ReCurr Tutorial Series — Part 6: Customer Experience
Welcome back to the ReCurr tutorial series. This tutorial shows you exactly what your customers see — from the product page through checkout, and into their My Account subscription management area. Use this as a reference when guiding customers or when creating your own help content.
Before You Begin
To follow along and capture screenshots, you should have:
- A subscription product created (Tutorial 2)
- PayFast gateway configured (Tutorial 3)
- Sandbox/test mode enabled for safe testing
Log in to your store as a test customer (or use a separate browser/incognito window) to see the experience from the customer’s perspective.
The Product Page
When a customer visits a subscription product page, they’ll see:
- The product price displayed with the billing period (e.g., R499.00/month)
- The add to cart button reads “Subscribe Now” instead of the standard “Add to Cart”
Annual Products with Discount
For annual subscription products with a discount enabled, customers also see:
- The discounted annual price (e.g., R3,049.80/year)
- A savings message in green: “Save R538.20 (15%) with annual billing!”
- The monthly equivalent price (e.g., “Equivalent to R254.15/month”)
Screenshot 1: A subscription product page showing the price with billing period and the “Subscribe Now” button.
Screenshot 2: An annual subscription product page showing the discount savings message and monthly equivalent.
Variable Subscription Products (Plus, v2.8.0)
A product sold in options (sizes, plans, buy once or subscribe — see Plus Tutorial 7: Variable Subscription Products):
- Before choosing, the price shows a range — the cheapest and the dearest option, each with its own period (e.g., R1,000.00/year – R110.00/month; options are compared by their price per month)
- After choosing an option, the price shows that option’s price and period (e.g., R90.00/month), or no period for a once-off option
- An option that cannot be bought shows WooCommerce’s “Sorry, this product is unavailable. Please choose a different combination.”
Screenshot 2b: A variable subscription product page showing the price range, and the price after choosing an option.
The Cart
When a subscription product is in the cart, the cart page displays the subscription total with the billing frequency.
If the customer has mixed items (subscription products and regular one-time products in the same cart), a notice appears:
“Notice: Your cart contains both subscription and one-time products. All items will be processed together using the recurring payment method. This is by design to ensure your subscription is set up correctly.”
Screenshot 3: Cart page with a subscription product showing the total and billing period.
Checkout
Payment Method
At checkout, the customer sees the payment method “Credit/Debit Card (Recurring)” with the description: “Pay securely. Your card will be saved for automatic renewals.”
Below the payment method, a notice informs the customer:
“This gateway will redirect you to PayFast to securely save your payment method for automatic renewals.”
The order button reads “Proceed to PayFast” instead of the standard “Place Order”.
Screenshot 4: Checkout page showing the payment method selection with the PayFast info notice and “Proceed to PayFast” button.
Redirect to PayFast
After clicking “Proceed to PayFast”, the customer briefly sees a message:
“Thank you for your order. You will be redirected to Payfast to complete payment.”
They are then automatically redirected to PayFast’s secure payment page (with a “Pay Now” button as a backup if the redirect doesn’t happen automatically).
Screenshot 5: The brief redirect page showing “Thank you for your order” message before PayFast redirect.
PayFast Payment Page
On PayFast’s site, the customer:
- Sees their order details and amount
- Enters their credit or debit card details
- Completes the payment
- Their card is securely tokenized (saved) for future automatic renewals
Screenshot 6: The PayFast payment page (sandbox) showing the order amount and card entry fields.
Order Confirmation
After successful payment, the customer is redirected back to your store’s order confirmation (thank you) page showing their order summary.
Screenshot 7: The WooCommerce order received/thank you page after successful payment.
Trial Signups — No Card Required
The flow above is for paid signups. If the product offers a free trial, the experience is different — no card is collected at signup (v2.4.13+):
- The cart total is R0.00 and the checkout asks only for the essentials (name, email). The order button reads “Activate Trial” rather than “Proceed to PayFast”, and there is no PayFast redirect.
