Subscriptions | Changing a Plan

Changing a plan in Orbit allows you to move a subscriber from one plan to another — for example from a monthly plan to a quarterly or annual one — directly from the subscription detail page, with a clear preview of any prorated charge or credit before you confirm.

Starting a plan change

To change a subscriber's plan:

• From the left-hand menu, go to Subscriptions.

• Select the subscription you want to change to open its detail page.

• Click Change plan in the header.

The Change plan button is available for active and trialing subscriptions. The Change Plan window will open.

Choosing the new plan

At the top of the window, Orbit shows the subscriber's current plan and the amount they pay each cycle — for example, Monthly at £24.00 / cycle.

Under Select a new plan, choose one of the other plans available for the product. Each option lists the plan name and its billing interval, and is labelled to show whether it is an Upgrade, a Downgrade, or the same price, so you can see at a glance how the change compares to the current plan.

Only active plans other than the current one are listed. If no other plans are available for the product, Orbit lets you know.

Reviewing proration

When proration is enabled, selecting a new plan shows a Proration summary so you can see the financial effect before confirming. The summary includes:

• Credit for unused time — the credit applied for the portion of the current period the subscriber has already paid for but not used.

• New plan (prorated) — the charge for the new plan for the remainder of the period.

• Amount due — the net amount to charge once the credit and the new plan charge are combined.

If the figures are still being worked out, Orbit notes that proration will be calculated on confirmation. Proration is turned on or off in Subscription settings.

When the change takes effect

Whether a change applies straight away or at the start of the next billing period depends on whether it is an upgrade or a downgrade. Upgrade timing and downgrade timing are each set in Subscription settings, where you can choose Immediately or Next period for each. A common setup is to apply upgrades immediately, so the subscriber moves to the higher plan at once, while deferring downgrades to the next period.

To review or change this behaviour, go to Subscriptions, open Subscription settings, and look under the upgrade and downgrade options.

Confirming the change

When you are happy with the new plan and the proration summary, click Change plan now to apply it. To close the window without making any changes, click Cancel.

Once confirmed, the subscription is updated to the new plan and the next payment reflects the new amount. The change is recorded in the Activity timeline on the subscription, so you always have a record of when the plan was changed and what it was changed to.

Why changing a plan is useful

Being able to move subscribers between plans means you can respond to their needs without cancelling and re-creating a subscription. You can upgrade a subscriber who wants more, move someone to a longer billing cycle, or step a plan down — all while keeping their history intact and charging the correct prorated amount.

If you have any questions, please contact us at support@orbitcommerce.net