Overview
This guide is for merchants who want to rent products to customers for a fixed period using Subi. You’ll need to create a Subscribe & Save plan to offer a rental program. Please check your plan details for feature availability.
What is a rental program in Subi?
A rental program allows you to let customers rent products for a set period (such as 4 months). With Subi, you can create a recurring rental plan that automatically expires, preventing customers from extending, skipping, or canceling the rental early.
What are the steps to set up a rental program?
Let’s walk through setting up a 4-month camera rental as an example:
1. Create your rental product in Shopify
Open your Shopify dashboard.
Create a new product for the item you want to rent out (e.g., "Camera Rental").
Set the product price to the rental price customers should pay each period (such as $50 per month), not the full retail price of the product.
Set the description and any relevant details for this rental product.
Publish the product so it’s available in your Shopify store.
2. Create a Subscribe & Save plan in Subi
In your Subi dashboard, go to the Plans section.
Click Create plan.
In the modal, select Subscribe & Save.
Select the rental product you just created in Shopify (e.g., "Camera Rental").
Change the purchase option to Subscription (not "Subscription and One-Time Purchase") so customers can only rent, not buy.
3. Set up your selling plan
In the selling plan options, choose how often to charge the customer (e.g., Monthly for monthly rental payments).
4. Enable automatic expiration
In the Selling Plan settings, scroll to Automatic Expiration.
Enable this option to set a fixed rental period.
Define how long the rental will last (e.g., set expiration to 4 months for a 4-month rental).
After the set period, the subscription will end automatically, signaling the end of the rental.
Save and create your Subscribe and Save plan.
5. Adjust customer permissions
Go to Customer Portal in your Subi dashboard.
Navigate to Customer Permissions.
Uncheck all options for skipping, canceling, or pausing the subscription.
This ensures customers cannot change the rental agreement until the product is returned.
6. Customizing the rental widget
To help customers clearly see they are renting (not subscribing), you can update the widget label and appearance in Subi:
Follow these steps to customize your widget:
Go to the Widgets tab in your Subi dashboard.
In the main menu, select Widgets to see all your subscription widget options.
Find the Subscribe & Save section.
Look for the Subscribe & Save card (usually labeled “Classic”).
Click Customize widget.
Select your widget layout and open customization.
On the “Subscribe & Save Widgets” screen, choose your preferred layout style (Compact, Classic, Comfy, Charmer).
Click Customize on the selected widget.
Edit the label from “Subscription” to “Rental.”
In the customization options, locate the price badge or label.
Change the wording so it displays Rental instead of Subscription.
Adjust colors and layout as needed.
Match the widget to your store’s branding for a seamless experience.
This process ensures your customers see a clear “Rental” label next to the price, reducing confusion and accurately presenting your offer.
7. Finalize and launch your rental plan
Review all details: billing frequency, expiration, and permissions.
8. Preview your rental product
Visit your product page to view the rental plan in action.
Make sure all settings and displays are correct.
Troubleshooting
If your rental widget does not display correctly:
Visit the Widget Troubleshooting Guide in the Subi dashboard for common solutions.
For additional help, use the chat icon at the bottom right to contact Subi’s 24/7 support team.