- The trial starts immediately and the customer receives a “trial started” email.
- As the trial nears its end, ReCurr emails reminders (72h / 48h / 24h before) — each with a one-click magic link that logs the customer in and opens an “add your card” page.
- When the customer adds a card, they go to PayFast once to tokenise it and pay the first amount (pro-rata or full, per your billing settings). The subscription becomes Active.
- If the trial ends with no card, the subscription goes On Hold with a 7-day grace period (the magic link still works); after that it auto-cancels with no charge.
(v2.8.8) A customer who registers a card with Update Card while the trial runs is treated as a trial with a card: the trial’s end charges the first payment to that card, and the R5.00 card registration comes off the renewal after it — the reminders and the card-update email say so. Once a trial without a card has ended unpaid, its page in My Account offers Activate Subscription instead of Update Card: the activation page takes the first payment, less any account credit, and shows the credit it actually uses — for example “(R117.97 gross, R112.97 credit applied)” and “R87.03 of your account credit stays on your subscription for later payments.” — always leaving at least R5.00 to pay by card.
Screenshot 7b: The trial checkout showing the R0.00 total and the “Activate Trial” button (no card fields).
My Account — Subscriptions
After subscribing, customers can manage their subscriptions from their My Account area.
Accessing Subscriptions
In the My Account sidebar menu, a “Subscriptions” link appears between “Orders” and the other menu items. Clicking it shows all their subscriptions.
Screenshot 8: My Account sidebar showing the “Subscriptions” menu item.
Subscriptions List
The subscriptions list page displays a table with the following columns:
| Column | What the Customer Sees |
|---|---|
| Subscription | Subscription ID (e.g., #27) — clickable link to view details |
| Status | Colour-coded status badge (Active, Pending, On Hold, Paused (Plus), Cancelled, Expired) |
| Product | Product name(s). For a variable subscription product (Plus, v2.8.0), the option’s name and the attributes chosen (e.g., Hoodie – S, Size: S, Colour: Pink) |
| Total | Recurring amount with billing period (e.g., R499.00/month) |
| Next Payment | Date of next payment (for active subscriptions) or “—”. A Manual EFT subscription shows its next invoice and when it falls due — “Next invoice: 25 October 2026 (payment due 1 November 2026)” (v2.8.8) |
| Actions | “View” button |
If the customer has no subscriptions yet, they see: “You have no subscriptions yet.”
Screenshot 9: My Account subscriptions list showing one or more subscriptions with different statuses.
Screenshot 10: My Account subscriptions list showing the empty state (“You have no subscriptions yet.”).
My Account — View Subscription Details
Clicking a subscription ID or the “View” button opens the detailed subscription view.
Back Navigation
At the top, a “← Back to Subscriptions” link returns to the subscriptions list.
Subscription Header
The page heading shows the subscription number and status badge:
Subscription #27 [Active]
Screenshot 11: Subscription detail page header showing ID and status badge.
Subscription Details Section
A summary table showing:
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Billing Schedule | Every 1 month |
| Start Date | 10 February 2026 |
| Next Payment Date | 1 March 2026 |
| Last Payment Date | 10 February 2026 |
| Payment Method | Credit/Debit Card (Recurring) |
The “Next Payment Date” only appears for active subscriptions. On a Manual EFT subscription the row reads Next Invoice — the invoice day, with the date payment is due: “25 October 2026 (payment due 1 November 2026)” (the invoice day plus your Payment Terms) (v2.8.8).
Screenshot 12: The Subscription Details table showing status, billing schedule, dates, and payment method.
Subscription Items Section
Shows the products included in the subscription:
| Column | Content |
|---|---|
| Product | Product name (linked to the product page) |
| Quantity | Item quantity |
| Total | Item price |
The footer shows the Recurring Total with the billing period (e.g., “R499.00 Every 1 month”).
Screenshot 13: The Subscription Items table with product, quantity, total, and recurring total.
