The Guru allows you to automate company billing through recurring charges automatically managed by the platform.
When setting up a subscription product, you can customize the cycle duration, which can be in days, weeks, months, or years. At the end of each cycle, the platform schedules and performs the renewal charge using the payment data registered in the subscription.
The next, you will learn how the billing system behaves at the time of activation, renewal, and cancellation of a subscription.
The customer needs to change the card, after having marked not to have a new charge, even if they have made the release with the card issuing bank. The customer can and should change the card, even if it is the same card, to create a new record in Guru.
On this page:
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Subscription Activation
-
Renewal Charges
-
Subscription Cancellation
Subscription Activation
To activate a subscription, your customer needs to go through Guru Checkout and fill in personal and payment details. The time of the 1st charge occurs according to the subscription type:
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With Trial Period: the 1st charge occurs on the day following the expiration of the trial period.
-
Without Trial Period: the 1st charge occurs immediately after checkout completion.
The subscription is activated when the first payment is successfully made. The payment date is considered the subscription start date, and based on this date, the system calculates the end date of the current cycle and the start date of the next cycle.
Example:
Two customers go through Guru Checkout on January 5th and subscribe to a monthly plan for $69.90. The Customer A subscribed to the plan that does not offer a free trial, while Customer B subscribed to a plan that has a 7-day free trial.
See how the system will behave in each scenario:
|
|
Customer A |
Customer B |
|---|---|---|
|
Subscription Type |
Monthly plan without free trial period |
Monthly plan with 7-day free trial period |
|
Free trial period |
(none) |
Jan 05 – Jan 11 |
|
1st Charge Date |
Jan 05 |
Jan 12 |
|
Charge Amount |
$ 69.90 |
$ 69.90 |
Renewal Charges
When the current subscription cycle ends, the system attempts to renew it1 for a new period through an automatic charge.
The renewal is a scheduled procedure that occurs on a date calculated based on the subscription cycle duration.
Cycle Duration
Every subscription is prepaid and valid for the predefined period. When configuring a subscription product, you must determine the cycle duration, which can be “X” days, months, weeks, or years.
When payment is successfully completed, it means the subscription will remain active1 from the first to the last day of the cycle in question.
Example:
Let's say 2 customers started their subscription on January 5th. However, Customer A subscribed to a 30-day plan and Customer B subscribed to a quarterly plan (90 days).
See for what period (current cycle) each subscription will be active:
|
|
Customer A |
Customer B |
|---|---|---|
|
Cycle Duration |
1 month (30 days) |
3 Months (90 days) |
|
1st Charge Date |
5/Jan |
5/Jan |
|
Charge Amount |
$ 69.90 |
$ 69.90 |
|
Period (Current Cycle) |
5/Jan - 4/Feb |
5/Jan - 5/Apr |
Renewal Date
The renewal (charge) date is calculated based on the cycle duration and always occurs 1 day after the current cycle end date, i.e., on the start date of the new cycle.
Therefore, if a subscription is valid for 7 days, renewal is scheduled for the 8th day from the start date of the current cycle.
|
Interval Type |
Interval |
Subscription Duration |
Renewal occurs |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Days |
7 |
Valid for 7 days. |
On the 8th day - start of the new cycle. |
|
Months(1) |
1 |
Valid for 1 month. |
On the 31st day - start of the new cycle. |
|
Weeks |
2 |
Valid for 2 weeks. |
On the 15th day - start of the new cycle. |
|
Years |
1 |
Valid for 1 year. |
On the 366th day - start of the new cycle. |
(1) For monthly subscriptions, the calculation of the next cycle will be based on the fixed day, i.e., the date the buyer signed the subscription. For example, if the subscription started on the 5th, the next charge will be on the 5th of the following month. However, if the start day was the 30th or 31st, the charge in months with 28, 29, or 30 days will be made on the last business day of the month.
Example:
Let's continue with the example from the previous topic, where two clients started their subscription on January 5th. The Client A has a 30-day plan and Client B has a quarterly plan (90 days).
