1What FoxPlug reads from Recurly
These are the exact things it reads, and nothing else.
| What | The details it takes |
|---|---|
| Live subscriptions | up to 5 pages of 200 subscriptions that are not expired. Per subscription: state, unit amount, quantity, add-ons total, currency, plan reference, trial end, created time and cancelled time. |
| Recently ended subscriptions | expired subscriptions updated in the last 30 days, so that cancellations are not missed. |
| Plans | each plan's billing interval (months or days) and length, to turn a price into a monthly figure. A subscription whose plan cannot be found adds 0 and marks the result partial. |
| Past-due invoices | only the subscription ids named on past-due invoices; those subscriptions are counted as past due with their monthly amount at risk, not as active. |
| Active subscribers and monthly revenue | state active or cancelled-but-still-running counts as active; trials add nothing to monthly revenue. Recurly gives prices in whole currency units, so they are multiplied by 100 (not for currencies with no minor unit). |
| New and cancelled in 30 days | new = created in the last 30 days; cancelled = a cancelled time in the last 30 days, counted once across both lists. |
| Currency | the currency on the subscriptions as read (the last one seen wins), lower case. |
2Moments it finds, and what each becomes
A moment is one thing that happened in Recurly worth a second look. Each one is scored, then it becomes a post, a changelog entry, a thing to fix or an idea to email, or it is skipped.
The first active subscription appears
The moment is titled like this: 💸 Got the first paying customer
A maker connects Recurly and presses Check for what's new. One subscription is active, so the moment reads 'Got the first paying customer' with the line 'Someone is paying for the thing I'm building (counted from Recurly).' A post is drafted for review.
Active subscriptions reach 10, 50 or 100
The moment is titled like this: Passed 10 paying subscribers
The 10th active subscription is read. The moment 'Passed 10 paying subscribers' is written once, described as '10 people now pay for it every month (counted from Recurly).'
One or more subscriptions are past due
The moment is titled like this: No milestone. Brief line like '2 subscriptions are past due, $48 a month at risk.'
Two subscriptions show a past-due payment. The monthly amount at risk is added up from their amounts and the brief puts a Fix line ahead of any post.
Monthly revenue crosses a milestone number between two reads
The moment is titled like this: Brief line: 'You passed $1,000 a month. Tell people.'
A first read shows $940 a month and a later read at least a day on shows $1,060. The brief offers a Say line for crossing $1,000.
3How the brain uses it
The rules below are the ones that apply to Recurly. The same rules, with worked examples, are on the brain page.
- Past-due subscriptions become the fix line. How the brain decides
- The first paying customer, then 10, 50 and 100 subscribers, become say lines. How the brain decides
- Crossing a monthly revenue milestone ($100 up to $50,000) becomes a Say line. How the brain decides
- Card expiry, saving customers and win-back need each customer's details, so they stay Stripe only. How the brain decides
- When several revenue tools are connected the brief uses one: connected Stripe first, else another connected one. How the brain decides
4Set up Recurly in a few steps
Access: Recurly private API key pasted into FoxPlug; type eu in the second box only if your site is in Recurly's EU data centre. What to give it: A private API key made read-only (Recurly's API reference says a private key can be set to read-only when it is created). The key itself picks the site.
- In Recurly, open Integrations and then API Credentials (also called API Keys).
- Add a new private key and tick read-only if Recurly offers it, then copy it.
- Paste it into the Recurly box in FoxPlug. Type eu in the box above it only if your site is in the EU data centre.
5Limits worth knowing
Where it stops, so nothing surprises you.
- At most 1,000 live subscriptions are read (5 pages of 200); more marks the result partial.
- A subscription whose plan interval cannot be found adds 0 to monthly revenue and marks the result partial.
- Coupons and discounts are not subtracted.
- Past-due invoices are read up to 5 pages of 200.
- Plan intervals are read in months or days only.
- If subscriptions use more than one currency, the last one seen is reported for the whole total and amounts are not converted.
- Recurly allows 1,000 calls per 5 minutes on a live site; a read uses at most 20.
- No failed-payment rescue, expiring card, saving or win-back drafts: those are Stripe only.
6What it never reads
Read only means read only, and the list below is what the code leaves alone.
- Customer names, emails, addresses and card details. The reader keeps only status, amounts, interval, currency and dates.
- Anything written back: only GET reads are made, nothing is created, changed or cancelled in Recurly.
- Account records: Recurly embeds an account (name, email) in every subscription and invoice; the reader ignores it and keeps only amounts, state, ids and dates. From invoices only the subscription ids are used.
7How Recurly differs from the tools next to it
Recurly gives the price on each subscription but the billing interval on the plan, so FoxPlug makes a second read of your plans, and a third of past-due invoices, unlike Chargebee where one list is enough. Prices come in whole currency units. The key picks the site, so no site name is needed.
8Questions
Does FoxPlug see my customers' names or emails from Recurly?
No. Recurly sends an account record inside each subscription and invoice, but FoxPlug keeps only amounts, state, plan, ids and dates. No name, email, address or card detail is read or stored.
Which key do I make?
A private API key, set to read-only if Recurly offers that when you create it.
Do I need my site name?
No. A Recurly key belongs to one site, so the key is enough. Type eu in the second box only if your site is in the EU data centre.
How does past due work?
FoxPlug lists your past-due invoices, takes only the subscription each belongs to, and counts those subscriptions as past due.
When does it read Recurly?
When you press Check for what's new or Build the brief.
FoxPlug reads this tool only when you press Check for what's new, and only to read. Plans and limits are on the pricing page. Questions: support.