An action to modify the product, fee, shipping or discount line items on a subscription solves many different use cases we see requested via support.
Example use cases:
* provide subscribers with a discount on their subscription after the first 12 months (payment count > 12)
* add bonus/gift products to a specific renewal, like a reward for the 12 month subscribed
* create a "drip" like campaign, where customers receive a different product for each renewal, like a different volume of a book each month, or the next piece of a kit
* customer is given a discount from an unrelated trigger. E.g. customer leaves a review and get's $5 off their next renewal payment.
* stores could even use it to change tax line items in case of changes they need to complete with, like VAT Changes: https://docs.woocommerce.com/document/woocommerce-subscriptions-guide-vat/
Shipping in version 4.4
Can this mod include adding line item meta data?
@Wes Humpage: We could possibly add that in the future but it won't be included in the current feature set.
@Levi K: At first you will only be able to add and remove items from a subscription. Later we plan to add the ability to add/remove discounts as well.
@Dan Bitzer: will you be able to change subscription or discount prices in bulk (based on certain products)
it would be useful to be able to bulk edit subscription prices (example: to change the price of all subscription that have the status of active and on hold....) instead of doing it all manualy
A support ticket came in needing functionality like this today. They wanted to auto-switch the customer's subscription to a new product after a set period of time (like 12 months).
Would this include modifying the line items by the customer themselves? If so, that would be perfect for the mix and match subscriptions like meal plans, where there are a bunch of items that get shipped in a single container each month, and the customer sometimes wants to switch out or modify the quantities of individual items in that container.
@Austin Miller: The end user / subscriber wouldn't have access to workflows so I think the answer is no.
Another potential use case is when a customer is given a discount from an unrelated trigger. E.g. customer leaves a review and get's $5 off their next renewal payment. I had this requested yesterday.
This could potentially be achieved with tags.
@Dan Bitzer: I've added that to the initial list of use cases so it doesn't get lost in comments! :)
There will be some added complexity with this action since it can only be run with certain triggers and can not be queued. E.g. adding a discount line item after the subscription renewal is completed should be avoided. Since the payment would have been already made.
We will also need to create a new trigger that runs during the renewal process. After the order is created but before payment is made. i.e. 'Subscription Renewal Order Created'. Can't be run asynchronously.
@Brent Shepherd: Ok interesting, I hadn't considered doing it that way. Let's discuss before I start on this.
> E.g. adding a discount line item after the subscription renewal is completed should be avoided
@Dan Bitzer: I see that as a good trigger to use. If you want to discount the next renewal, running after a renewal (with a payment count rule) would be a great way to do it, as it would mean the subscription's new total is correct for almost the entire billing cycle (vs. doing something like modifying it only just before the next renewal, so it displays incorrectly during the billing cycle, but shows up correctly on that renewal order).
> After the order is created but before payment is made. i.e. 'Subscription Renewal Order Created'
I can see that being a useful Trigger. But in line with the above, for many use cases, I see it being valuable to trigger these changes immediately after a renewal payment.
Some docs on how this works: https://automatewoo.com/docs/actions/subscription-add-remove-product/
And https://automatewoo.com/docs/actions/subscription-add-remove-coupon/
We'll be publishing guides over the coming months too. If you have a specific use case, like Meal Kits, that you would like to see documented, let us know! :)
Silly me realized you can use the default "One time ship" feature in the WooCommerce sub product. Is it possible to modify the shipping price with automate woo however? Thank you!
@Aidan Porter: hi Aidan, I wrote some additional actions last week to add/remove shipping line items. They'll be publicly available in a free mini-plugin to provide many more Subscriptions actions. If you'd like to help beta test prior to that being publicly available, please get in touch and we can provide you with access: https://automatewoo.com/get-help/
> this is my first go with automateWoo and I am already a diehard fan!
Great to hear! Thanks for the kind words. :)
@Brent Shepherd: This sounds great, I am trying to remove the shipping price ($5) after the subscription creation. Is there a way of doing that already? I am not able to find it.
- Also just wanted to say that this is my first go with automateWoo and I am already a diehard fan! Wish I had found this 1 year ago :D