Create Subscription - Merchant Initiate
This page is a tutorial for the Subscriptions feature. For a full feature overview → Subscriptions
Learn how to create a subscription for a customer directly from the DOKU Dashboard. Use this method when the merchant is registering a customer to a plan on their behalf — for example, during walk-in registration, onboarding a new member, or migrating existing customers from a manual billing system.
Interactive Demo
Prerequisites
Before creating a subscription, make sure the following are in place:
Step-by-Step Guide
Configure Subscription Details
On the Subscription Details page, fill in the following fields.
Plan Type
Select the plan type for this subscription:
Single Plan
The customer subscribes to one plan item.
Bundling Plan
A combination of multiple plan items (coming soon).
Subscription ID
Enable the Autogenerate Subscription ID toggle to let the system assign a unique ID automatically. Disable the toggle to enter a custom ID — alphanumeric characters only, no spaces or special characters.
Collection & Plan
Collection
Yes
Select the collection that contains the desired plan.
Plan
Yes
Select one or more plans from the chosen collection. A maximum of 10 plans can be added — all selected plans must share the same billing cycle.
Coupon
Optional
Apply a discount coupon to this subscription. Only coupons that belong to the selected collection, are within their validity period, and still have available stock will appear in the dropdown. The discount applies from the first invoice — for a limited number of cycles or for the life of the subscription, depending on how the coupon was configured.
Tax
Optional
Add a tax configuration if the collection price does not already include tax. Tax is applied on top of the plan price on every invoice.
Invoice calculation order: Plan price → Coupon discount deducted → Subtotal → Tax applied on subtotal → Final invoice total
Click + Add Plan to create a new plan directly from this form without closing it. You will be redirected to the Create Plan form. Once saved, return here to select the newly created plan.
If no coupon appears in the dropdown, either no coupon has been created for the selected collection, or all available coupons have expired or run out of stock. → Create a Coupon
Subscription Duration
Start Date
Any date up to 1 year in the future
The date the subscription becomes active. Cannot be set to a past date. See behavior notes below.
End Date
Unlimited / Specific Date / After X Times
Determines when the subscription stops generating new invoices.
Start Date behavior:
Today
Invoice is issued immediately upon subscription creation
Must be paid the same day (due upon receipt, or per invoice term)
Future date
Invoice is issued immediately but the subscription activates on the configured date
Must be paid before or on the start date
End Date options:
Unlimited
The subscription remains active and continues generating invoices until the merchant manually ends it.
Specific Date
The subscription ends on the chosen calendar date. No invoice is issued after this date.
After X Times
The subscription ends after N billing cycles have been completed. Enter the number of cycles in the field provided.
Click Next to continue.
Review and Confirm
Review the full subscription summary before confirming. The review page displays:
Customer name, phone number, and email
Selected collection and plan with pricing model
Line-item breakdown including coupon discount (if applied) and tax
Total amount per billing cycle
Subscription start date and end condition
Click Create Subscription to confirm. The subscription is created immediately and the first invoice is issued according to the configured start date.
What's Next
After the subscription is created:
👉 View Subscription Detail — Monitor subscription detail, invoice delivery status and payment status per subscription
👉 Invoice and Receipt — Learn how customers receive and pay their invoices
👉 Create Subscription — Customer Initiate — Alternative: let customers subscribe themselves via a Pricing Table
FAQ
Can I create a subscription without a Collection and Plan set up first?
No. A subscription must be linked to a Plan, which belongs to a Collection. Both must exist and be active before a subscription can be created. If no plan exists yet, click + Add Plan during Step 3 to create one without leaving the subscription form. → Collection and Plan
What happens if the customer I want to subscribe is not in the Member dropdown?
The customer must be registered as a Member in Member Center first. Click Add Member directly from the Customer Details step (Step 2) to register them on the spot — the form opens without closing the subscription flow. Once saved, the new member appears immediately in the dropdown.
Can I assign a custom Subscription ID instead of an auto-generated one?
Yes. Disable the Autogenerate Subscription ID toggle in Step 3 and enter your preferred ID. Custom IDs must be alphanumeric — no spaces or special characters. Custom IDs are useful when you need to match a subscription to an existing record in your internal system.
What is the maximum number of plans I can add to a single subscription?
A maximum of 10 plans can be added to one subscription. All selected plans must belong to the same collection and must share the same billing cycle — you cannot combine a monthly plan with a yearly plan in the same subscription.
Can I set a start date in the past?
No. The start date cannot be set to a date before today. If you need to backdate a subscription, the earliest available start date is today. The system generates the invoice immediately upon subscription creation regardless of whether the start date is today or a future date.
What is the difference between setting the start date to today versus a future date?
When the start date is today, the invoice is issued immediately and the customer must pay it the same day (or within the invoice term configured in the collection). When the start date is a future date, the invoice is also issued immediately, but the subscription only activates on the configured date — giving the customer time to pay before the service begins. The payment deadline follows the collection's Invoice Term settings.
What happens when a subscription set to "After X Times" reaches its limit?
Once the configured number of billing cycles is completed, the subscription automatically ends — no further invoices are generated. The subscription status transitions to Expired. The customer's existing paid invoices and receipts remain accessible, but no new billing occurs. To continue billing the customer, a new subscription must be created.
Can I apply a coupon when creating a subscription?
Yes. The Coupon field appears in the Collection & Plan section of Step 3 and is optional. Only coupons that belong to the selected collection, are within their validity period, and still have available stock will appear in the dropdown.
Once applied, the coupon discount is reflected in the invoice starting from the first billing cycle. How long the discount continues depends on the coupon's redemption type:
Unlimited — discount applies on every invoice for the life of the subscription
Limited — discount applies for the configured number of cycles, then stops automatically
The discount is always applied before tax. → Collection and Plan — Coupons
Why is no coupon available in the dropdown?
The coupon dropdown only shows coupons that meet all of the following conditions at the time of subscription creation:
The coupon belongs to the selected collection
The coupon is within its validity period (start date has passed, end date has not)
The coupon still has available stock
The coupon is active (not deactivated)
If the dropdown is empty, check that a coupon has been created for the selected collection and that it has not expired or run out of stock. → Create a Coupon
Can I edit a subscription after it has been created?
Certain subscription settings — such as the plan, billing cycle, and collection — cannot be changed after creation. To move a customer to a different plan, end the current subscription and create a new one on the target plan with the appropriate start date. Basic information such as the subscription label or reference may be editable depending on the current subscription status.
What happens to the subscription if the first invoice is not paid by the due date?
If the customer does not pay by the due date, the invoice transitions to Overdue status. If a grace period is configured on the collection, the customer can still pay within that window without penalty and the subscription remains active. Once the grace period ends without payment, the subscription moves to Expired status and no further invoices are issued. You can monitor overdue invoices in the Billing Summary. → View Subscription Billing
How does the customer receive their invoice?
The invoice is delivered to the customer automatically via Email, based on the delivery channel configured in the collection. The invoice contains a unique payment link for that billing cycle. → Invoice and Receipt
Is this the only way to create a subscription?
No. There are two other methods. The Customer Initiate method allows customers to browse plans and subscribe themselves through a shareable Pricing Table — no merchant action needed per customer. The Bulk Bill Upload method allows processing a large roster of customers simultaneously from a structured CSV/XLSX file. → Create Subscription — Customer Initiate | Create Bulk Subscription
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