Payment History Section
If payments have been made, a table shows the last 10 payments (newest first):
| Column | Content |
|---|---|
| Date | Payment date |
| Amount | Payment amount |
| Status | Completed, Failed, or Pending |
| Order | Linked order number |
Screenshot 14: The Payment History table showing completed payments.
Billing Address Section
The customer’s billing address is displayed, including:
- Full name
- Street address
- City and postal code
- Country
- Email address (clickable)
- Phone number (clickable)
Screenshot 15: The Billing Address section.
Updating the Card (v2.7.26)
For active, trial and on-hold card subscriptions, an “Update Payment Details” card appears with an Update Card button and the message (not on a Manual EFT subscription, which is paid by invoice and never charged to a card (v2.8.8)):
“Re-enter your card details to update the payment method used for renewals.”
Clicking it creates a R5.00 card registration. The customer is taken to PayFast, enters the new card and approves it with their bank’s OTP. The new card replaces the old one, and the R5.00 is credited in full to their account — it comes off their next payment, so they are not out of pocket. PayFast’s payment page, the link to register a new card and the registration’s order say “credited to your account”, and the card-update email says which payment it comes off (v2.8.8). On an on-hold subscription, that completed charge is also what reactivates it.
The replaced card is cancelled at PayFast (v2.8.8). Once the new card is stored, ReCurr cancels the card it replaced, so your PayFast Tokenization list shows only cards in use and the old card can no longer be charged from your PayFast dashboard. It is never cancelled while another subscription uses the same card. If PayFast does not cancel it, the card update still stands, and the subscription’s Activity Log and the order’s notes say so (Tutorial 4).
Why a charge and not a free update? Because a real charge passes 3D Secure, and a zero-amount check often does not. PayFast has a free card-update page, and ReCurr used it by default in 2.7.24 and 2.7.25. It verifies the new card with a zero-amount 3D Secure check, and FNB, ABSA and Capitec cards were all refused there while paying other merchants normally. Nobody can tell in advance which bank will refuse, so from 2.7.26 every customer takes the route that works.
If PayFast shows “400 Bad Request — the subscription amount is outside the limits set by the merchant or PayFast”: your PayFast account has a minimum above R5.00. PayFast applies your payment-method minimums to a card registration, and Visa and Mastercard debit and cheque cards are processed under its Credit Card method. Open PayFast dashboard → Settings → Payment Methods → Credit Card → Minimum amount and set it to R5.00, PayFast’s default. If you would rather keep a higher minimum, raise ReCurr’s amount to match with the crb_card_registration_amount filter (Tutorial 8); it is all credited back to the customer.
The failed-payment email links the customer to this same subscription page, so the email and My Account lead to one place.
Opting in to PayFast’s free page
A store that would rather offer the free page adds one line (see Tutorial 8):
add_filter('crb_payfast_hosted_card_update_available', '__return_true');
The button wording then changes to “You will be taken to PayFast to change the card used for renewals. Nothing is charged.” The token your store holds is unchanged, no order is created, and PayFast emails you when a card is saved — it does not call back to your store. When the customer comes back, the notice on their subscription page offers the card registration as an alternative:
“…If your card was not accepted there, you can register a new card (R5.00, credited to your account) instead.”
Be aware that a customer who closes PayFast’s tab instead of using its return button never sees that notice. Subscriptions with no usable card on file, and subscriptions on hold, take the card registration even when you opt in. PayFast does not offer the page in the sandbox, so a store in test mode always takes the card registration.
Screenshot 15b: The “Update Payment Details” action card.
Screenshot 15b: The “Update Payment Details” action card.
Cancel Subscription
For active, on-hold, or pending subscriptions, a “Cancel Subscription” button appears at the bottom with the message:
“Cancelling your subscription will stop all future payments. You will retain access until the end of your current billing period.”
When clicked, a confirmation prompt appears:
“Are you sure you want to cancel this subscription? You will retain access until the end of your current billing period.”
If confirmed, the button text changes to “Cancelling…” while the request processes. On success, the customer sees:
“Subscription cancelled successfully. Your subscription will remain active until the end of your current billing period.”
