> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.supercycle.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing subscriptions

> Start a subscription for a customer, and run it from the cycle once it's billing

A subscription rental is one product going out on a repeating charge until the customer sends it back. Once it exists it's a cycle like any other, with a billing contract attached. This page covers starting one and running it. For the contract itself, see [Subscription contracts](/documentation/manage/subscriptions/subscription-contracts).

***

## Start a subscription

Customers start their own from a product page with the Methods app block, picking a pricing group and paying the checkout price. Your team can also put a customer on one.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="From a draft order">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Open Add cycles">
        On the [draft order](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/fulfillment/managing-orders/create-orders), select **More actions > Add cycles**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Select Subscription">
        Set **Method** to **Subscription**, then pick the product.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Set the term and start date">
        Choose a **Minimum term**, which picks the pricing group, and a **Start date**.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    <Note>
      A customer with no card on file can still be put on a subscription. The form says so with **No payment method on file**. Charges are raised as normal and you collect them yourself until a card is added.
    </Note>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="From an existing order">
    **Add cycles** is on a placed order too, so you can add a subscription to an order the customer has already paid. The form is the same. See [Add cycles to an order](/documentation/manage/cycles/edit-an-order#add-cycles-to-an-order) for the order edit and how to charge the difference.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="From POS">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Attach the customer to the cart">
        The customer decides which subscription options are available, so add them first.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Open Cycles">
        Tap **Cycles**, then **Subscription**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Set the term and start date">
        Tap a **Minimum term** and a **Start date**, then check out as usual. See [POS overview](/documentation/point-of-sale/pos-overview) for the full flow.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    <Note>
      **Subscription** stays grayed out on POS until the customer has a card on file, because POS can't warn you about a missing card mid-cart. Use a draft order to sell a subscription to a customer without one.
    </Note>
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## The minimum term

The minimum term is the customer's commitment, set by the pricing group they chose. They can't start a return from [customer accounts](/documentation/online-store/portal) before it's up, though you can end the rental early for them from the admin.

***

## Billing on the cycle page

Open the cycle from <Icon icon="shopify" iconType="solid" /> **[Cycles](https://admin.shopify.com/apps/supercycle/cycles)**. Its payment card carries a **Subscription** section showing:

* The billing status badge
* **Next charge**, struck through while billing is paused
* **Recurring price**, with any discount shown against it
* **Billing start** and **Billing end**, each with the condition from your [subscription settings](/documentation/methods/subscription/subscription-settings) that decides it
* The payment method, and the charges the contract has raised

Where the rental has a minimum term and no end date yet, **Billing end** reads **From** and the date the term is up.

To change any of it, open the **•••** menu on that card. Every action is in [Subscription actions](/documentation/manage/subscriptions/subscription-actions).

***

## Related documentation

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Subscription contracts" icon="repeat" href="/documentation/manage/subscriptions/subscription-contracts">
    Find contracts across the store and fix failing payments in bulk.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Subscription actions" icon="list-check" href="/documentation/manage/subscriptions/subscription-actions">
    Pause, reprice, discount, and cancel billing.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Subscription settings" icon="timeline-arrow" href="/documentation/methods/subscription/subscription-settings">
    Set when billing starts and stops and the default billing interval.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Migrate subscriptions" icon="arrow-right-arrow-left" href="/documentation/configuration/migrations/subscriptions">
    Move existing subscriptions in without interrupting billing.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>