Subscriptions Group Item

A Subscription is a periodical, such as a magazine or newsletter, that a customer usually pays for in advance for a certain number of issues. When you enter information about the subscription and how it will be distributed for the first time, you will create a Subscription Profile that shows details for the subscription including subscription name, subscription description, ISSN number, cost, and number of issues published per year.

Subscriptions in NetForum can also have price attributes applied much like other Merchandise for both member and non-member pricing structures. Your organization will be able to track Business Publication Audit (BPA) information if needed as well as track the subscriptions themselves by Issue or Subscribers. Finally, NetForum provides many options in selling your subscriptions as well through packaging them with Membership sales, through online sales, or even through single issues and backorders if a customer desires and you choose to provide them that option.

Adding a Subscription

To begin tracking and managing your organization's subscriptions, your first step is to add each subscription to NetForum through the Subscription menu. Note that fields in bold in NetForum are required fields. You will not be able to save your subscription until these fields are complete.

To add a new subscription to netFORUM, follow these steps:

Subscription Information Section

Select the Subscriptions tab.
On the Group Item menu, click Subscriptions.
Select Add Subscription from the drop-down menu. The Add Subscription page displays. Begin by filling out the Subscription Information section first.
Product Code: The product code is often an abbreviated version of your subscription's name. Product code is required.
Product Name: The product name is the name of your subscription. Keep in mind it will also be the label on your Fulfillment Reports. Product name is required.
Product Description: Use the description field to add more detailed information about the subscription if desired. This field is optional.
Category and Product Format: These drop-down fields are optional and are used for filtering and better control of your subscriptions. For example, you can choose to create member-only, genre, and conference item categories in your category drop-down field. This would then allow you to create a subscription that you place in the conference item or genre category for much more control over your subscriptions and how you search for them. For more information on how to set up categories and formats in these drop-down menus, view the Inventory Setup page which is where these are defined for subscriptions.
Price/Rate: Enter the price you plan to charge for the subscription. Note this is the price for the entire subscription not per issue (Price per Issue is set-up later when defining your Issues). This field is required.
Start Date and End Date: Start and end dates are also optional. These dates should be considered the active product dates for your subscription. In other words, you may have a Journal you are creating, for example, that may not be ready for sale until a specific Start Date. However, you want to make sure you have it set-up and ready within NetForum. For this reason, you add the Subscription as you normally would and specify the Start Date for the Journal (Subscription) for in the future for when it will actually be ready for sale. End date works in much the same manner. Suppose your Journal's Second Edition will occur at some date in the future and, at that time, you want to discontinue the sale of your First Edition. You may specify the End Date of your current Subscription or Journal for that purpose. Note that these dates will initially also relate to how long your Subscription will be obtainable for the specific price you just entered in the previous Price/Rate field in that the same dates will also be set on the Issues/Prices tab as if you were setting Price Attributes. However, once you set your actual price attributes (if desired), they will not be modified as well.
- Allow Unpaid Orders - Selecting this check box will enable fulfillment of the subscription even if the invoice has not yet been paid in full. For more information on how this works, view the topic on the Allow Unpaid Orders Flag.
- Taxable Flag - If your subscription is taxable, select this check box. Please note that if you do not select this check box, NetForum will not allow any taxes at all to be applied to this subscription, not even deferrals. You are not determining how much tax is applied here, just that it can be in the future..
- Shippable - Enables the subscription to be shipped (and tracked) and the creation of fulfillment reports.
- Allow Partial Shipmnts - Selecting this check box will allow partial shipments of your subscriptions when needed. For example, if your organization sells encyclopedias and set A-F is available but not G-L, having this selected allows the shipment of set A-F while the rest are on backorder. Useful when your subscriptions are part of a Membership Kit for example.
Sell Online: Select this check box if you want your subscription available for sale on your Website. (Selecting this check box also allows you to add a note for the online abstract summary and add a thumbnail graphic of the subscription cover that will show on eWeb.)
- Post to Web Date: The date you want the subscription to appear online (instead of immediately).
- Remove: The date you want the subscription removed from the Web.
- New Until: The date that the New! icon should be removed from the Subscription (thereby promoting it).
