Advanced Billing provides a billing portal for all merchants to use to extend many services to their subscribers. We’ve broken down the introduction to the Billing Portal into several explanatory sections since the Billing Portal provides many different functions.
The Advanced Billing Billing Portal provides a great way for your customers to manage their subscriptions without you having to write any code. Subscribers can update their cards, change plans, or cancel, all from one convenient interface.
For a short overview of the Billing Portal in action, please take a look at the tutorial below.
Who is the Billing Portal for?
The Billing Portal is for any merchant that wants to allow their subscribers to self-manage their subscription to your service. This is a great way for a merchant to have a very hands-off approach to the daily tasks of subscription management.
Why should I use the Billing Portal?
Since your subscribers can self-manage their accounts, Advanced Billing’s Billing Portal frees up precious time for you and your staff. This reduces the number of emails and calls that your business handles as your business grows.
How are accounts connected for the Billing Portal?
Once a customer has Billing Portal access enabled on their subscription, a new Billing Portal account is created using their email address. Please be aware that if different subscriptions have the same email address, they will all use the same Billing Portal account.
What does the Billing Portal do?
As a merchant, you can pick and choose what options you allow your subscribers to take while in the Billing Portal. Configure the Billing Portal settings to enable/disable options to best suit your business needs.
For a full overview of the feature settings for the Billing Portal, please see the documentation for controlling the Billing Portal Settings.
Here’s a small sampling of the tasks that your subscribers can accomplish via the portal:
Cancellations
- Cancel immediately
- Cancel at end of billing period
- Give cancellation reason
Components
- View current components
- Edit current component purchase
Custom Fields
- Edit/view custom fields
My Account
- Edit account/contact information
- Update payment method
- View/download statements or invoices
On Hold
- Allow subscribers to put their subscriptions on hold
- Allow subscribers to resume their subscriptions
Plan Details
- View current balance
- View estimated next billing amount
- View current billing details
Plan Changes
- Change to a new plan
- Preview costs associated with moving to a new plan including proration
Applying Coupons
- Allow subscribers to Apply Coupon to a subscription
Where is the Billing Portal?
Each merchant receives a dedicated URL that’s unique to their Advanced Billing account. Your subscribers can log in directly through the main link, or receive a personalized URL that will redirect them to their personal Billing Portal page.
For more information on the location of the Billing Portal, please see our documentation that explains how your URL is formatted for the Billing Portal.
When should I invite my subscribers to the Billing Portal?
Advanced Billing gives you the option of inviting your subscribers to the Billing Portal manually or automatically. It’s up to you if you’d like to start off your subscribers with immediate access to the Billing Portal, or grant them access after the fact.
For more information on how invitations work, please click here.
Customization
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The Billing Portal can be customized easily to include your merchant name and information.
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Add a logo to the Billing Portal to easily brand your identity for customer recognition.
Authentication
Your customers authenticate (i.e. log in) to the Billing Portal using either an email/password OR by clicking a unique link sent to their validated email address.
For more information on authentication for the Billing Portal, please click here