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Subscription Model & Sign-Up Process ​

Overview ​

Rational BI integrates with Stripe's subscription model features to ensure seamless management and access to a variety of data products. A crucial aspect to understand is that access to a product that requires a subscription is granted only with an active subscription. Therefore, one-time payments from customers, unless linked to a subscription, will not grant access.

Subscription Model ​

Rational BI currently employs a recurring billing model. This model is apt for services provided on an ongoing basis, such as access to a database or analytics service.

WARNING

Please note that at present, Rational BI does not support tiered subscriptions, usage-based billing, per-seat billing, or volume-based billing models.

Creating New Customers ​

Creating customers in Rational can be achieved through three main ways, each designed to fit your specific requirements:

Using Stripe’s Built-in Sign-Up Page ​

Stripe provides a built-in sign-up page that you can tailor to your needs and embed into your website. This capability offers a quick way to onboard customers to your services.

Using Stripe’s API ​

Alternatively, you can integrate Stripe’s API with your website's sign-up logic. Upon a user's sign-up, this API triggers the creation of a new customer in Stripe, which subsequently prompts Rational to send an account activation invitation to the user's email.

Using Rational BI Directly ​

Creating a customer directly in Rational presents users with a Rational sign-up screen to collect basic information. After completion, the user is directed to Stripe to finalize the sign-up process and then redirected back to Rational, offering a seamless sign-up experience.

:::note Regardless of the method used, the outcome remains the same — the creation of a new customer in both Stripe and Rational, and an account activation invitation from Rational to the customer. :::

Direct Customer Creation ​

You also have the option of creating customers directly in either Stripe or Rational:

  • Creating a customer in Stripe creates a mirrored customer in Rational, following which an invitation email is sent.
  • Creating a customer directly in Rational allows you to optionally link it to a Stripe customer. If not linked, the user will still have access to the Rational platform, but they will not be able to access any subscription products as they won't have any active subscriptions.

INFO

If a Stripe customer was not created initially, you can create one later and link it to the existing Rational customer. Additionally, you can re-assign the mapping between Rational and Stripe customers. However, this process should be undertaken with caution as incorrect mappings could potentially grant incorrect access privileges.

TIP

Direct creation from Rational often leads to a more streamlined sign-up experience.

The choice of customer creation method should be based on the specific needs of your users and your website.

Conclusion ​

Rational BI, leveraging the robust capabilities of Stripe’s platform, offers a wide range of options for managing your subscriptions and customers. Whether you choose to use Stripe’s built-in sign-up page, Stripe’s API, or Rational directly, you can manage your customer subscriptions and access to your data products efficiently. Presently, Rational supports a recurring billing model for subscriptions.