ISSN Number: International Standard Serial Number which identifies periodicals worldwide, whether in printed form or other media (including online).
Track BPA: Selecting this check box will require that Business Publication Audit data be entered about the subscriber upon purchase of the subscription such as job title, role, and industry for those subscriptions that desire it for marketing and advertising purposes. Note that BPA classification data must be set-up in Subscriptions Setup before this will work correctly. For a complete explanation of BPA and set-up, see Business Publication Audit (BPA) Tracking
Back Issues: Select this check box if you will allow back issues to be purchased (those issues that are past the fulfillment/issue date set below).
Issues Per Year: Numeric value that specifies how many issues your subscription will distribute per year. This is a require field.
Grace Issues: The number of issues a subscriber will receive (beyond the expire date of the subscription without renewing) before the subscription will terminate.
Term Length: Defines the terms length of the subscription. For example, if the subscription is a one year subscriptions, two year subscription, etc.
Send to All Members: Select this check box if this subscription is part of a membership benefit to be sent to all members. This check box is for information purposes only has no actual baseline functionality at this point.
Track by Issue vs. Calendar/Anniversary-Based Subscriptions: Your subscription will need to be set-up and tracked either through calendar dates or by each Issue as it is fulfilled and distributed. If you track through calendar dates, it is very similar to tracking Memberships through calendar or anniversaries in that each subscription renews yearly (or through whichever term length you set) on the calendar date the subscription was activated (i.e., anniversary date) or on the calendar date you set the subscription cycle for (i.e., calendar year subscriptions). Track by Issue, conversely, renews when all the Issues have been distributed rather than through a set of dates on the calendar. Issue distribution is determined through the fulfillment dates set-up when you define the issues themselves. Depending upon which check box you select here, other check box options and fields become available or are disabled. Select Track by Issue to track your subscription by each Issue you distribute. Select Calendar Based if you want to set a calendar-based cycle (yearly, quarterly, etc. based on the term length field above) for your subscription and also fill in the fields below. If you want the subscription to be Anniversary based and dependent upon when the Subscriber subscribes to your Subscription, leave both check boxes blank and fill in the fields below as appropriate.
- Start Day: This field becomes required if you choose to use a calendar-based subscription. It is disabled if you track by issue. It is similar to tracking memberships by calendar in that it is a numeric value that specifies the day a new subscription is activated. For example, a 01 here states that new subscriptions are always activated on the 1st day of the month.
- Start Month: This field becomes required if you choose to use a calendar-based subscription. It is disabled if you track by issue. It is similar to tracking memberships by calendar in that it is a numeric value that specifies the start month your subscriptions run on. For example, a 01 here specifies that your cycle begins in January.
- Sell Next Year After Month: This field specifies after what month you should begin selling next year's subscription orders. This is an optional field. For example, if you enter a 10 here, this means that all subscriptions sold after October will actually be orders for the next year's periodical. This field is disabled for track by issue.
- Sell Sub for Next Year After Day: This field is used in conjunction with the Sell Next Year After Month field. To ensure that the entire month of October has occurred, for example, a 31 would be entered in this field. This means that all subs sold after 10/31 - in other words, beginning November 1st, will be orders for the next year's periodical.
Send Via section: Once you have decided how you will distribute your subscription, you must decide upon your delivery method. Much like all inventory within NetForum, several delivery options exist through a series of check boxes. You may select however many options you plan to have available for delivery of your subscription including:
- mail
- email
- fax
- microfiche
- web
- download url
- days available - used in conjunction with the download url you specify if you want your subscriptions to only be available for certain timeframes.
To see the effects of tracking by issue vs. tracking by calendar/anniversary-based subscriptions see the section on Subscription Tracking Methods. Otherwise, continue to the next section, the G/L Accounts and Inventory Section and continue entering your subscription.

G/L Accounts and Inventory Section

The next section on the Add Subscription form is the G/L Accounts and Inventory Section. Once you enter enough information about your subscription that tells NetForum how to distribute and track it, you need to now specify how NetForum will cost it within the Accounting module once it has been subscribed to by your customers. This is accomplished through the G/L Accounts and Inventory Section. Most of the drop-down menus are bold in this section, you will note, which means they are also required. However, if you have not used the Accounting module to setup your General Ledger accounts first, you will be unable to complete this section.