They are then redirected back to the subscriptions list.
Screenshot 16: The Cancel Subscription button with the explanation text below it.
Screenshot 17: The confirmation dialog when clicking “Cancel Subscription”.
Plus Lifecycle Features (v2.7.0)
The three features below require a Plus licence and are off by default — each is enabled by its own setting under Subscriptions → Settings → General. With them off, the customer experience is exactly as described above. Full setup guides live in the Plus tutorial series; this section shows what the customer sees when you turn them on.
Cancelling with a Refund (Plus)
With Pro-rata cancellation refunds enabled, a customer on a mid-term quarterly or annual card subscription sees a refund offer instead of the standard period-end message:
“You’ll receive a refund of R1,794.00 (unused time at the full monthly rate — the free-month benefit is not refundable). Your access ends within 24 hours.”
On confirming, the money is refunded via PayFast, the subscription ends immediately (not at period end), and the customer receives a refund confirmation email. (v2.8.8: before this version PayFast refused these refunds — the subscription stayed active and the customer was told the refund could not be processed.)
Late in the term, once no refundable value remains, the customer is shown “No refundable value remains — your plan stays active until [date]” and offered the normal end-of-period cancellation instead. Monthly, weekly, and Manual EFT subscriptions always use the standard end-of-period flow.
The Retention Flow (Plus)
With Cancellation retention flow enabled, clicking Cancel opens a short in-page flow rather than a bare browser prompt:
- Why are you leaving? — the customer picks a reason (too expensive, not using it, missing a feature, technical issues, other)
- A tailored alternative — a change plan link if they can downsize instead, or a support contact if something is broken or missing (an email to your store’s “From” address, set in WooCommerce > Settings > Emails (v2.8.8))
- Confirm — the final step shows either the refund amount or the standard period-end message
The reason is saved and emailed to you either way, so you learn why customers leave even when you can’t save them.
Screenshot 19: The retention flow reason survey.
Screenshot 20: The final cancellation confirmation showing the refund amount.
Pausing and Resuming (Plus)
With Pause & resume enabled, an active subscription shows a Pause Subscription action:
- The customer clicks Pause and confirms. The status becomes Paused and a “paused since” date appears.
- No payment is taken while paused. The next payment date is held exactly where it was.
- When ready, they click Resume Subscription — the next payment date, end date, and licence expiry all shift forward by exactly the time they were paused, and the status returns to Active.
- If they never resume, the subscription auto-resumes after 90 days.
Nothing is forfeited by pausing — the term and any discount are untouched. Pause works on any billing period and any payment method.
Screenshot 21: The “Pause Subscription” action on an active subscription.
Screenshot 22: A paused subscription showing the Paused badge, “paused since” date, and “Resume Subscription” action.
Upgrading Immediately (Plus)
With Immediate plan switching enabled, a quarterly or annual customer who chooses a higher plan on the Change Plan page sees a confirmation screen before anything is charged, showing:
- the credit for the time they haven’t used on their current term,
- the exact amount charged now (or “R0 — covered by your credit”),
- a note if a small balance is held back to meet the PayFast R5 minimum,
- their new billing date.
It also states plainly that switching early forfeits the remaining discount benefit on the current term. On confirming, the upgrade applies immediately, the billing date resets to today, and the customer gets an emailed breakdown with their new licence key.
Downgrades still queue to the next renewal, with the reassuring “changes at your next renewal on [date]” message.
Screenshot 23: The immediate-upgrade confirmation screen showing credit, amount charged now, and new billing date.
See Plus Tutorial 4, Plus Tutorial 5, and Plus Tutorial 6 for the full setup guides.
Pro-rata Billing — What the Customer Sees
This section applies when the store’s Pro-rata billing (monthly) setting is On (the default). If you switch it Off (anniversary billing), monthly customers are charged the full price on signup and there is no pro-rata box — they simply see the full recurring amount, renewing on the same calendar day each month. See Tutorial 8 → General Tab.
