Setup

In this page of the guide we will cover the required steps for configuring user subscriptions with Reflow.

Create a Reflow Project

User subscriptions are a premium Reflow feature that is only available with our PRO plan.

If you don't have a PRO Reflow project, you will need to upgrade your existing project to the PRO plan or create a new project.

Connect a Payment Provider

Reflow subscriptions can use either Stripe or Paddle for payment authorization and processing. The two services are very similar, the main differences being that Stripe fees are slightly lower, while Paddle has better tax handling.

Check out the Payment Method docs for a detailed guide on how to connect Stripe or Paddle and the available options.

Enable Auth User Accounts

Before your customers can start a subscription, they will need to create an account on your site using Reflow Auth.

This will allow them to authenticate their access to your project, manage subscriptions, view past invoices, and more.

To configure Reflow user accounts, follow the Auth setup guide.

Create Subscription Plans

In your Reflow project, Plans define the different subscription tiers you wish to offer to your customers.

Plans are highly customizable and offer different pricing models, free trials, feature flags, usage limits for subscribers, and more.

Depending on the use case a single plan may be enough for your project, or it may require multiple plan offerings with different features at different prices.

You can create subscription plans from the Plans dashboard by clicking Add Subscription Plan. For a full guide visit the subscription plan docs.

Email Notifications

Reflow sends email notifications to both you (the project owner) and your customers when important subscription events occur.

All the notifications are enabled by default. You can disable the ones you aren't interested in from the email & notification settings page. The customer-facing notifications can be also customized to have subjects, body text and style of your choosing.

For a full list of options visit the notification docs.

Subscription Taxes

If you need to charge taxes for the recurring payments associated with subscriptions, we recommend setting up Stripe Tax or Paddle's global sales tax.

Configuring tax collection and reporting with both services is relatively easy - they will automatically calculate taxes based on the subscriber's billing address. Additional Stripe/Paddle fees may apply for using the tax services (Reflow does not charge any fees).