1. Order Management
  2. Billing and Invoices
  3. SuiteBilling
  4. SuiteBilling Setup
  5. Creating Subscription Plans

Creating Subscription Plans

When you create a subscription plan, you choose what to include in the subscription, such as recurring services, usage, commit plus overage, and one-time charges.

A subscription plan and price book aren't required when creating a subscription using the standard form. You can create a subscription with only add-on item lines, making subscription creation simpler. To learn how to create a subscription without a subscription plan or price book, see Optional Subscription Plan and Price Book.

To learn how to set up a subscription plan and price plan in NetSuite, view the video:

For high-level overview diagrams of the workflows that include this procedure, see Subscription Plan Creation, New Stand-Alone Subscription Creation, and Subscription Creation from a Sales Order.

To create a subscription plan:

  1. Go to Lists > Subscriptions > Subscription Plans > New.

  2. In the Subscription Plan Name field, enter a name.

  3. From the Initial Term list, set the term:

    • Select a term from the options:

      • Standard Term – The subscription-level end date defines the end date for all of the items, which aligns end dates. The end date is calculated by adding the subscription term to the start date. One-time subscription lines are the exception because they are only active for a day.

      • Custom Term – You must set the subscription-level end date at the subscription level. This date defines the end date for all of the items, resulting in the alignment of end dates. One-time subscription lines are the exception because they are only active for a day. For custom terms, you can edit the subscription-level end date until a subscription line is active.

      • Evergreen Term – Revenue stops after three years unless you set up automatic invoicing to extend revenue recognition.

    • Create a new term by clicking the plus icon.

  4. On the Lines subtab, follow these steps for each item you add:

    1. In the Item column, select an item. If the item list doesn't include an item you need for this subscription plan, see Creating Items for Subscription Plans.

    2. In the Required column:

      • Check the box to always include this item in the subscription.

      • Clear the box to let the customer choose whether to include or exclude the item at sale time.

    3. In the Type column, select one of the following types:

      • One Time – Items with a single charge, such as a setup or initialization fee.

      • Recurring – Items with ongoing charges, such as recurring services.

      • Usage – Items charged based on how much a customer uses, such as minutes or data.

      • Commit Plus Overage – Items charged up front for a set quantity (committed usage), with more charged when more than the committed quantity is used (overage).

    4. In the Mode column, choose one of the following:

      • In Advance – Payment is due at the start of the charge period (for example, the first day of the month).

      • In Arrears – Payment is due at the end of the charge period (for example, the last day of the month).

    5. In the Include in Renewal Subscription column, click the down arrow to see the available renewal options and if you want a different option, select it.

    6. If required, for recurring items, check or clear the Prorate Start Date and Prorate End Date boxes. For details, see Proration Options.

    7. Click Add.

  5. Repeat step 4 to add all items to the subscription plan.

  6. Click the Renewal subtab and set up the renewal options. You can select the renewal plan and price book when renewing to a new subscription. See Adding Renewal Information to Subscription Plans to learn how the default from the subscription populates the renewal.

    • With Uplift Pricing enabled, you can set a percentage renewal uplift. After renewal setup is done, your settings apply to new subscriptions that have this plan.

    • To automate renewal, check Automatically Initiate Renewal Process Before Subscription End Date.

    • When Uplift Pricing is enabled, you can set a default percentage renewal uplift. Based on the renewal setup, the renewal description lines show in the uplift table where you set the percentage uplift. To learn how the default from subscription populates the renewal uplift on a subscription, see Adding Renewal Information to Subscription Plans.

    After you finish setting up renewal, your settings apply to new subscriptions that use this plan.

  7. When Uplift Pricing is enabled, you see the Uplift subtab. Set the Uplift Percent and create intervals using the combination of Uplift Frequency and Repeat Every fields. These settings apply by defaullt to any new subscriptions created with this plan. See Uplift Pricing to learn more about uplift for subscription plans.

When you save, the Price Books subtab opens. After creating a subscription plan, the next task is creating a price book by creating a price plan for each item. See Creating Price Books.

General Notices