When a customer signs up for a monthly subscription mid-month, they are charged a pro-rated amount for the remaining days. The customer sees this explanation on their order in My Account > Orders:
Initial Payment (Pro-rata): R249.50
Recurring Amount: R499.00 / monthYou were charged a pro-rated amount for the remaining days of this month. Future payments will be the full recurring amount.
This message appears in a styled info box below the product name in the order details.
Screenshot 18: The pro-rata billing information displayed on an order in My Account (showing initial amount vs recurring amount).
Summary: What Your Customers Experience
| Stage | What They See |
|---|---|
| Product page | Price with billing period, “Subscribe Now” button |
| Cart | Subscription total, billing frequency |
| Checkout | PayFast payment method, redirect notice, “Proceed to PayFast” button |
| PayFast | Secure card entry page (hosted by PayFast) |
| Order confirmation | Standard WooCommerce thank you page |
| My Account | “Subscriptions” menu item in sidebar |
| Subscriptions list | Table of all subscriptions with status, amount, next payment |
| Subscription details | Full details, items, payment history, billing address |
| Updating the card (v2.7.26) | A R5.00 card registration at PayFast, approved with the bank’s OTP and credited in full to the next invoice — the next renewal uses the new card |
| Cancellation | Cancel button with confirmation and access-until-end-of-period messaging |
| Plus lifecycle (v2.7.0, opt-in) | Refund on cancellation, retention survey, pause/resume, immediate pro-rated upgrades |
What’s Next?
You now understand the complete customer journey. The next tutorial covers how invoices are generated and delivered.
Up next: Tutorial 7: Invoicing — Invoice generation, PDF attachments, and email delivery.
Quick Checklist
- [ ] Verified subscription product page shows correct price and billing period
- [ ] Verified “Subscribe Now” button appears on product page
- [ ] Verified annual discount messaging displays correctly (if applicable)
- [ ] Tested full checkout flow through PayFast (sandbox)
- [ ] Verified “Subscriptions” appears in customer My Account menu
- [ ] Verified subscriptions list shows correct columns and data
- [ ] Verified subscription detail view shows all sections
- [ ] Verified customer can cancel their own subscription
- [ ] Verified Update Card runs the R5.00 card registration, the new card is stored and the R5.00 credit is booked (v2.7.26), and the card it replaced is cancelled in PayFast’s Tokenization list (v2.8.8)
- [ ] Confirmed PayFast Credit Card → Minimum amount is R5.00 (PayFast dashboard → Settings → Payment Methods) (v2.7.26)
- [ ] Verified pro-rata messaging appears on mid-month orders (if applicable)
- [ ] (Plus, if enabled) Verified the cancellation refund amount and 24-hour access-end message
- [ ] (Plus, if enabled) Verified the retention survey appears and the reason reaches your inbox
- [ ] (Plus, if enabled) Verified Pause / Resume shifts the next payment date by the paused duration
- [ ] (Plus, if enabled) Verified the immediate-upgrade confirmation screen shows credit, charge, and new billing date
Need Help?
- Email: [email protected]
- Support Hours: Monday to Thursday, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM (SAST)
Friday, 09:00 AM – 12:00 PM (SAST) - Website: cyberdummies.co.za/recurr
This is Part 6 of the ReCurr Tutorial Series. All tutorials are available at cyberdummies.co.za/recurr.
| Tutorial | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1. Getting Started | Install, activate, and initial configuration |
| 2. Creating Subscription Products | Billing periods, pricing, and discounts |
| 3. Configuring PayFast | Gateway credentials, sandbox vs live, ITN setup |
| 4. Managing Subscriptions | Admin dashboard, status management, details |
| 5. Manual EFT Subscriptions | Corporate clients paying via bank transfer |
| 6. Customer Experience | Checkout flow and My Account subscription management (you are here) |
| 7. Invoicing | Invoice generation, PDF attachments, email delivery |
| 8. Settings Reference | Complete reference of all available settings |
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