How to Set Up Free Trial Periods for New Subscribers in 4Geeks Payments

Offering a free trial is a powerful strategy to attract new subscribers by allowing them to experience your service without an immediate financial commitment. 4Geeks Payments allows you to easily configure trial periods for your recurring plans, automating the transition from a free trial to a paid subscription.

Prerequisites

• A verified 4Geeks account.
• Access to the 4Geeks Console (https://console.4geeks.io).
• The 4Geeks Payments service must be activated.

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How to Set Up a Free Trial

You can configure free trial periods when creating a new recurring plan through the 4Geeks Console or programmatically via the API.

Method 1: Using the 4Geeks Console

1. Log in to the 4Geeks Console and navigate to the Sales section in the main menu.
2. Click on Recurring plans to view your subscription management dashboard.
3. Click the Create Plan button located at the top-right corner.
4. Fill in the required plan details (Name, Description, Amount, Currency, and Interval).
5. Locate the Trial Period field. Enter the number of days you wish to offer for free (e.g., 7, 14, or 30).
   • Note: If you leave this field empty or set it to 0, the subscriber will be charged immediately upon signing up.
6. Confirm the creation of the plan.

Once created, any customer who subscribes to this plan will automatically receive the specified number of free days before their first payment is processed.

Method 2: Using the API

For developers integrating 4Geeks Payments into their own applications, you can define trial periods programmatically.

1. Send a POST request to the /v1/plans/ endpoint.
2. Include the trial_period_days parameter in the body of your request.

Example Request:

{
  "name": "Premium Plan (14-Day Trial)",
  "description": "Full access with a 2-week free trial.",
  "amount": 29.99,
  "currency": "USD",
  "interval": "month",
  "trial_period_days": 14
}

• trial_period_days: Integer. Specifies the number of days the customer can use the service for free.

Common Use Cases

• SaaS Applications: Offer a 14-day free trial to let users explore premium features before committing to a monthly subscription. This reduces the barrier to entry and builds trust.
• Membership Sites: Provide a "First Month Free" incentive (set trial_period_days to 30) to encourage new sign-ups for a yearly community membership.

Troubleshooting

• Issue 1: The customer was charged immediately.
  • Cause: The plan may have been created with the Trial Period set to 0 or left blank.
  • Solution: Check the plan details in the Recurring plans section. If the trial period is missing, you can update the plan to include the correct number of days.
• Issue 2: "Plan does not exist" error via API.
  • Cause: You might be trying to access a plan created in a different environment (Sandbox vs. Production).
  • Solution: Ensure you are using the correct API Key (sk_test_... or sk_live_...) and that the plan exists in that specific environment.

FAQs