Create subscription
A subscription represents the purchase of a plan by a customer. The customer is identified by either the customer_id
or the external_customer_id, and exactly one of these fields must be provided.
By default, subscriptions begin on the day that they’re created and renew automatically for each billing cycle at the cadence that’s configured in the plan definition.
The default configuration for subscriptions in Orb is In-advance billing and Beginning of month alignment (see Subscription for more details).
In order to change the alignment behavior, Orb also supports billing subscriptions on the day of the month they are
created. If align_billing_with_subscription_start_date = true is specified, subscriptions have billing cycles that are
aligned with their start_date. For example, a subscription that begins on January 15th will have a billing cycle from
January 15th to February 15th. Every subsequent billing cycle will continue to start and invoice on the 15th.
If the “day” value is greater than the number of days in the month, the next billing cycle will start at the end of the month. For example, if the start_date is January 31st, the next billing cycle will start on February 28th.
If a customer was created with a currency, Orb only allows subscribing the customer to a plan with a matching
invoicing_currency. If the customer does not have a currency set, on subscription creation, we set the customer’s
currency to be the invoicing_currency of the plan.
Customize your customer’s subscriptions
Prices and adjustments in a plan can be added, removed, or replaced for the subscription being created. This is useful when a customer has prices that differ from the default prices for a specific plan.
This feature is only available for accounts that have migrated to Subscription Overrides Version 2. You can find your Subscription Overrides Version at the bottom of your Plans page
Adding Prices
To add prices, provide a list of objects with the key add_prices. An object in the list must specify an existing add-on price
with a price_id or external_price_id field, or create a new add-on price by including an object with the key price,
identical to what would be used in the request body for the create price endpoint. See the
Price resource for the specification
of different price model configurations possible in this object.
If the plan has phases, each object in the list must include a number with plan_phase_order key to indicate which phase the
price should be added to.
An object in the list can specify an optional start_date and optional end_date. This is equivalent to creating a price
interval with the add/edit price intervals endpoint.
If unspecified, the start or end date of the phase or subscription will be used.
An object in the list can specify an optional minimum_amount, maximum_amount, or discounts. This will create adjustments
which apply only to this price.
Additionally, an object in the list can specify an optional reference_id. This ID can be used to reference this price when
adding an adjustment in the same API call. However the ID is transient and cannot be used to refer to
the price in future API calls.
Removing Prices
To remove prices, provide a list of objects with the key remove_prices. An object in the list must specify a plan price with
either a price_id or external_price_id field.
Replacing Prices
To replace prices, provide a list of objects with the key replace_prices. An object in the list must specify a plan price to
replace with the replaces_price_id key, and it must specify a price to replace it with by either referencing an existing
add-on price with a price_id or external_price_id field, or by creating a new add-on price by including an object with the
key price, identical to what would be used in the request body for
the create price endpoint.
See the Price resource
for the specification of different price model configurations possible in this
object.
For fixed fees, an object in the list can supply a fixed_price_quantity instead of a price, price_id, or
external_price_id field. This will update only the quantity for the price, similar to the
Update price quantity endpoint.
The replacement price will have the same phase, if applicable, and the same start and end dates as the price it replaces.
An object in the list can specify an optional minimum_amount, maximum_amount, or discounts. This will create adjustments
which apply only to this price.
Additionally, an object in the list can specify an optional reference_id. This ID can be used to reference the replacement
price when adding an adjustment in the same API call. However the ID is transient and cannot be used to
refer to the price in future API calls.
Adding adjustments
To add adjustments, provide a list of objects with the key add_adjustments. An object in the list must include an object with
the key adjustment, identical to the adjustment object in the
add/edit price intervals endpoint.
If the plan has phases, each object in the list must include a number with plan_phase_order key to indicate which phase the
adjustment should be added to.
An object in the list can specify an optional start_date and optional end_date. If unspecified, the start or end date of the
phase or subscription will be used.
