OFFICE: Subscription Self-Management

Self-Service Subscription Management

Allow Clients to Upgrade and Downgrade Plans

This guide will walk you through setting up a complete self-service subscription system where your Clients can upgrade or downgrade their own plans with the click of a button - no manual intervention required on your end.

By the end of this guide, you will have:

Multiple Subscription Plans configured for different service tiers
A Circle-based access control system tied to each plan
A Client-facing Dashboard with upgrade/downgrade buttons
Automations that handle plan changes and access updates automatically

Understanding the Core Concepts

Before we begin, it's important to understand how the pieces work together:

Subscription Plans handle the billing - automatically charging your Client's payment method on a recurring schedule.

Circles handle the access - controlling what your Client can see and do within your Portal based on their current plan.

Automations handle the changes - when a Client upgrades or downgrades, Automations update both their Subscription Plan AND their Circle assignment simultaneously.

KEY CONCEPT: Each Subscription Plan should have an associated "Master Circle" that controls all visibility and access for that tier. When a Client changes plans, you change both their Subscription AND their Circle assignment. This keeps billing and access perfectly synchronized.

Step 1: Create Your Subscription Plans

First, create a Subscription Plan for each tier of service you want to offer.

Navigate to Office > Settings

Click on Plans and then click +Add Plan to create each of your subscription tiers.

For example, you might create:

Bronze Plan - $29/month
Silver Plan - $49/month
Gold Plan - $99/month

For each plan, configure the following:

Reference Title: A friendly name for internal use (e.g., "Bronze Monthly Plan")

Rate: The subscription price

Billing Cycle: How often the Client will be charged (e.g., every 1 Month)

CLICK HERE to learn more about creating Subscription Plans

Step 2: Create Items or Packages for Each Plan

Your Clients will purchase their subscription through an Item or Package that is associated with a Subscription Plan. This is how the initial payment and subscription activation happens.

Navigate to Office > Settings > Items (or Packages)

Create an Item or Package for each subscription tier. When creating the Item:

Set the Name to something Client-friendly (e.g., "Gold Membership")
Set the Price Type to Subscription
Select the corresponding Subscription Plan from the dropdown

When a Client pays for this Item (via Invoice, Checkout Form, or Estimate), the Subscription Plan will automatically start and their payment method will be charged on the recurring schedule you configured.

CLICK HERE to learn about Items, Packages, and Add-ons

Step 3: Create Master Circles for Each Plan

Now create a Circle for each subscription tier. These "Master Circles" will control what each Client can access based on their current plan.

Navigate to CRM > Settings > Circles

Create a Circle for each plan:

Bronze Members
Silver Members
Gold Members

TIP: Clients can belong to multiple Circles simultaneously. The Master Circle for their subscription tier controls plan-specific access, while other Circles can be used for additional segmentation (geographic region, industry, etc.).

Once your Circles are created, you can use them to control visibility throughout the platform:

Menu Items: Show or hide navigation options based on Circle
Portal Pages: Restrict access to certain pages by Circle
Files and Folders: Control file access by Circle
Dashboard Blocks: Show or hide Rows, Columns, and individual Blocks based on Circle
LMS Products: Grant access to courses based on Circle

CLICK HERE to learn more about Circles

Step 4: Create Automations for Initial Plan Purchase

When a Client purchases their initial subscription, you need an Automation to assign them to the correct Master Circle.

Navigate to Automations > Automations and click +Create Automation

For each Subscription Plan, create an Automation that:

Trigger: You can attach this Automation directly to the Subscription Plan itself. In the Subscription Plan settings, under Automation Options, select this Automation for Created/Paid Subscriptions.

Action: Use the Manage Circles action to add the Target to the appropriate Master Circle.

For example, when a Client pays for the Gold Plan:

The Automation fires
The Client is added to the "Gold Members" Circle
They immediately gain access to all Gold-level content and features

Step 5: Create Automations for Plan Changes

Now create Automations that will handle upgrades and downgrades. Each plan change Automation needs to do two things:

Cancel the current Subscription Plan and Activate the new one
Remove the Client from their current Master Circle and Add them to the new one

Navigate to Automations > Automations and click +Create Automation

Example: "Upgrade from Silver to Gold"

Add the following actions to this Automation:

Action 1: Manage Subscriptions

Cancel: Select "Silver Plan"
Activate: Select "Gold Plan"

Action 2: Manage Circles

Remove From: Select "Silver Members"
Add To: Select "Gold Members"

IMPORTANT: When the Manage Subscriptions action activates a new Subscription, the platform will automatically use the Target's most recent Payment Method that was successfully used. Because Automations run in the background, the Target cannot enter or choose a Payment Method at that moment.

