Paypal modify subscription.

[Abernee]

I've searched this community and seen this question (or very similar) asked a few times but never answered.

We are just about to launch our product but uncertainty over PayPal subscriptions are holding me back.  We will initially offer only a single product which must be paid for by subscription,  this product has a "configurable option" that can be purchased in variable amounts also only payable by subscription.  We were hoping to use the default PayPal payment gateway to manage our subscriptions. 

When a customer initially signs up to our product they set up a subscription using the payment gateway.  

My question is what happens to the subscription when the customer later decides to purchase one "configurable option".  Will the PayPal subscription be automatically updated to include the main product price and the "configurable option" price.  I see from testing that the first payment for a "configurable option" does not have the subscribe option, only a normal payment.  But within the clients "products and services" page in WHMCS that product does show the correct recurring amount.  Does the customer need to manually raise their subscription amount to cover the new service?

It would be best if customer was able to increase or decrease the number of "configurable options" they subscribe to and have their PayPal subscription amount adjusted automatically.  

I also want to know how it works when offering promotional codes, is the PayPal subscription automatically updated after the promotional period.

If none of this is possible and it all needs to be done manually is there another gateway I can use that does offer these features.

[steven99]

Using paypal billing agreements might a better option and you then do not have to worry about subscriptions and updating them. Myworks paypal module does this without issue.  You need to get the billing agreements permission on your paypal account before you can use them though.  

Seeing how subscriptions aren't cancelled when a service is cancelled (last i knew anyhow, haven't tested or looked), I doubt they update when the service price changes for one reason or other. .  

[Abernee]

Thanks for your reply,  I'd considered using PayPal recurring payments but we are a fairly new company just setting up and I don't think we'd meet PayPals criteria for having "Reference transactions" activated on our account.  This is required to be able to use PayPals "Billing agreements".   

I've had some clarification on the normal PayPal subscriptions from WHMCS and it's not as terrible as I first thought. We may just go with them for now. 

As long as I have "Automatic Subscription Management" turned on in WHMCS it should automatically cancel a PayPal subscription when:

• A cancellation request is submitted
• The order is cancelled or set to fraud via the admin interface of WHMCS
• The API is used to cancel or fraud an order with "cancelsub=true" passed
• An upgrade order is placed for the product/service

The customer will need to log in and create a new subscription if they upgrade or downgrade their account.  While not ideal I can see that its the best that can be done with a PayPal subscription. 

[steven99]

IIRC, I got the reference transactions turned on when I signed up for their payflow / paypal pro to accept card payments.   Never used that system, was looking to switch at the time also.  So if you're looking for a card processor also, might be a good chance.  Though my account with them has been live for a while at that point also.