Querying Subscriptions

Subscriptions are made up of different components that work together to provide periodic billing, with different aspects of subscription data available across a number of tables. All subscription-specific tables are found in the Subscription section of the schema, with the primary table being subscriptions.

To explore subscription data further, you can make use of the additional tables that represent the components of subscriptions, such as plans, invoices, or coupons. In addition, the customers table is a fundamental part of subscriptions, and contains data you may need to report on.

Subscriptions

Each row within the subscriptions table represents data about an individual Subscription object—the same information that can be retrieved through the API or available in the Dashboard. Every subscription that has been created on your account can be reported on.

This table is our recommended starting point for creating reports about your current subscribers. You can join this to other related tables, allowing you to explore your data in more detail.

The following example retrieves a list of subscriptions that have been marked as unpaid, along with any available contact information for the customer.

select
  subscriptions.id,
  subscriptions.customer_id,
  customers.email
from subscriptions
inner join customers
  on customers.id=subscriptions.customer_id
where
  subscriptions.status = 'unpaid'
limit 5

Customers

Data about Customer objects is contained in the customers table (this is not part of the Subscription Tables group). It is commonly used as part of subscription-based reports and can be joined to a number of subscriptions tables. It’s also useful if you’re creating charges with saved payment information.

The following example retrieves a list of customers with subscriptions that are currently in a trial period. Both the ID and email address for each customer is retrieved.

select
  customers.id,
  customers.email,
  subscriptions.plan_id
from subscriptions
inner join customers
on customers.id=subscriptions.customer_id
where subscriptions.status = 'trialing'
limit 5

Plans

Plans are used as the basis of subscriptions, setting out the base cost, billing interval, and currency. When viewing data from the subscriptions table, subscriptions.plan_id can be joined to plans.id . The following example returns a list of active subscriptions along with the plan name and its statement descriptor.

select
  subscriptions.id,
  plans.name
from subscriptions
inner join plans
  on subscriptions.plan_id=plans.id
where
  subscriptions.status = 'active'
limit 10

Invoices

The invoices table contains data about individual Invoice objects. Each subscription generates an invoice on a recurring basis that represents the amount the customer owes. This automatically includes the amount required for the subscription, as well as any additional invoice items that may have been created (listed as line items).

Invoices are comprised of individual (invoice) line items. These line items represent any subscriptions that the customer is billed for, as well as invoice items that have been created and applied to the invoice. To break down an invoice and analyze each of its line items, use the invoice_line_items table.

The source_id column of this table contains the ID of either the subscription (e.g., sub_vZc1j4YKhd2xYav) or invoice item (e.g., ii_RPB0b1YmThYg6y6) that the line item corresponds to. The source_type column reflects whether the line items represents a subscription or an invoice item.

Unlike other foreign keys, the subscription column of the invoice_line_items table isn’t always populated. If the corresponding invoice item is a subscription, this column is blank––its ID already appears in the source_id column.

Invoice items

Data about Invoice items is provided in the invoice_items table. Invoice items are commonly used to specify an additional amount (or deduct an amount) that should be applied on the next invoice at the beginning of the next billing cycle. For instance, you would create an invoice item if you need to bill your customer for exceeding their monthly allowance, or if you need to provide a credit on the next invoice for unused service.

The following example retrieves all of the invoices and associated charge IDs for a particular subscription.

select
  id,
  charge_id,
  amount_due
from invoices
where subscription_id = 'sub_ALJXL9gBYtv6GJ'

Invoice totals and discounts

The invoice subtotal represents the amount of all subscriptions, invoice items, and prorations on the invoice before any discount is applied. The invoice total is the amount after discounts and tax have been applied:

invoice.total = invoice.subtotal - discount + invoice.tax

There is no column to represent the discount amount on an invoice. Instead, you can calculate this by using the total, subtotal, and tax amounts:

discount = invoice.total - invoice.tax - invoice.subtotal

Working with invoice dates and periods

As subscription invoices are pre-billed, the customer pays at the start of a billing period. This is reflected in the value for a line item’s period. For instance, a customer on a monthly subscription is charged at the start of each month. If they cancel, their subscription remains active until the end of that month, at which point the subscription ends.

The period_start and period_end values of an invoice represents when invoice items may have been created–it is not always indicative of the period of service that the customer is being billed for. For example, if a customer is billed on the 1st of each month and exceeds their monthly allowance on the 15th, you might create an invoice item for any additional costs that the customer should be charged for. This invoice item is then included in the next invoice, which is created on the 1st of the next month. When the next invoice is generated, the period_start date would be 15th of the previous month: the date the additional line item was first created.

Coupons and discounts

A Coupon object represents an amount or percentage-off discount that can be applied to subscriptions or customers. A discount is the application of a coupon, represented by a Discount object.

Discounts are not tabulated separately. Instead, join coupon.id to either customers.discount_coupon_id or subscriptions.discount_coupon_id . This returns the coupon information for the discount that has been applied. For example, the following query returns a list of subscriptions where a coupon was applied to create a discount, along with the coupon’s discount amount or percentage.

select
  coupons.id,
  coupons.amount_off,
  coupons.percent_off
from coupons
where valid = false
limit 5