Business Unit: This drop-down will contain the business units linked to your Association that contain your G/L Accounts. If you manage more than one entity, you should select which entity this subscription will be sold and tracked under. You will notice that, once you select your business units, the default accounts selected for it will be automatically populated for you. However, you can change those accounts should you wish to.
Project: For organizations that are concerned with time and materials tracking, the project drop-down is available. Project codes are set-up through your business unit under the G/L Accounts tab on the projects child form.
A/R Account: Drop-down used to designate your accounts receivable account.
Revenue Account: Drop-down used to designate your revenue account.
Liability Account: Drop-down used to designate your liability account.
Return Account: Drop-down used to designate your returns account.
Write Off Account: Drop-down used to designate your write off account.
Checkboxes in the G/L Accounts section:
- Split revenue among multiple accounts: To split revenue, select the split revenue among multiple accounts checkbox. If revenue is split, the two accounts will need to be set-up on the Price Profile. (Go to the Merchandise Profile, price child form and click the Goto arrow to go to the Price Profile) .
- Deferred: To defer revenue, select the deferred checkbox and then select the deferred revenue account. You will also have the option of entering a frequency of when the amount should be recognized.
- Subscriptions can be prorated. Prorating a subscription works exactly as it does for memberships in that you can choose to prorate it on a semi-annual, quarterly, or monthly basis; choose the start period; and then decide when to start prorating the subscription (i.e., in the first or second year of the subscription).

Note: You will only be able to prorate a subscription if it is a calendar-based subscription and the calendar based checkbox is selected. As a result, you will not be able to prorate a subscription if the track by issue checkbox is selected.

Price Control Attributes Section

To complete adding a subscription to NetForum, you must specify the price control attributes, located on the bottom of the Add Subscription form. Price control attributes enable you to specify, for example, if the price assigned is a members-only price or for all who subscribe. You can further specify if the price available is for an organization versus an individual.

Member: Use the Member drop-down field if you want to specify that the price you have specified should only be available to members of your organization. Selecting Non-Member means that the price is a non-member price while leaving the drop-down blank means that the price specified will be available to both.
Member Type: The Member Type drop-down becomes available when you select Member in the Member drop-down field. If you want your merchandise price to be available to only certain member types, you specify which specific types with this drop-down. Note that when you select a member type, other drop-downs then become available that allow you specify the status of your member (Active, Pending, etc.) and specific Chapter as well, if desired.
Customer Type: The Customer Type field enables you to specify if the customer purchasing the item is an Individual, an Organization, or a Chapter. If you leave this field blank, all customer types will be able to purchase the item. Note that if you specify a customer type, other drop-downs then become available that allow you to further define specific customer types such as Individual and Organization type.
Default Rate: When this checkbox is selected, no member controls will be in effect for a product even if they have been previously set. For example, you may set a price for your product and decide that it is a members-only product. At some point, you may then decide to offer the same product for sale to non-members but only for a small window of time. You may accomplish this by setting up an entirely new price attribute, or by quickly selecting this checkbox on the current attribute which turns off all member controls and allows non-members to purchase the product. This is a quick way to disable previously defined pricing structures and also useful if you want to demonstrate on your Website the difference between a member-price and a non-member price (to encourage joining). You must remember to deselect the box when you want your members-only pricing structures to be back in effect however. If you want more permanent member and customer pricing structures to manipulate, it is best to set them up through the price profile screen.
Location: Finally, use the location attributes section to further refine your pricing to location if you desire. You may select as broad a location as region to as narrow as zip code should you choose.
Click the Save button to save your changes and enter your merchandise into inventory.

Finding a Subscription

Finding a Subscription that has been entered into the NetForum database is easily accomplished. The Find function is universal throughout NetForum.

Finding records within the Subscription module follows the same format and function. You may search by the following:

Subscription Name
Start Month
Start Day
Start Next Month If Sold After
Send To All Members Flag
ISSN Number
Keyword
End Date
Track by Issue Flag

The Advanced View checkbox allows you to conduct boolean searches to broaden and narrow your search as needed. If you are uncertain with what you are looking for, use the NetForum wildcard character, the percent sign (%) to help you with your search.

Managing Subscription Records

Navigating to the Subscription Profile

The Subscription Profile is displayed once you have entered a new Subscription into the netFORUM application. If you want to navigate to and view a specific profile page:

Click on the Subscription module from the Module Menu drop-down.

