Anchored subscriptions

This is where the product setup can get a bit messy, but only if you don't know what you're doing. In this article we'll explain what an anchored subscription is.

What are anchored subscriptions? 

In Subbly's subscription lingo, anchored subscriptions have set rebilling and shipping dates that are independent of the customer's subscription date. In other words, your customers will be renewed and shipped on the days you selected even if they subscribed on a different date.

How to set this up on Subbly? 

This switch is pivotal in distinguishing between the two subscription types (ad-hoc and anchored). By activating this switch, you indicate that you want to set up an anchored subscription, where renewals and shipping dates are tied to specific dates or intervals, regardless of the customer's initial subscription date.

To set up the product builder for a meal prep delivery business based on the example mentioned, you can follow these steps:

In our particular case here, the following options will do the next:

Charge immediately and ship on the regular date - will run the charge immediately, regardless of the day of the week, and will schedule the shipment on the next Saturday, with the next renewal set to the first Monday after that. 

Charge and ship immediately - will run a charge immediately and will schedule the shipment for next Monday, picking the usual Monday-Saturday billing/shipping cadence from there. 

Charge and ship on the regular date - will queue up the first payment for the next Monday (no charge will happen immediately after the checkout) and the regular cadence will pick up from there. 

Video tutorial

You can find the video explanation of how the anchored setup is working below:

What are cut-off dates and how do they work? 

The cut-off date controls the first next renewal date, ie., it controls what is the latest day when the customer will be able to subscribe in order not to be late for the current period shipment. For an example of using the cut-offs and getting the anchored type of product setup, please see the example below:

• Renewal date: 1st of the month
• Cut-off date: 15th of the month
• Shipping date: 25th of the month

In this particular instance, if someone subscribes on the 14th of the month, the customer will be on time and thus the next renewal will fall on the 1st of the after that. However, if the customer is late and signs up beyond the cut-off date (for example, the 18th of the month) the first next renewal will be pushed for a month to the 1st of the month after the following (so the customer doesn't get charged twice in a short time period of 2-3 days). ​

​It might sound confusing, but the cut-offs are indeed simple and very powerful as they will prevent you from billing customers in a short time span twice. Thus it's essential for you to get them figured out as well. 

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