Removing adjustments
To remove adjustments, provide a list of objects with the key remove_adjustments. An object in the list must include a key,
adjustment_id, with the ID of the adjustment to be removed.
Replacing adjustments
To replace adjustments, provide a list of objects with the key replace_adjustments. An object in the list must specify a plan
adjustment to replace with the replaces_adjustment_id key, and it must specify an adjustment to replace it with by including
an object with the key adjustment, identical to the adjustment object in the
add/edit price intervals endpoint.
The replacement adjustment will have the same phase, if applicable, and the same start and end dates as the adjustment it replaces.
Price overrides (DEPRECATED)
Price overrides are being phased out in favor adding/removing/replacing prices. (See Customize your customer’s subscriptions)
Price overrides are used to update some or all prices in a plan for the specific subscription being created. This is useful when a new customer has negotiated a rate that is unique to the customer.
To override prices, provide a list of objects with the key price_overrides. The price object in the list of overrides
is expected to contain the existing price id, the model_type and configuration.
(See the Price resource
for the specification of different price model configurations.) The numerical values can be updated, but the billable metric,
cadence, type, and name of a price can not be overridden.
Maximums and Minimums
Minimums and maximums, much like price overrides, can be useful when a new customer has negotiated a new or different minimum or maximum spend cap than the default for a given price. If one exists for a price and null is provided for the minimum/maximum override on creation, then there will be no minimum/maximum on the new subscription. If no value is provided, then the default price maximum or minimum is used.
To add a minimum for a specific price, add minimum_amount to the specific price in the price_overrides object.
To add a maximum for a specific price, add maximum_amount to the specific price in the price_overrides object.
Minimum override example
Price minimum override example:
{
...
"id": "price_id",
"model_type": "unit",
"unit_config": {
"unit_amount": "0.50"
},
"minimum_amount": "100.00"
...
}
Removing an existing minimum example
{
...
"id": "price_id",
"model_type": "unit",
"unit_config": {
"unit_amount": "0.50"
},
"minimum_amount": null
...
}
Discounts
Discounts, like price overrides, can be useful when a new customer has negotiated a new or different discount than the default for a price. If a discount exists for a price and a null discount is provided on creation, then there will be no discount on the new subscription.
To add a discount for a specific price, add discount to the price in the price_overrides object. Discount should be a
dictionary of the format:
{
"discount_type": "amount" | "percentage" | "usage",
"amount_discount": string,
"percentage_discount": string,
"usage_discount": string
}
where either amount_discount, percentage_discount, or usage_discount is provided.
Price discount example
{
...
"id": "price_id",
"model_type": "unit",
"unit_config": {
"unit_amount": "0.50"
},
"discount": {"discount_type": "amount", "amount_discount": "175"},
}
Removing an existing discount example
{
"customer_id": "customer_id",
"plan_id": "plan_id",
"discount": null,
"price_overrides": [ ... ]
...
}
Threshold Billing
Orb supports invoicing for a subscription when a preconfigured usage threshold is hit. To enable threshold billing, pass
in an invoicing_threshold, which is specified in the subscription’s invoicing currency, when creating a subscription.
E.g. pass in 10.00 to issue an invoice when usage amounts hit $10.00 for a subscription that invoices in USD.
Authorizations
API Keys can be issued in the Orb's web application.
Body
Additional adjustments to be added to the subscription. (Only available for accounts that have migrated off of legacy subscription overrides)
Additional prices to be added to the subscription. (Only available for accounts that have migrated off of legacy subscription overrides)
Determines whether issued invoices for this subscription will automatically be charged with the saved payment method on the due date. If not specified, this defaults to the behavior configured for this customer.
Redemption code to be used for this subscription. If the coupon cannot be found by its redemption code, or cannot be redeemed, an error response will be returned and the subscription creation or plan change will not be scheduled.