On the Group Item menu, click Subscriptions. You can then choose to List Subscription or to Find Subscription items.

Depending upon which Subscription you choose, its Subscription Profile will display.

The Subscription Profile

The Subscription Profile details the following information about your subscription:

product name
product category
product format
issn number
start date/end date

The start date and end date for the subscription will also display on the subscription terms child form available on the invoice profile and the invoice detail profile for the subscription.

For more information on what each of these fields do, view the Adding a Subscription section above. Also detailed on the Subscription Profile are the distribution methods you have selected for your periodical. For example, print (mail) versus online. You are able to tell at a glance how your subscription will be tracked, either through calendar or anniversary based dates, or through tracking the issues themselves. Tracking your Subscription and the different methods is discussed in more detail below in the Subscription Tracking Methods section.

Finally, your Subscription has several tabs, child forms, and action buttons that are available and enable you to add and track your issues for your Subscriptions. Those are discussed in more detail below.

The issues button on the Subscription Profile allows you to generate a list of subscription issues from the Subscription Profile page.

The Subscription Profile has child forms that allow you to add additional details about the subscription

The subscription prices child form allows you to add the subscription price and price attributes.
The subscription issues child form allows you to add the subscription issues.
The complementary products child for allows you to add complementary subscriptions.
The supplementary products child form allows you to add supplementary subscriptions.
The add shipping region child form allows you to add a shipping price for the various shipping regions.
The inventory items child form allows you to add the warehouse, warehouse location, and select whether or not this is the primary warehouse location.
The vendor child form allows you to add vendor invoice terms, production lead time, and estimated unit cost for a product.

The child forms allow you to add additional prices, add a special issue, affiliate a product with the subscription, add subscription issues to the warehouse inventory, and add a subscription vendor. The keywords link allows you to enter keywords for searching on eWeb.

From the Subscription Profile, price child form, you can add additional prices for the subscription, for example, a student rate, member rate, or non-member rate. You can also add complementary subscriptions (multiple subscriptions that can be combined into one subscription) or supplementary subscriptions (subscriptions that can be added to the primary subscription).

The Vendor Profile allows you to associate the publication with a vendor.
The Warehouse Profile allows you to add products (from the vendor) to the warehouse inventory.
The Purchase Order Profile allows you to record the quantity received at the warehouse and also allows you to reorder inventory.

Individuals or organizations purchase the subscription (or subscription issues) through Centralized Order Entry.

After the subscriptions are purchased, you will be able to fulfill the subscriptions through the subscription fulfillment process. (See Fulfilling Subscriptions)

Subscription Tracking Methods

When you add a new subscription, you must decide how you will track your Subscriptions for Subscribers so you will know how (and when) to re-subscribe your customers. NetForum offers three different tracking methods for your Subscriptions, each with different set-up and tracking implications that are discussed below:

Calendar-based tracking
Anniversary-based tracking
Track-By-Issue

Calendar-Based Subscriptions

A calendar-based Subscription is one that is set for a specific term length (such as a yearly Subscription) and based on the calendar dates you set. For example, a yearly subscription that runs January through December. To make your Subscription a calendar-based Subscription you must perform the following steps:

Select the calendar based check box
Specify a Start Month (A numerical value of 1 equals January, 2 equals February, and so forth)

The rest of the values are optional when setting up this specific type however sell next year after month and sell next year after day are advised.

In the example above, the subscription example used a yearly term and set-up the subscription to run from January through December.

Anniversary-Based Subscriptions

An anniversary-based is similar to a calendar-based subscription in that it runs for the term-length defined (such as a yearly subscription) only, instead of a defined set of calendar dates, it runs based upon the date the member subscribes, similar to an anniversary membership. For example, if a member subscribes to a yearly subscription in June, the subscription would run for one year until the next May. To make your Subscription an anniversary-based Subscription you must leave both the calendar-based check box and track by issue check box unchecked

The rest of the values are optional when setting up this specific type however start next month after day is advised.

Track by Issue Subscriptions

A track by issue subscription is not tracked by a defined set of dates for the subscription itself but, rather, by the issues within the subscription and when they are fulfilled. The issues have fulfillment dates when they are set-up. There is a bit more set-up required when you want to create a track by issue subscription. To make your Subscription a track by issue Subscription you must select the track by issue check box.

