How to offer add-on products with add-on plans

Add-on plans let customers add extra products to an existing subscription. You set up an add-on plan for the product you want to offer, choose which base products it can be added to, and optionally set a discount and an expiry date. Use add-on plans to offer complementary or time-bound extras, like a limited-run item or a trial-size product, without managing them as separate subscriptions.

This guide covers how add-on plans work, how to set one up, what your customers experience, and what to consider before you start.

Before you start

• You need at least one existing subscription product to act as the base product.
• Where possible, use a product for the add-on that doesn't also have a one-time or subscription plan. See Considerations for details.

How it works

An add-on is an extra product a customer adds to an existing subscription. To offer a product as an add-on, create an add-on plan for it, just as you’d add a one-time or subscription plan. 

When creating an add-on plan for a product, you select base products. A base product is the subscription product the add-on attaches to. For example, if customers subscribe to your coffee beans, you could offer coffee filters as an add-on. The coffee beans are the base product, so only customers subscribed to coffee beans can add the filters.

Customers can add, view, and cancel add-ons in the customer portal. Each add-on shows under the subscription it's attached to and ships with it until the add-on expires or the customer cancels it.

Customers can also get an add-on by buying it in the same order as a base product. Recharge links the two automatically. Recharge doesn't show an add-on offer on your storefront, so if you want one (for example, when a customer adds a base product to their cart), you'll need to build it separately.

Once added, the add-on follows its base product:

• It ships on the same charge date as the base product.
• If the base product is skipped or rescheduled, the add-on moves with it to the new charge date.
• The add-on can’t be skipped, rescheduled, or swapped on its own.
• The add-on is removed if the base product is cancelled.

If you set an expiry, the add-on is cancelled automatically at that point. Otherwise, it continues until the customer cancels it or the subscription.

Add-ons make it easy for customers to try more of your products without starting a new subscription, so you can grow order value with the subscribers you already have.

Step 1 – Add an add-on plan to a product

Add-on plans are set up on the product you want to offer as the add-on.

1. In the merchant portal, click Products and select Products.
2. Select the product you want to offer as an add-on.
3. In the Add-on plans section, click Add add-on plan.
4. Enter a Plan name.

Step 2 – Choose the base products

Base products control who can get the add-on. Only customers subscribed to a base product you select can add this product as an add-on.

1. Under Base products, click Select products.
2. Select the subscription products the add-on can be added to.

If a customer swaps their subscription to another product that's also a base product for this add-on, the add-on stays. If the new product isn't a base product, the add-on is removed.

Step 3 – Set the add-on pricing

Decide whether customers pay the add-on's regular price or a discounted price.

1. Under Pricing, select one of the following:
   • Use default pricing: The add-on is charged at the product's regular price.
   • Offer a discount: Enter a percentage in the Discount field.

Step 4 – Choose when the add-on expires

Choose how long the add-on stays on a customer's subscription. Customers can cancel an add-on before it expires.

1. Under When does this add-on expire?, select one of the following:
   • Never: The add-on continues until the customer cancels it or the base subscription.
   • On a fixed date: The add-on is cancelled automatically on the date you choose.
   • After a set period of time: The add-on is cancelled automatically a set amount of time after it's created.
   • After a set number of orders: Enter the number of orders in Add-on expires after. The add-on is cancelled automatically after that many orders.
2. Click Save.

To offer an add-on as a one-time extra, select After a set number of orders and set it to 1.

Considerations

Consider the following before setting up add-on plans.