Shop systems are optimised for one-time transactions, and they struggle when it comes to handling the specific needs of subscription businesses dealing with physical products.

circuly exists to overcome the limitations and provide subscription businesses for physical products a solution they can use to launch, manage & scale their subscription business. 

And part of the setup of how circuly works is the circuly white-label checkout. 

Why does the circuly white-label checkout exist

We’ll cover the topic in depth in this article but short answer as to why circuly's white-label checkout exists is because simply put shop system are not made for the recurring nature of a subscription business and for recurring events. 

Challenges with traditional shop system checkouts for subscription models

Traditional shop system checkouts are primarily designed for one-time transactions, not recurring subscriptions. Shop systems struggle with the complexities of managing recurring billing, subscription products, mixed baskets (combining subscription and one-time purchase items) and combining different types of subscriptions (product, consumable & digital subscriptions). These limitations can cause inefficiencies and a fragmented customer journey leaving you to rely on workaround to make you idle customer journey work. 

• Inability to handle recurring billing: Shop systems are not built to manage recurring payments and subscription billing schedules, which can result in manual tracking and errors. Many businesses have reported that they initially get started with spreedsheets to maintain an overview of when to charge the recurring payments.
  
  
• Struggles with subscription products: Shop systems are optimised for one-time purchases and do not support subscription-specific products, which can cause confusion and inefficiencies in the order process.
  
  
• Limited Support for Mixed Baskets: Combining subscription products with one-time purchase items in a single transaction is often not possible, creating a fragmented experience for customers.
  
  
• Difficulty Combining Different Subscription Types: Subscription businesses often offer multiple types of subscriptions, such as physical products, consumables, and digital services. Shop systems typically cannot manage these diverse offerings within one order.
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• Workarounds Impacting Customer Experience: Due to the limitations of shop systems, businesses are often forced to rely on workarounds, leading to a fragmented and inconsistent customer journey that can negatively impact satisfaction and conversion rates.

Features of circuly’s White-Label Checkout

circuly’s white-label checkout is designed to meet the specific needs of subscription-based businesses. Here are some of its key features:

• Mixed basket support: circuly enables you to offer mixed baskets that combine subscription products and one-time purchases in the same transaction. This allows your customers to select a variety of products without the need for separate orders, improving the overall shopping experience.
• Combining different types of subscriptions: You can manage and combine multiple types of subscriptions, such as physical products, consumables, and digital services in one order. This flexibility is perfect for businesses offering diverse subscription models, like coffee machines (product), coffee beans (consumable), and maintenance (digital).
• Fraud prevention: circuly incorporates built-in fraud prevention features, including credit check integrations (e.g., CRIF), cart limits to prevent suspiciously large orders, and voucher code validation, helping protect your business from fraudulent activities.
• Stock checks: circuly performs stock checks during checkout to ensure that products are available for subscription. This adds an extra layer of stock verification, ensuring that inventory is accurate before the subscription is confirmed.
• Customisable checkout fields: You can customise checkout fields to capture the specific information needed for your subscription model, such as subscription preferences or additional product options, ensuring a tailored experience for your customers.
  
• Delivery and pick-up date selection: Customers can select a delivery or pick-up date, which is useful for businesses that manage scheduled deliveries or need to coordinate precise shipping timelines.
• Geolocation and address autofill: Using Google Places, circuly’s checkout automatically fills in customer address details, improving accuracy and reducing errors during the checkout process.
• VAT management: circuly handles VAT for B2B customers, ensuring that tax calculations are automatically adjusted based on the customer's status and location.
• Location-based restrictions: You can limit the checkout to specific countries or regions, ensuring that customers from non-served areas cannot complete orders, helping you manage your service area efficiently.

‍Understanding circuly’s role & how it’s set up

In the next section, we’ll dive into how circuly is integrated with your existing systems and explain the key steps in setting up your subscription model.

The "Subscribe Now" button leads to the circuly Checkout
When a customer selects a subscription product on your website, the "Subscribe Now" button directs them to circuly’s White-Label Checkout page. This seamless integration ensures that the customer journey flows naturally from product selection to checkout without any interruptions.

The checkout is hosted on your sub-domain
circuly’s checkout is hosted on your own sub-domain (e.g., checkout.yourcompany.com), providing a consistent branded experience. This keeps the checkout process aligned with your brand, creating a seamless and professional look and feel for your customers.

Creating a subscription order
Once the customer enters their details and confirms the subscription, circuly creates a unified subscription order by combining:

• Customer Data: Name, address, email.
• Payment data: payment method. 
• Product Data: Subscription product details like price, quantity, SKU, etc.
• Subscription Terms: Duration, frequency, renewal preferences, etc.
  
  

All this data is captured in a single order, ensuring automated recurring payments accurate tracking, and simplified management. Any necessary adjustments (such as a delayed delivery or a change in subscription terms) are managed without the need for separate orders, unlike traditional eCommerce systems.