The rest of the values are optional when setting up this specific type. See the Adding a Subscription section for more details.

However, after you have saved your Subscription, there is a bit more set-up involved when you are adding your Issues for your Subscription. You must also perform the following steps:

When adding a new Issue to your Subscription, make sure each of your issues are numbered. This is not a required field however it is required if you plan to track by issue for fulfillment and tracking to work correctly.

Once all of your issues and corresponding issue numbers have been added on the subscription issues child form, click the Edit button on the Action Bar. You must also specify the current issue and Subscriber start Issue once you have all of your Issues in place. You are now ready to begin tracking by issue.

When a customer subscribes to a track by issue subscription, instead of dates being noted in the Subscriber Profile, the number of issues that have been fulfilled is noted instead with the number of issues remaining in the Subscription also noted. Further, the start issue that you designated when you edited the Subscription profile is also noted.

Finally, when you fulfill a track by issue Subscription, you have the ability to update the start issue and current issue fields. You may want the start issue to always be issue one, for example. Or you may want a new subscriber to always obtain the latest issue. When you choose to update those fields, they will be reflected on the Subscription Profile.

Issues/Prices Tab

The Issues/Prices Tab is where you keep track of what you are charging for your subscription and the individual Issues of your Subscription. The tab contains two child forms; the subscription prices child form and the subscription issues child form where both are entered. Both are discussed in more detail below.

Subscription Prices Child Form

Each time you enter a price when adding a Subscription, it will appear on the subscription prices child form. For example, in the screenshot above, the WD Member Rate price is the price originally set when adding the Writer's Digest subscription used in the example for this article. However, you may want to add various prices for your subscriptions other than simply a member rate. You may want to add a rate for non-members to incite them to join your Association. Or, for example, you may want to add a special rate for students. This is accomplished by clicking the Add Record button on the subscription prices child form.

To Add a Subscription Price:

Go to the Subscription Profile.
On the Subscription Profile page, on the subscription price child form, click add. The Add - Subscription Price window displays.
Enter a price lookup code and display name that will display in eWeb.
Enter the new price.
Enter a minimum or maximum quantity that must be purchased to obtain this price (if applicable).
Enter the subscription term length (for example, 1 year or 2 years).
Select G/L account information.
Select member or non-member.
Select a customer type.
Select a source code.
To select the default rate, click the default rate check box.
Click the allow sync flag check box if this subscription is to be linked with a National or Chapter membership. When a subscription is linked to a membership, renewal dates are tied to the membership dates.
Click Save. For detailed information on price attributes and how to manage them, view the Adding a Price topic.

Subscription Issues Child Form

Once you have entered the basic attributes of your Subscription you must set-up your individual Issues that will be part of that Subscription. This can be accomplished through the Issues icon on the Subscription Profile Actions Bar which is discussed below or through the subscription issues child form as seen in the screenshot above. Notice that the child form details the Volume and Issue Number (if specified) as well as the Start and End date. In the example used above, issues are fulfilled quarterly. To add a new issue, click the Add Record button.

The following information is required:

Price/Rate - This is the individual issue price/rate versus the subscription price/rate
Issue Start/End Date - How long the Issue should be available for sale. This is normally specifying the 'current' Issue.
Fulfillment Start/End Date - How long the Issue should be available for fulfillment (this cannot extend beyond the Issue End Date). The fulfillment date is when the Subscription is mailed. The date is usually earlier than the Issue start and end dates. The publication is dated for the future so that the date is still current when the customer receives the publication in the mail.
G/L Accounts - You must specify which Accounts will be affected upon the sale of this Issue in the G/L Accounts section.

Note: you do not have to specify a product code and/or name for your Issue however it will be exceptionally hard to track it if you do not so it is not advised.

All other fields are optional and are similar to when you add the Subscription itself. You may specify if the Issue is taxable or available online. You may specify distribution options such as via e-mail or online, for example. You may also choose to track advertising dates and deadlines. And, finally, you may specify pricing attributes through the Price Control Attributes Section.

Issues can be downloadable similar to downloadable products/merchandise. To do so, click the Browse button and upload the Issue that your customers can download and then specify how many days available it should be downloadable. If you want to dictate that only a certain number of downloads can be utilized for the issue, you may do so in the number of downloads field.

