How and when you renew orders is controlled by the renewal series.
What exactly is a renewal series? It is a schedule that tells QuickFill which renewal notices you want to send and when you want to send them. QuickFill links every order in your database to a renewal series that specifies when QuickFill should generate renewal notices.
There are two types of renewal series in QuickFill. The "by days" type of series generates renewal notices (after the first one) based on the number of days that have passed since the previous renewal notice was generated. The "by days" type of renewal series is particularly suited to publications that are published fewer than 12 times a year. Renewal notices for "by days" renewal series are generated when you run the 'Renewals' update.
The "by issues" type of renewal series generates all renewal notices based on the number of issues remaining in a subscription. It is best suited to publications with regular monthly or weekly publication dates. Renewal notices for "by issues" renewal series are generated when you run the 'Issue Labels' update. If all of your renewal series are of the "by issues" type, then here is no need to run the 'Renewals' update.
Click here for more information on renewal series.
The diagram below shows you what a typical "by days" renewal series looks like. The "by issues" renewal series is very similar.
Each series can contain from one to twelve renewal efforts, or mailings. For each effort in the renewal series, you specify the price, term, and premium combinations you want; the package (envelopes, inserts, and so forth) you'll use; the messages you want printed on the renewal notices; and the number of days that should elapse (or issues that should be remaining for a "by issues" series) before QuickFill generates—and you send—the next effort. You can also specify for each renewal effort whether the renewal notice should go to the bill-to address or the ship-to address(es) or, in the case of agency subscriptions, whether to send the renewal notices to the subscriber or to the agency. For "by issues" renewal series, you can also specify whether or not the renewal notices are to be sent with the issue or separately.
You can define any number of renewal series. How does QuickFill decide which series to use to renew a specific order?
You must specify on the publication definition renewal tab a default renewal series. QuickFill will use this series for all new orders, unless you override it elsewhere.
You can specify a renewal series for regular (non-gift) subscriptions as well as gift subscriptions on the 'Tracking codes' definition screen. If you do, QuickFill uses these series, instead of the default series, for all orders you enter with that tracking code (see tracking codes, for more details).
You must specify on the 'Renewal series' definition screen a "next" renewal series for regular subscriptions, for controlled subscriptions (audit system only), and for gift subscriptions. QuickFill will use these "next" series when orders generated by the renewal series you're currently defining come up for renewal (see renewal series for details).
Renewing gift subscriptions
You'll probably want to use a different renewal series, one containing special messages, for renewing gifts. Therefore, you should link the tracking code you use to enter gifts to a special renewal series.
You'll notice on the renewal series definition screen a 'Next renewal series for gifts' field and a 'Next billing series for gifts' field. When it comes time to renew gift orders generated by the series you're currently defining, QuickFill will use the series you enter in these fields if the order is renewed with a 'G' in the 'Gift/Comp' field. If the renewal order is no longer a gift subscription, you remove the 'G' from the 'Gift/Comp' field as part of the renewal transaction so that QuickFill will know to use the regular 'Next' renewal and billing series.
For example, say you send the first three efforts in a series to the donor and the donor doesn't respond, you then send the next three efforts to the donee. If the donor responds, leave 'G' in the 'Gift/Comp' field when entering the renewal order and QuickFill will use the next series for gifts. If the donee responds, the subscription is no longer a gift, remove 'G' from the 'Gift/Comp' field when entering the renewal order and QuickFill will use the regular 'Next' series.
Reassigning orders to different renewal series
You can reassign a group of orders to a renewal series other than the one to which they were originally assigned by using 'Change series' on the 'Updates' menu. This capability helps you test which renewal series is most effective (see change renewal series for details). You can also assign individual orders to a different renewal series at the time the renewal is entered or by using the 'Adjust order' transaction (click here for details on the 'Order' tab for the 'Adjust order' transaction).
Default renewal series
After you create a new publication, you should go back into the publication's definition and review the default renewal series. This is the renewal series you specified on the Renewal tab of the publication definition screen. By right clicking on the renewal series field and selecting "Change renewal series," you can look at the definition of the series. If the series doesn't do exactly what you want it to do, you can change it on the spot.
Unlike a billing series, a renewal series is specific to a publication. You can have several renewal series, all with the same name, as long as you link them to different publications. That is, you can use the same name—for example, STD—for each publication, even though each series may contain different components.
Automatic renewals
If you check either of the 'automatic renewal' options on the 'Links' tab of the 'Renewal series' definition then you are telling QuickFill that you want all of the orders linked to that renewal series to be automatically renewed. (Note however that you can override the automatic renewal option when you enter the order.) For subscriptions that are set up for automatic renewal the renewal update (or issue labels update for "by issues" renewal series) will create renewal orders as if the customer had renewed on the first effort. No renewal notice will be created. This automatic renewal occurs when the number of issues remaining reaches the point where the series specifies that the first renewal effort should be sent.
Automatically renewed subscriptions can be renewed as unpaid orders, in which case QuickFill will produce bills for those unpaid orders the next time you run the 'Billing' update, or they can make use of a stored credit card number, in which case they will be renewed as fully paid orders, providing the credit card is still valid and has not expired. Stored credit card numbers are not actually stored in the QuickFill database, but rather on a secure server provided by Element Payment Services. You must have an EPS merchant account to make use of stored credit card numbers for automatic renewals. Click here for more information about EPS and credit card processing in QuickFill.
Click here for more information on automatic renewals.
Renewals at birth
QuickFill also provides the ability to establish renewals at birth; an extension to a subscription that is solicited at the time of the original order. For example, some publishers offer subscribers extended terms on their bills with wording such as "for only twenty dollars more you can receive an extra twelve issues." If the subscriber accepts the offer and sends a check for the amount of the original order plus the extension, then you are faced with a dilemma—how do you enter a combination payment and renewal transaction and split the amount of the check appropriately?
The renewal transaction has been designed to handle this situation by allowing you to establish an extra renewal effort that is not part of any renewal series. When you receive a payment from a subscriber who has elected to extend his or her subscription, enter it as a renewal, not a payment, and choose the renewal effort code that you defined for "renewals at birth." (See How to enter renewals at birth for more details.)
The Renewal menu
When you select 'Renewal' under 'Definitions' on the main menu, you'll see a submenu with the following items: 'Series', 'Efforts', 'Packages', 'Channels', 'Offers', 'Premiums', 'Messages', and 'Requal Sources (audit system only).
The best way to create a new renewal series is to select 'Series', then click on "Replicate" to "clone" an already-defined renewal series, complete with its efforts, packages, offers, premiums, and messages.
Now, when you're in the 'Renewal series' definition screen, you can right click and select "Pick…" to select from a list of existing components you want to use, select "Change…" to change the contents of those components, select "New…" to create new ones, or select "Clear" to remove the contents of those components. (Click here for details on defining renewal series.)
An alternative way to create a renewal series is to first create messages, premiums, offers, channels, renewal packages, and efforts by selecting those items under 'Renewals'. Then you bring together these separate components by linking premiums to offers and packages to efforts. Finally, you assemble them all on the 'Renewal series' definition screen by using the right mouse button in the appropriate fields.