See how the renewal date for the next cycles would be:
|
Cycle |
Client A (monthly cycle) |
Client B (quarterly cycle) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Renewal Date |
Cycle Duration |
Renewal Date |
Cycle Duration |
|
|
1 |
- |
5/Jan - 4/Feb |
- |
5/Jan - 5/Apr |
|
2 |
5/Feb |
5/Feb - 7/Mar |
6/Apr |
6/Apr - 5/Jul |
|
3 |
8/Mar |
8/Mar - 7/Apr |
6/Jul |
6/Jul - 4/Oct |
If you work with subscriptions, renewals are accounted for as credits. The subscription renewals will be scheduled 3 days before the renewal date.
To consult renewals considered as credits, you can access the Subscriptions tab and then apply the filter next cycle in and enter the date you wish to consult.
Scheduling and Billing
To perform the renewal, the system performs the scheduling of the charge 3 days before the due date (due date) of the same.
The scheduling consists of creating a sale associated with the subscription in question. The sale is created with the status scheduled and order date2 equal to the charge date3 of the new subscription cycle.
The moment the charge (sale processing) is effectively carried out varies according to the payment method defined by the customer in the subscription:
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Credit Card: the sale is processed on the order date automatically.
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Bank Slip and other off-line payment methods: the sale is processed 1 day before the order date so that the payment code is generated before the due date.
Example:
Two customers have an active subscription with the next charge date set for the 5th. Where Customer A will pay with bank slip while Customer B will pay with credit card.
See how the system will behave in each scenario:
|
|
Payment Method |
System schedules charge on... |
System performs charge on... |
Order Date |
How the charge is performed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Customer A |
Bank Slip |
Day 2 |
Day 4 |
Day 4 |
The payment code is generated to be sent4 to the customer. |
|
Customer B |
Credit Card |
Day 2 |
Day 5 |
Day 5 |
The charge is automatically performed on the customer's credit card. |
(1) Except if the subscription is canceled or the number of pre-defined cycles is exhausted.
(2) Displayed in the sale detail, field Created on.
(3) Displayed in the Subscription detail: section Current Cycle, field Next cycle on.
(4) Remember to activate transactional email sending for pending sales and/or with printed boleto.
Payment Retries
The retry1 is a Guru feature that, days later, makes a new attempt to charge the overdue subscription. This functionality is triggered when the renewal charge is not authorized by the credit card and serves to give the customer a new opportunity to keep the subscription active.
In Guru, you can customize the number of retries and the interval between them in the subscription settings so that the functionality behaves as desired.
How it works
After the 1st failed charge attempt2 in payment, the system schedules a new charge based on the configured day interval.
If the payment fails again and there are still retries available, the system repeats the charging process until it receives an approved transaction or exhausts the number of retries.
For subscriptions with pre-defined cycles, the system automatically stops making new charges when the planned number of cycles is exhausted.
Offer alternatives for your customer to regularize subscription payment
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Change payment method: a user in the admin can do this or your customer can do it directly in the my Orders Area3.
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Manually pay the overdue charge: the payment link must be obtained in the admin and sent to the customer.
(1) Feature available only for credit card payments.
(2) We recommend Activate transactional email sending for canceled sales.
(3) Remember to Activate the self-service option “Customer can change payment type”
Subscription Cancellation
A subscription can be canceled due to payment failure1 or at the customer's request. When the cancellation occurs by customer decision, the operation must be performed by a user in the admin or directly by the customer in the my Orders Area2 (when available).
The canceling the subscription stops new charges from being made. Depending on the subscription stage at the time of cancellation, the system behaves as follows:
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During the trial period: no charge will be made after the end of the trial period.
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During the current cycle: no charge will be made after the end of the current cycle.
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During the renewal process: no charge will be made after the end of the current cycle. If a charge is already scheduled, the respective sale will not be processed with the payment system and its status will be changed to canceled.
The subscription cancellation does not refund the payment. In these cases, you must manually refund the subscription payment.
It is not necessary to cancel a subscription with predefined cycles. When the planned number of cycles is exhausted, the system automatically changes the subscription's status to expired and stops making new charges.