Once you have uploaded your Issue as a downloadable product, it will be present under the subscription issues child form with the label file to download. Should you need to replace it, you may click the red 'X' to do so.

One final item of note is the issue number field. While not required, it is best to enter this field if you plan to track by issue as opposed to calendar-based or anniversary-based tracking. If you do not, you will receive an error during fulfillment.

When you have your Issue ready, click the Save button to save your Issue. It will appear in the subscription issues child form.

Tracking Advertising Deadlines

As noted previously, you can track the advertising deadlines for each of your Subscription Issues.

You must complete the ad sales close date and ad materials due date fields when adding each new Issue for your subscription. If you do not have this information when you first add your Issue or decide to track this information later, you can also add this information at a later date by completing the following steps:

To enter advertising deadlines:

On the subscription issues child form, click the green Goto arrow beside the Issue that you want to add advertising deadlines to.
Go to the Edit - Subscription Information window, by clicking the Edit button where you can add the subscription issue details.
In the ad sales close date field, enter the Ad Closing Date.
In the ad materials due date field, enter the Electronic Materials Due Date.
Click Save.

Generating Multiple Issues Through the Subscription Action Bar

You can add one Issue to your Subscription at a time through the subscription issues child form as just described above. If you have multiple issues to add, however, it may be more efficient to use the Issues icon located on the Subscriptions Actions Bar. This will enable you to generate multiple Issues at once for your Subscription.

When you click the Issues icon on the Actions Bar, the Add Product/Subscription Issues window appears. Before you begin generating multiple Issues, you must first specify general information to include to identify your Issues by filling in the fields for one Issue similar to when you added one Issue on the subscription issues child form. This includes:

Product Code/Name
Issue Number
Issue Start/End Date
Issue Fulfillment Dates
Price Per Issue
G/L Account Information
Pricing Attributes

A note on Ad dates: If you plan to track Advertising close and material due dates for your Issues, note that when you enter multiple subscriptions, each one is assigned the same date entered on this form since only one field is available. You must go back to each issue and edit their individual dates after you complete the form.

When you have entered the data for each Issue, click the Issues button on the form itself. You will notice that multiple Issues now generate with the data you specified and have incremented by the values you specified on your Subscription set-up. For example, if you specified that your Subscription should have 10 Issues per year then 10 Issues will generate. If, after your Issues have generated, you want to add another Issue, such as a special Issue, you may do so but clicking on the Add Record button.

When you are satisfied with your Issue data, click the Save button. You will notice that each Issue entered now appears on the subscription issues child form along with any single Issues that you have added previously.

Subscription Proration Schedule Child Form

Subscriptions can be prorated. Just as with memberships, the subscription must be calendar-based for it to be prorated. The image below details a new child form that has been added with the 2010 build to support this new functionality; the subscription proration schedule child form which allows you to track how and when subscribers are billed for a prorated subscription based upon how you set-up the subscription proration.

For example, the subscription above was set up for 1st year proration, by quarter, to start in the 7th period or 3rd quarter. Note that beginning in the 7th month, proration begins and the billed percent is cut in half and the customer is only billed for 6 periods instead of an entire year. Then, exactly every quarter after that as specified (in this case period 10, the beginning of the 4th quarter), the percent billed is prorated again as specified.

This is illustrated in the image below when purchased through Centralized Order Entry (COE). The purchase date in this example is for the 7th period so the subscription has been prorated as set-up and will appear as a sale price. Note the start and end dates for this subscription and that the transaction date is within the prorated period used in the example. When the subscription revenue is processed, the accounting system uses the term date as the subscription start date, not the invoice date.

Affiliated Products Tab

The Affiliated Products tab on the Subscription Profile enables you to associate other products to the Subscription you are currently viewing just as when you add a new Merchandise product to Inventory.

For example, you can assign a complementary product, a substitute product, and a product that must be purchased first (a prerequisite product) to each of your Subscriptions. In the example above, the following products have been suggested as affiliated products:

A coffee mug is suggested as a complementary purchase when purchasing the Writer's Digest subscription
If the current subscription is not available, Technical Writing monthly is suggested as a substitute
No prerequisites have been named for this Subscription, though you could specify a Publication or different Subscription, for example.

To add new affiliated products, click the Add Record button. For more details on affiliated products, view the Merchandise Affiliated Product article.

