Optimizing Stripe Subscriptions with Coupons: A Complete Guide

Introduction to Stripe Developer Office Hours

• The focus of this segment is to guide businesses on using Stripe subscriptions and implementing coupons into their signup flow.

• Ali, the host, emphasizes the importance of responding quickly to changing circumstances and ensuring business continuity.

• Businesses with recurring business models are seeking ways to provide comfort and relief to their customers during uncertain times.

• The segment will cover the process of building a web integration using Stripe elements, creating subscriptions, and adding coupon support.

Introduction to Stripe Developer Office Hours

Adding Stripe Elements and Implementing Payment Processing

• To start the integration, we need to add the Stripe JS script to our HTML file

• We then need to initialize the Stripe elements and mount the card element

• The card element is created using the `elements.create` function

• In this particular integration, the postal code field on the card element is disabled for easier testing

• After creating the card element, it is mounted to a specific div using the `cardElement.mount` method

• Next step is to add event handlers for the subscribe button and error labels

• When the subscribe button is clicked, a function is triggered to tokenize the entered card details using `stripe.createPaymentMethod`

• The result of the tokenization process is handled to display any error messages or log the payment method ID in case of success

• Subsequently, a function to post the payment method ID to the backend is created using `fetch` with a POST request to a server-side endpoint

• The server-side endpoint '/subscribe' then parses the payment method ID from the request body, creates a Stripe customer, attaches the payment method to the customer, and creates a subscription for the customer

Adding Stripe Elements and Implementing Payment Processing

Explanation of the Ruby Code for Creating a Subscription

• The first step in the code is to handle the input data such as names, crew, and payment method ID.

• The payment method ID is printed for readability and debugging purposes, before creating a customer on Stripe.

• A try-catch block is used for error handling, and a customer is created using the 'stripe' gem.

• The payment method is attached to the customer, and a description is optionally added.

• The ID of the customer created is printed, and then a subscription is created with required parameters like the customer ID, default payment method, and subscription items.

• Before creating the subscription, a plan needs to be set up on the Stripe dashboard with details like price, interval, and currency.

• Once the subscription is created, the subscription ID is printed, and a 200 status with the subscription object in JSON format is returned to the client.

• Error handling is also included to log and return any error messages.

• A success page is created to display the subscription ID and the amount due on the latest invoice.

Explanation of the Ruby Code for Creating a Subscription

Retrieving and Expanding Subscriptions

• To retrieve a subscription from Stripe, we can use the subscription ID parsed from the subscription object.

• An advanced functionality called 'expand' can be used to enhance the subscription retrieval process.

• The 'expand' functionality allows us to include the entire invoice object within the subscription retrieve call, instead of just the invoice ID.

• When using 'expand', an array of strings is passed, such as 'latest invoice', to retrieve the entire subscription and invoice object.

• After retrieving the subscription, we can log the subscription ID and assign the latest invoice to a variable.

• Finally, we can log the invoice amount and render the subscription page, which displays the subscription ID and the amount due on the latest invoice to the customer.

Retrieving and Expanding Subscriptions

Stripe Integration for Subscriptions with Coupon Demo

• To start, the code snippet checks if the data is valid, and if so, it displays the label 'coupon applied' along with holding a reference to the coupon as a variable.

• If the data is not valid, it shows 'invalid coupon' and follows the previous settings.

• Moving to the back-end function, the coupon name is passed as a parameter for the post payment method. If the applied coupon exists, it is passed; otherwise, an empty string is passed.

• Next, the code is updated to include a step for parsing out and applying the coupon to the subscription. It creates a customer as usual, and a coupon ID is set based on the coupon name from the coupon map.

• In the subscription status page, another item is added to display the coupon name if it exists on the subscription object with a discount.

• The demonstration concludes with a summary of the entire process involving Stripe integration for subscriptions, from tokenizing card details using Stripe elements to creating, distributing, and applying coupons. It emphasizes the advantages for customers and the code samples available for further exploration.

Stripe Integration for Subscriptions with Coupon Demo

Conclusion:

In conclusion, this guide has provided a deep understanding of optimizing Stripe subscriptions with coupons. By leveraging the process of integrating Stripe elements, creating subscriptions, and implementing coupons, businesses can ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty. The detailed code samples offer further exploration for successful implementation.

Q & A