Create an Automation for each possible plan change:

Upgrade from Bronze to Silver
Upgrade from Bronze to Gold
Upgrade from Silver to Gold
Downgrade from Gold to Silver
Downgrade from Gold to Bronze
Downgrade from Silver to Bronze

CLICK HERE to learn more about Automations

Step 6: Create a Subscription Management Dashboard

Now create a Dashboard where Clients can view their current plan and click a button to upgrade or downgrade.

Navigate to Pages > Dashboards and click +Create Dashboard (or edit an existing Dashboard)

Add a Current Plan Display

First, let Clients see what plan they're currently on. Create separate content blocks for each plan tier, and use Circle visibility to only show the one that matches their current subscription.

For example, create a Row with a Text Block that says:

"You are currently subscribed to the Gold Plan at $99/month."

Set the visibility of this Row to only show to the "Gold Members" Circle.

Repeat this for Silver and Bronze, each with their own Circle visibility setting.

Add Upgrade/Downgrade Buttons

Now add Button Blocks that trigger your plan change Automations. The key is using Circle visibility so Clients only see the buttons relevant to their current plan.

For Gold Members, show:

Button: "Downgrade to Silver Plan" (triggers "Downgrade from Gold to Silver" Automation)
Button: "Downgrade to Bronze Plan" (triggers "Downgrade from Gold to Bronze" Automation)

Set both buttons to only be visible to the "Gold Members" Circle.

For Silver Members, show:

Button: "Upgrade to Gold Plan" (triggers "Upgrade from Silver to Gold" Automation)
Button: "Downgrade to Bronze Plan" (triggers "Downgrade from Silver to Bronze" Automation)

Set both buttons to only be visible to the "Silver Members" Circle.

For Bronze Members, show:

Button: "Upgrade to Silver Plan" (triggers "Upgrade from Bronze to Silver" Automation)
Button: "Upgrade to Gold Plan" (triggers "Upgrade from Bronze to Gold" Automation)

Set both buttons to only be visible to the "Bronze Members" Circle.

CLICK HERE to learn about Button Blocks

CLICK HERE to learn about Dynamic Dashboards

Step 7: Configure Button Block Automation Triggers

For each Button Block, configure it to trigger the appropriate Automation when clicked.

In the Button Block settings:

Set the Button Type to trigger an Automation
Select the corresponding plan change Automation
Optionally, set a confirmation message (e.g., "Are you sure you want to upgrade to the Gold Plan?")

TIP: You can also trigger Automations via Auto Templates, hyperlinks, or any other method that can fire an Automation. This gives you flexibility in how you present plan change options to your Clients - you're not limited to Button Blocks on a Dashboard.

How It All Works Together

Here's what happens when a Client clicks "Upgrade to Gold Plan":

The Button Block triggers the "Upgrade from Silver to Gold" Automation
The Automation cancels their Silver Subscription Plan
The Automation activates their Gold Subscription Plan (using their existing payment method)
The Automation removes them from the "Silver Members" Circle
The Automation adds them to the "Gold Members" Circle
The Dashboard automatically updates - they now see Gold-level content and the downgrade buttons instead of upgrade buttons
All Gold-level Portal Pages, Files, Menu Items, and LMS content become accessible
Their payment method will be charged the Gold rate on the next billing cycle

All of this happens automatically, in seconds, with no manual intervention required from you or your Staff.

Optional: Add Cancellation Automations

You may also want to handle subscription cancellations. In each Subscription Plan's settings, under Automation Options, you can assign an Automation to fire when the subscription is canceled.

This Automation could:

Remove the Client from their Master Circle
Add them to a "Free" or "Inactive" Circle
Send a "We're sorry to see you go" email
Trigger a follow-up sequence to win them back

Summary

By combining Subscription Plans, Circles, Automations, and Dynamic Dashboards, you can create a fully self-service subscription management experience for your Clients. They can upgrade or downgrade their plans at any time, and the system automatically handles the billing changes and access permissions.

The key components:

Subscription Plans - Handle the recurring billing
Master Circles - Control access based on subscription tier
Plan Change Automations - Update both Subscription AND Circle when a Client changes plans
Dashboard with Button Blocks - Provide a Client-facing interface with Circle-based visibility

This creates a "set it and forget it" system that runs your subscription business automatically while providing a professional, polished experience for your Clients.