Miscellaneous Tab

The Miscellaneous tab on the Subscription Profile enables you to view keywords and assign a shipping region to the Subscription you are currently viewing. If your Subscription is part of a Product Bundle you are also able to view the bundle.

Note in the example above that the keyword design has been assigned to the Writer's Digest sample Subscription. To add new keywords so that they appear on this child form, click the keywords icon on the Actions Bar.

When your Subscription is added to a Product Bundle, the bundle that it is part of appears on the bundle (component of) child form as demonstrated above. In the example, the Subscription is part of the NATW Sr. Membership Package bundle. This means that each time a customer purchases a Sr. Membership to the NATW Association, they are also given a yearly subscription.

Finally, if you want your Subscription to only ship to a certain region or regions, you may specify and add that region on the shipping region child form. In the example above, the carrier, price, and region(s) are defined. To add a new region, click the Add Record button.

Adding Your Subscription to eWeb

To make your Subscription available online, make sure that you select the sell online check box when adding a subscription and then specify the dates that you want to make it available if there is a time length involved. If you need to enable this later, you can always click the Edit button on the Actions Bar to specify online information at that time.

Once your Subscription is available online, you can also add some descriptive information about it as well by clicking on the Web Information icon, also located on the Actions Bar. This will prompt the Online Information window where you can also specify that your Subscription be available online as well as add more descriptive information about it and add a thumbnail if you wish.

If you are having trouble viewing your Subscription online, view the Configure a Product to Sell Online topic for troubleshooting tips.

Subscription Renewals

Renewing a Subscription is very similar to the Dues Renewal Process for Memberships. To access the Subscription Renewal Process, click on the Subscriptions Group Module and click Setup and Overview. Then select the Subscription Renewals link.

View the Subscription Renewal Process topic and Renewals Based on Transaction Date for complete step-by-step instructions on renewing subscriptions.

You can also click the Renew button on the Subscriber Profile to renew a subscription for a specific individual.

Copying Subscription Information

You can copy subscription information from one year to the next (to save data entry steps) using the copy subscription feature. All of the prices and price attributes for the previous subscription will be copied to the new subscription.

To copy a product including price information:

Select the Subscriptions module.
In the Subscriptions Group Items, select the Copy Subscription group item link. The Add - Copy Product page displays.
Click the Look-up button to select the Subscription you want to copy.
Enter a new product code and name for the copied Subscription.
Enter a new price if desired.
Enter the issues per year and grace issues (You will still need to enter Issues for your new Subscription as Issues are not copied).
Enter the term length for the new Subscription.
Enter the start date and month if the new Subscription is calendar or anniversary based.
Enter the new G/L Account information if it changes from the copied Subscription.
Click Save. You are given the option of adding BPA data and the new Subscription is added to the system.
Note: You will need to edit some of the existing information for the new subscription, for example the Issues and years.

Adding a Subscription Vendor

In NetForum, the Subscription Vendor is the publisher or printer and is part of the Inventory process. You must first add the vendor through CRM by adding a new organization, designate the new organization as a vendor, and then associate the Subscription with the vendor.

To Add a Vendor:

Select the Inventory module.
In the Vendor Group Item, select the Add Vendor group item link. The Add - Vendor page displays.
To enter the vendor's name, enter the first few letters of the vendor's name and click the Look-Up button . (You must Add an Organization profile record for the vendor in CRM before you can "add the vendor").
Click Save. Adding a vendor creates the Vendor Profile.

For complete steps on how to do this, view the Adding a Vendor topic.

Associating a Subscription with a Vendor

Once you have added a vendor publisher or printer, you must associate your subscription to that vendor. Associating a product with a vendor links the subscription with the vendor. You can associate a subscription with a vendor from the Vendor Profile. When you add the subscription, you are given the opportunity to add invoice payment terms, production lead time, and estimated unit cost for the product as well.

To add a vendor-supplied product:

Go to the Vendor Profile.
On the supplied products child form, click add. The Add - Vendor Product page displays.
Select a product.
Select the terms.
Enter the lead time needed to order the product.
Enter the estimated unit cost.
Click Save.

Allowing Back orders of a Subscription Issue

You can give customers the ability to order a Subscription Issue even though the Quantity on Hand at the Warehouse equals 0. You must first create the Issue and then edit the details for each Issue you want to enable back-ordering for.

