription record will also reflect the new billing cycle in the Next payment due date and End date properties, and a Last modified date will be added to indicate the date when the payment date was updated.

Limitations

• You can only reschedule the next payment due date for subscriptions with a status of active or scheduled. Learn how to schedule recurring payments on payment links and quotes.
• You can't reschedule a subscription's next payment due date if one or more payments for the subscriptions are processing. 
• You can't change the payment date on the same day as the next scheduled payment date.
• The new payment date cannot fall within three days from the last collected payment so that buyers aren't charged in succession.
• The new payment date cannot fall within two days from the current date so that buyers have adequate notification before next payment.
• Modifying a subscription paid by PADs may have compliance implications. Please consult your legal team for more information.

Pause and resume a subscription

If a customer requests to pause their subscription, you can pause and resume from their subscription record.

Pause a subscription

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Commerce > Subscriptions.
• From the subscription index page, click the name of the subscription.
• In the right panel, click Actions in the upper right, then select Pause subscription.

• In the dialog box, in the Internal notes box, enter a reason for the pause, then click Pause.
  • The note will be stored in the Last modification reason property, and the change will be displayed as activity events on record timelines.

• The subscription status will display as Paused, with the date it was paused. 

A notification will be sent to the customer, and all billing and payment collection will be paused until the subscription is resumed.

Resume a subscription

If a subscription is paused, but needs to be resumed, this can be done from the subscription record.

To resume a subscription:

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Commerce > Subscriptions.
• From the subscription index page, click the name of the subscription.
• In the right panel, click Actions in the upper right, then select Resume subscription.

• In the dialog box, choose when the next billing date should be using the date picker and click Resume.
• The subscription status will update to Active with the new invoice date displayed.

If the subscription is resumed immediately, a receipt or invoice will be sent to the customer. If the subscription is resumed for a future date, a notification will be sent to the buyer with their new billing date.

Update the contact associated with a subscription

A subscription can only be associated with one contact a time. However, if you need to update the contact associated with a subscription, you can do so from the subscription side panel. For example, during the lifetime of a contract you may need to update the main point of contact if the original buyer has moved to a different company.

To update the contact associated with a subscription:

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Commerce > Subscriptions.
• Click the name of the subscription. 
• In the right panel, scroll to the Contacts section, then click + Replace.
  
  
• Search for and select an existing contact, or click the Create new tab to create a new contact record.
• Click Next.
• Optionally, click Add association label to assign a custom association label to the contact. 
• Click Save.

Updating the associated contact will result in the following:

• Moving forward, the following notifications will be sent to the new contact:
  • Successful subscription payment receipts.
  • Payment method update emails for failed payments.
  • Upcoming subscription payment reminders, if toggled on.
  • Notices for subscription changes, including upgrades, downgrades, and updates to the next payment dates.
  • User-initiated update payment method requests.
  • Subscription cancellation.
• All payment records generated after updating the contact will be associated with the new contact record.

Prorating subscription changes

When updating a subscription's line items, you can enable prorating to automatically collect or refund the prorated amount accordingly. This results in you and your buyers seeing their billing changanyes reflected immediately, rather than having to wait for the next billing cycle. 

When applying prorating to the changes you've made to a subscription's line items: 

• If you're upgrading the subscription by adding more line items or increasing prices, HubSpot will automatically charge the payment method on file for the prorated amount.
• If you're downgrading a subscription by removing line items or decreasing prices, HubSpot will automatically refund the previous payment method for the prorated amount.

After making your changes, the charge or refund will appear in the History section of the payment record.