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admin_menu:orders:manage_recurring_billing:view_recurring_billing:start

View Recurring Billing

This page allows you to view more details about a specific recurring billing.

Recurring Details for Recurring Billing ...

Recurring Details

This section displays the information about the recurring billing. There may be slightly different information displayed, depending on what type of item the recurring billing is for.

Internal ID

This is how the recurring billing is identified within the recurring billing system in the software.

ID for Gateway

There may be an ID specific to the payment gateway. Instead of ID for Gateway, Gateway would be replaced with whatever payment gateway is used for this recurring billing. In the screenshot above for example, the payment gateway used is Paypal, so it shows "ID for Paypal".

This is the ID that is used to identify the recurring billing in the payment gateway's system. It is also sometimes referred to as the recurring billing's secondary ID1).

User

This is the main user the recurring billing is for. This can sometimes be blank, depending on the order item type, it is possible to have a custom order item type that does not have a specific user, but that is not typical.

First Billing Date

This is the date that the first recurring billing went through.

Note that some payment gateways can have the recurring billing start at some point in the future, so for those it is possible to have a recurring billing that has not had a first bill yet. A typical scenario for this is when a user renews a subscription that still has some time left in it, if the payment gateway allows it, the recurring billing start date may not start until the current subscription runs out. If the payment gateway does not allow for the recurring billing to start in the future (such as Paypal payment gateway), the recurring billing will start on the same date that it was placed.

Recurring Billing Paid Until

This is how long the recurring billing is currently paid until. It typically will coincide with when the next payment is due on the recurring billing.

Payment Gateway Used

This is the payment gateway that was used for the recurring billing.

ID in Payment Gateway

It lists the payment gateway specific ID a second time, right below the payment gateway used, just in case you missed it the first time. See ID for Gateway

Price Details

This will show how much is billed and how often it is billed, known as the "cost per cycle" and the "cycle duration" respectively.

Last Known Status

Since the automatic payments are processed by the payment gateway, not directly through the Geo website, we can only show what the status on the recurring billing was the last time the payment gateway sent a recurring signal, or the last time the software contacted the payment gateway to update the status, depending on how the specific payment gateway works.

This can be Active to indicate a recurring billing that is still paid on and has not been canceled. Or it can be Canceled if user has not paid or if it has been canceled by the user or the site administrator. Other statuses are possible, and are specific to each payment gateway, any status other than active or canceled is treated as if it were pending by the overall system.

Order

This is the order ID for the order the recurring billing was first created, with a link to the details of the order, if the order info is still available.

Note that the recurring billing can far out-last the original order it was placed in, since order data is typically removed after a certain amount of time. It is normal for recurring billings that have been going on for a while to not have an order, or for the order details to not be available anymore.

Invoice for First Payment

This is the invoice ID for the first payment made on the recurring billing, with a link to the invoice details if available.

Note that like with the order data, the recurring billing can far out-last the original invoice, since invoice data is typically removed after a certain amount of time. It is normal for recurring billings that have been going on for a while to not have an invoice, or for the invoice details to not be available.

Item Type

The item type that this recurring billing is paying for, typically this will be some sort of subscription service, such as the built-in subscription, or a Storefront subscription.

Gateway Specific Info

Depending on the payment gateway used, there may be additional information displayed specific for that payment gateway, or there may be no addition info. In the case of Paypal, it will display the Paypal Subscription ID to make it easy to find the associated subscription in the Paypal site.

Order Item Type Specific Info

There can also be information specific to a certain order item type displayed, but depends on the order item type. Subscriptions and Storefront Subscriptions do not display any order item type specific information, but custom order items might depending on the item.

Transactions & Payment Signals Received

Recurring Transactions

Not all Gateways will generate transactions

As it mentions in the admin section, not all payment gateways will generate recurring billing transactions listed below each time a payment is made. There are 2 ways a recurring billing can be kept updated:

  • Signal Received - Transaction Generated - The payment gateway sends a signal to your site, processed by the software, every time a payment is made, when the status changes, or when the recurring billing is canceled. If the payment gateway works using these types of signals, then every time such a signal is received by the software, it will generate a transaction that can be viewed in the admin. Of the current built-in payment gateways that have recurring billing capabilities, both Paypal and Authorize.net2) work this way.
  • Contact Gateway - NO Transaction Generated - Every time the next bill is due for the recurring billing, the payment gateway processor in the software contacts the payment gateway to check the status of the recurring billing. These types of payment gateways typically do not generate a transaction each time since it does not signify when a payment has been made, but merely when the status was checked for the recurring billing. Of the current built-in payment gateways that have recurring billing capabilities, Paypal Pro works this way.

It is possible for a payment gateway to work both of the ways listed above, such a payment gateway should be able to generate a transaction for when signals are received. But that is not typical, and currently no built-in payment gateway is capable of using either method for updating the status of the recurring billing from cycle to cycle.

Description

This is the description of the transaction or payment signal, typically it will be language text that can be edited in the admin on the Invoice Details page, since transactions are viewable to the client.

Date

This is the date that the transaction took place, or that the payment signal was received.

Type

For recurring billing transactions and signals, this should always be "(payment)". In 4.1.2 this column will be removed as it does not apply to recurring billing transactions or signals.

Status

This will be Valid3) for normal signals or transactions, or Inactive / Not Valid4) for transactions or signals that were created but never marked as active.

Amount

If applicable, this is the dollar amount for the transaction or signal received.

1)
Developers note that this is the secondaryId within the payment gateway's code.
2)
Note that the Authorize.net payment gateway did not properly generate transactions when a signal was received, until Geo version 4.1.2
3)
Or Approved in versions before 4.1.2
4)
Or Not Received in versions before 4.1.2
admin_menu/orders/manage_recurring_billing/view_recurring_billing/start.txt · Last modified: 2014/09/25 16:55 (external edit)