Can the API call for 'Retrieve a specific order' be updated to include the 'Next Order Date' for subscription orders?

Site URL: https://lolamack.com.au

Currently there appears to be no way to get the 'Next Order Date' for subscription orders from any API call or webhook subscription. This information is however provided in the email sent by Squarespace when a subscription order is placed.

Whilst I appreciate the API is relatively new, to have an api that provides less information than generic system emails suggests the API implementation is incomplete, even for a v1. 

Can anyone from Squarespace confirm that the 'Next Order Date' for subscription orders is not available via an API call or a webhook and assuming that is the case, comment on when this essential data might be made available programmatically?

Thanks in advance

Hello @TopDoris,

Thanks for posting your question!

The /orders API endpoint should return all relevant information included in the confirmation email sent after purchasing a subscription product. I've attached to my response two images of confirmation messages that are sent to merchants and customers. Could you clarify where the 'Next Order Date' would be located? 

I also wanted to clarify that our current WebHooks offering would only return notifications in regards to order creation, update and when a subscription is uninstalled.

Thanks!

Hi @AlexD, thanks for looking into this.

The Squarespace 'Next Order Date' is located in the emails as per below...

Order Confirmed #00005: ...Your Next Order will be charged on July 16, 2021...

A New Order Has Arrived #00005: ...The payment method the customer provided will be charged next on July 16, 2021...

So for the Order #00005, the Next Order Date is July 16, 2021. This is the value that I cannot seem to access from any API call and does not appear in the 'Create.Order' webhook payload, yet it is provided in both Order notification emails.

Thanks again for your help with this.

Hello @TopDoris,

Thanks for your response!

I see what you mean. Unfortunately our APIs or WebHooks do not return this information. Since we're unable to offer this functionality currently, what I can do is submit this as a feature request to our Product and Development teams. 

Although we can't guarantee feature implementations, all requests are reviewed and we always appreciate the feedback.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any further questions!

Thanks,

Hi @AlexD,

Given that the Next Order Date is clearly considered a requirement for subscription orders, as it is included in both the email to the customer and the email to the SQSP store owner when an order is placed, I think it is reasonable to state that this is key order information that should be included in an Order.Create webhook and be accessible via the API.

Assuming you agree with the above it makes sense to consider this as an issue/fault rather than a feature.

Can you arrange for this to be tracked as an issue and provide some indication as to when it will be resolved?

Thanks   

Hello @TopDoris,

Thanks for your response.

I can certainly see the importance of having this information available via API. I confirm that I've submitted a feature request. Although all requests are tracked, I currently do not have an ETA in regards to the implementation of such feature. 

Thanks for your feedback and let us know if you have additional questions!
 

Ok, thanks @AlexD.

For now I'll have to try to parse the email for the data 😩

Hey @TopDoris,

Would you be able to share a few notes about your specific use case? The reason why I am asking this is because it will help our Product and Development teams understand how you'd use subscription product related information.

Thanks!

Hi @AlexD and @creedon.

Please find below details on the use case for providing subscription information via the SQSP Orders API. My apologies in advance for the lengthly message, but I wanted to be clear on the requirement.

• I offer my customers services that are supplied on a monthly basis 

  • i.e. a SQSP subscription product that is set to ‘repeat every 1 months’.

• As with most subscription services, I do not want the customer to be impacted (i.e. the service to stop) if there is a small delay in the subscription renewal payment

• So when the subscription is renewed (i.e. a successful payment attempt is made), the service must continue to be provided from the subscription renewal date, not the date the payment was successful.

For example:

• A customer orders a monthly subscription service on 24 June 2021.

  • i.e. their subscription period is 24 June to 23 July 2021.

• On 23 July, SQSP makes a payment attempt to renew the monthly subscription, but it fails due to an expired credit card or insufficient funds.

  • Payment is then successful on a subsequent attempt, let’s say 5 days later on 28 July.

• The renewed subscription period needs to remain 24 July to 23 August 2021, despite the Order notification from SQSP being received on the 28 July.

The above example from an API perspective

• When the monthly subscription service order is placed on 24 June 2021, SQSP sends an Order.Create webhook to my API with the orderId.

• My API calls the SQSP Orders API with the orderId and retrieves the SQSP order information.

• My API uses the SQSP order information to start a monthly subscription service for that customer, from 24 June - 23 July 2021.

• When the monthly subscription service order is successfully renewed on 28 July, SQSP sends an Order.Create webhook to my API and my API retrieves the order information.

• As no subscription information is returned in the order information, my API is unable to determine that this order is a renewal and so creates a new monthly subscription service for 28 July to 27 August.

  • This means that services will stop for the customer between 24 July and 28 July.

If the 'Next Order' date was provided in the order information returned by the SQSP Orders API, then my API could use that to ensure the subscription renewal period remains in sync with the SQSP subscription period and there is no impact to my customers.

I hope the above clarifies why providing subscription information via the SQSP Orders API is vital to successful automation of subscription order management.

Please let me know if I’ve made any incorrect assumptions in the above, specifically,

• I’ve assumed an ‘Order.Create’ webhook is only sent when a subscription renewal payment is successful. i.e. it is not sent on the SQSP 'Next Order' date, regardless of whether payment was successful?

• I've assumed the SQSP 'Next Order' date is not updated to the date a successful payment attempt was made? i.e. In the example above, the 'Next Order Date' would become  24 August and not 28 August.

Just in case it's not clear, the SQSP 'Next order' date' I'm referring to is in the 'Customer Details' panel, when you click on 'Recurring' and then click on the subscription Order (see attached image)

Thanks again for your help with this.

Also worth mentioning: After basic testing, it seems that when a subscription order is cancelled, either by the customer or due to failed payment, an 'Order.Update' webhook is not triggered, so there is also no way of managing subscription cancellations via the API. It's such as disappointment to find a quality ecommerce platform that supports product subscriptions natively, to only then find that its API does not appear to support them 😞

Hi @AlexD,

I've just re-read my last post and it's not the clearest of responses! 

If you need clarification on any of the points please just let me know. 

Thanks

Hello @TopDoris,

Thanks for your response!

Your message was clear, and we understand your use-case! 

Thanks,

Alex

Hi @AlexD,

Could you confirm if the two assumptions I made in my response are correct?

1. Is an ‘Order.Create’ webhook sent automatically on the 'Next Order' date or only when a subscription renewal payment is successful?

2. Is the 'Next Order' date updated to the date a successful payment attempt is made or does it remain unchanged regardless of when payment is received? (assuming that one of the three payment attempts is successful before the subscription is cancelled after 10 days).

Thanks

Hello @TopDoris,

Thanks for posting your questions!

1) Since each subscription renewal creates a new order, the Orders.Create webhook should trigger a notification.

2) The 'Next Order' date should remain unchanged regardless of the payment status. 

Thanks!