Determines the default memo on this subscription's invoices. Note that if this is not provided, it is determined by the plan configuration.
google, aws, azure The external_plan_id of the plan that the given subscription should be switched to. Note that either this property or plan_id must be specified.
An additional filter to apply to usage queries. This filter must be expressed as a boolean computed property. If null, usage queries will not include any additional filter.
The phase of the plan to start with
When this subscription's accrued usage reaches this threshold, an invoice will be issued for the subscription. If not specified, invoices will only be issued at the end of the billing period.
User-specified key/value pairs for the resource. Individual keys can be removed by setting the value to null, and the entire metadata mapping can be cleared by setting metadata to null.
The net terms determines the difference between the invoice date and the issue date for the invoice. If you intend the invoice to be due on issue, set this to 0. If not provided, this defaults to the value specified in the plan.
The plan that the given subscription should be switched to. Note that either this property or external_plan_id must be specified.
Specifies which version of the plan to subscribe to. If null, the default version will be used.
Optionally provide a list of overrides for prices on the plan
Plan adjustments to be removed from the subscription. (Only available for accounts that have migrated off of legacy subscription overrides)
Plan prices to be removed from the subscription. (Only available for accounts that have migrated off of legacy subscription overrides)
Plan adjustments to be replaced with additional adjustments on the subscription. (Only available for accounts that have migrated off of legacy subscription overrides)
Plan prices to be replaced with additional prices on the subscription. (Only available for accounts that have migrated off of legacy subscription overrides)
The duration of the trial period in days. If not provided, this defaults to the value specified in the plan. If 0 is provided, the trial on the plan will be skipped.
x < 1000000Response
The current plan phase that is active, only if the subscription's plan has phases.
The adjustment intervals for this subscription.
Determines whether issued invoices for this subscription will automatically be charged with the saved payment method on the due date. This property defaults to the plan's behavior. If null, defaults to the customer's setting.
The day of the month on which the billing cycle is anchored. If the maximum number of days in a month is greater than this value, the last day of the month is the billing cycle day (e.g. billing_cycle_day=31 for April means the billing period begins on the 30th.
1 < x < 31The end of the current billing period. This is an exclusive timestamp, such that the instant returned is not part of the billing period. Set to null for subscriptions that are not currently active.
The start date of the current billing period. This is an inclusive timestamp; the instant returned is exactly the beginning of the billing period. Set to null if the subscription is not currently active.
A customer is a buyer of your products, and the other party to the billing relationship.
In Orb, customers are assigned system generated identifiers automatically, but it's often desirable to have these
match existing identifiers in your system. To avoid having to denormalize Orb ID information, you can pass in an
external_customer_id with your own identifier. See
Customer ID Aliases for further information about how these
aliases work in Orb.
In addition to having an identifier in your system, a customer may exist in a payment provider solution like
Stripe. Use the payment_provider_id and the payment_provider enum field to express this mapping.
A customer also has a timezone (from the standard IANA timezone database), which defaults to your account's timezone. See Timezone localization for information on what this timezone parameter influences within Orb.
Determines the default memo on this subscriptions' invoices. Note that if this is not provided, it is determined by the plan configuration.
The discount intervals for this subscription.
The date Orb stops billing for this subscription.
The maximum intervals for this subscription.
User specified key-value pairs for the resource. If not present, this defaults to an empty dictionary. Individual keys can be removed by setting the value to null, and the entire metadata mapping can be cleared by setting metadata to null.
The minimum intervals for this subscription.
Determines the difference between the invoice issue date for subscription invoices as the date that they are due. A value of 0 here represents that the invoice is due on issue, whereas a value of 30 represents that the customer has a month to pay the invoice.
The Plan resource represents a plan that can be subscribed to by a customer. Plans define the billing behavior of the subscription. You can see more about how to configure prices in the Price resource.
The price intervals for this subscription.
The date Orb starts billing for this subscription.
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