To allow people to place a back order:

Go to the subscription issues child form and select the Issue that you want to allow back orders for.
Click the Edit button to edit the options for the Issue.
Select the allow back orders check box.
Click Save.

Ordering a Subscription Using Centralized Order Entry

Once your Subscription has been set-up within NetForum, you may begin to sell it on your Web site or use the Centralized Order Entry (COE) process in NetForum to sell Subscriptions yourself to individual customers or organizations. This process is described below. For more details on COE, visit the Centralized Order Entry page.

To Order Subscriptions Using Centralized Order Entry:

Go to the profile page of the customer (individual or organization) who needs a specific Subscription that you want to sell.
Click the Order Entry icon.
On the Centralized Order Entry | Order page, expand the Product Selector menu and select subscriptions.
The Centralized Order Entry - Subscriptions | Add Subscription window appears. In the subscription drop-down, specify whether or not you are searching for a Subscription or a Subscription Issue to order. You may also select a category type to search for in the category drop-down menu if you want to further narrow your search.
Enter a few letters of the name of the subscription you wish to purchase in the Look-Up field. After you have entered a few letters, click the LookUp button .
You may also click the Lookup button without entering any letters in the Look-Up field to view a complete list of subscriptions.
The LookUp button returns a list of subscriptions available in inventory. Select the subscription you want to order. Note the following fields are now automatically filled in for you:
- The full subscription name is now completed above the category drop-down you selected
- The product code acronym is displayed
- Sale price, quantity, and list price are assigned
- Because you are ordering this item directly from the customer's profile page, the name and shipping address are also automatically listed
You may modify the sale price and quantity fields as desired. However, if you modify the sale price of the item, you must specify the reason for overriding the original price in the override reason drop-down. If this drop-down is blank, it is because your Accounting department has not specified override reasons in their day-to-day workflows. This is accomplished in the Accounting module, under set-up. For more information on specifying price overrides, see the Price Override Reason topic.
Organizations may purchase subscriptions and then ship them to their individual members. The subscriber field will list the individual or organization that is receiving the subscription. The ship to field will default to the individual or organization listed in the subscriber field, however this can be modified. To ship the subscription to an individual other than who is listed in the subscriber field enter a few letters of the individual's name in the ship to field and click the LookUp button .
This will return a list of individuals that match your search criteria. Click the name of the individual you wish to ship this subscription to. Their name will now populate the ship to field.
The ship to address drop-down menu will list the available addresses for both the customer listed in the subscriber field and the individual listed in the ship to field. Select the appropriate shipping address from the ship to address drop-down menu.
If any discounts or shipping rates will apply to this product, you can apply them by clicking on the apply discounts and apply shippingicons. All amounts applied will appear in the Discount/shipping/tax area as well as in the itemized total.
The Business Publication Audit (BPA) section must be completed for this customer if the Subscription requires it for marketing data.
Click Save & Add Another to add another item, or click Save & Finish to return to the Centralized Order Entry | Order page.
Notice that when you return to the Centralized Order Entry | Order page, a line item has now been added to the 'Line Items' section specifying what Subscription you have ordered for the customer. In this example, a Subscription to Technical Writing for Kids. The line items details the quantity, price, any discounts, taxes, and shipping rates specified.
Before you can save this Subscription order, you need to specify which batch will handle the payment and payment options. You do that in the batch drop-down menu within the batch section.
Next, select a payment type in the type drop-down . Various payment methods will then become available depending upon the type you choose. For example, selecting a type of prepaid will allow you to choose a method of check or credit card whereas selecting a type of terms will prompt you to specify invoice terms.
Select a payment method (type of credit card, cash, or check) or invoice terms depending upon the type of payment you chose.
For credit card transactions, enter the credit card number, credit card expiration date, card holder's name, and payment amount.
Select the auto apply check box to apply the payment to the credit card.
Click Save. The transaction is added to the Individual Profile, payments child form. If you check the warehouse where the merchandise item is stored you will also notice that the committed amount has been increased by the amount of items you ordered while the amount available has been decreased by that same amount (if you have selected the track inventory checkbox for this particular merchandise item). This means that your warehouse has committed X amount of this product to this individual thereby decreasing the available amount in storage.
For more detailed information on batch processing, review the Batch Overview and Workflow topic.