Feature Request: Creating plans/subscriptions for services and group fitness classes.

[J85]

I have watched a video from Square about adding services/items to plans to create a subscription.

There is no option when creating a plan to attach services/items to it as there is in the video.

I run a small group fitness studio. At the moment we work around this by selling packages the members sign up to each week that allows me to attach services and the number of services they can book into. The downside is, this requires them to sign up each week. I want to run it like a gym membership with services attached. 

For example.

Pack 1 would include 3 strength + 2 circuit

Pack 2 would include 2 strength + 1 circuit 

Pack 3 unlimited

With the option to pay weekly, monthly, 3 monthly, yearly and to allow members to pause a certain amount of times in a billing cycle.

Would also like to be able to choose the start day for these packs. Example, billing cycle to commence or booking of services to commence on a Monday.

[Katie_SQ]

Hi @J85, 

Thanks for your post!

Square Subscriptions operate independently of Square Appointments, so while you can design subscription plans that might suit your needs, it's important to consider a few factors to determine if subscriptions will work well for your business.

Adding Services to Subscriptions

Currently, in Australia, you can't attach services to Square Subscriptions. Instead, you can create a plan with pricing and include the details in the description. For example:

• Name: Plan 1 - 3x Strength + 2x Circuit (Weekly Billing)
• Price: [weekly price here]
• Description:
  • Includes:
    • 3x Strength Classes
    • 2x Circuit Classes
  • Billed weekly

Since services can't be assigned to a subscription, and subscriptions can't be used for class bookings or appointments, you'd need to list all classes as free on your booking site, so that it is used for reservation purposes only. This setup could be suitable if all attendees have memberships. For non-members, you would need to charge them or adjust their package redemptions before class starts, or after each visit.

Payment Frequency

You can offer weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly payment options with Subscriptions. However, once a customer selects a plan, they can't change the payment frequency without canceling and starting a new plan. Therefore, I recommend creating separate plans for each payment frequency and membership type. You can also specify how many times a subscription can be paused within each billing cycle.

Here's an example of each plan you would need to create:

• Plan 1: 3x Strength + 2x Circuit (Weekly Billing)

• Plan 2: 3x Strength + 2x Circuit (Monthly Billing)

• Plan 3: 3x Strength + 2x Circuit (Quarterly Billing)

• Plan 4: 3x Strength + 2x Circuit (Yearly Billing)
  
  

• Plan 5: 2x Strength + 1x Circuit (Weekly Billing)

• Plan 6: 2x Strength + 1x Circuit (Monthly Billing)

• Plan 7: 2x Strength + 1x Circuit (Quarterly Billing)

• Plan 8: 2x Strength + 1x Circuit (Yearly Billing)
  
  

• Plan 9: Unlimited (Weekly Billing)

• Plan 10: Unlimited (Monthly Billing)

• Plan 11: Unlimited (Quarterly Billing)

• Plan 12: Unlimited (Yearly Billing)
  
  

Next Billing Date

If you create the subscription manually in the Square Dashboard, you can adjust the billing date. However, if a customer signs up online via a payment link, the next billing date is based on the sign-up day. For example, signing up for a weekly subscription on a Wednesday means the next payment is due the following Wednesday. If all memberships start in person, this shouldn't be an issue. However, if you want customers to sign up online, the billing date will be fixed to the day of the week they sign up.

I hope this clarifies things! If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out. 😊

[J85]

Hi Katie,

Thank you for your feedback.

A question about the work around you have suggested. 

I don’t quite understand how this will work and would pretty much be the same if not more admin for myself on my end.

If I were to do this wouldn’t that mean I would have to double check who has booked into the classes, who is on subscriptions and who isn’t and charge those that aren’t? If they pay prior great, if they don’t I could run the possibility of not being paid by them for their attendance. 

At the moment the way I get around the subscriptions is to apply the pack to their account each Sunday for the week. 

What would be great is to have the full functionality of subscriptions that allows users to attach services to subscriptions.

What is the reason this isn’t available to Australian users? 

[Katie_SQ]

Hi @J85, 

Thank you for your follow-up questions and for sharing your concerns.

You're correct in noting that managing a mix of clients who pay per class, purchase packs, and have subscription memberships can increase admin tasks. Subscriptions are most effective in environments where all clients are on a membership system. However, because subscriptions and Appointments currently don't integrate or communicate with each other, there's no seamless way to sync subscriptions, packages, and class bookings. This could indeed lead to more admin work on your end.

Given your current setup of applying packs weekly, it might be best to continue with this system for now. The ability to attach services directly to subscriptions is a feature request at this time, so I've moved your post to the Ideate board so our Product Teams can gain visibility and consider it for future updates.

Regarding the availability of these features in Australia, the video you mentioned might have demonstrated item-based subscriptions, which differ from service-based subscriptions or Square Appointments classes. Unfortunately, this functionality isn't currently available for services, but your feedback is valuable for future development.

I hope this helps clarify the situation. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, please feel free to reach out.