How to create custom group deals for your paid subscribers

paid plans

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Selling access to your paid tiers doesn't always fit a one-size-fits-all self-serve flow. If a school, company, or organization wants a bulk subscription with its own pricing, seat count, or payment terms, you can set that up directly as a custom group deal instead of routing them through your standard upgrade page. This article walks through creating a custom group deal, handing it off to the buyer, and managing seats on their behalf when needed.

What are custom group deals

Custom group deals let you set up a group subscription on behalf of a specific customer, such as a school, company, or organization, instead of having them configure and purchase it themselves. You define the pricing, seat count, and billing method directly, then hand the buyer a link to manage their group from there.

This article covers setting up a custom group deal directly for a buyer. For a comparison of self-serve group purchases against custom group deals, see Group subscriptions overview.  If you are a subscriber looking to purchase or manage a group subscription, see How to manage a group subscription you purchased.

When to use a custom group deal

Custom group deals work well when a buyer needs pricing or payment terms outside your standard tier setup, such as an invoice or an off-platform arrangement, or when you want to offer a more hands-on experience for larger accounts like schools, organizations, or companies. This also allows you to migrate existing group subscriptions from another platform over to beehiiv.

Before you begin

• You'll need at least one paid subscription tier already created. For instructions, see How to set up and use paid subscription tiers.
• Paid subscriptions require a connected Stripe account to process payments or invoices. If you have not connected Stripe yet, see Setting up a Stripe account for paid subscriptions and digital products before continuing.

How to create a custom group deal

1. Go to the Tiers tab in your Paid Subscriptions area and open the Group subscriptions > + New custom group.
   
   

2. On the first page, enter the group details:
   
   Group name: Give the group deal a name for your records. This is also shown within the Group Admin and members' accounts.
   
   Tier: Use the dropdown to select which paid tier the deal is for.
   
   Admin email: Enter the email address for your customer. They will be the admin of this group subscription, which means that they will be subscribed to your publication and manage payments and group members. 

   If you choose to have the group admin pay via Stripe Invoice and have automatic invoice emails set up in Stripe, the invoice will be sent to this email address automatically.

   Publication contact email: This is the email that the admin will be directed to for any questions about billing, support, or other account-related questions. Email happens outside of beehiiv, so when a payment link is generated and an admin needs it to be updated/adjusted, they will connect with you outside of beehiiv.

   Group subscriptions are a business deal between you and your subscribers. beehiiv support will not be able to assist your subscribers directly, as beehiiv strictly facilitates the payments for your paid offerings. If a group admin requires technical assistance, you can reach out to support on their behalf.

   Notes: This is an optional space for you to add internal notes for your own records. The group admin or members will not see these notes. 
   
   Click Next to move on to the Billing and pricing page. 

3. First, choose your Billing method. You can select between  Credit card (generates a standard payment link), Invoice (generates an email invoice and link), or Off platform (for cases where you handle payment with the buyer entirely outside of beehiiv). 
   
   If you select Credit card: Your subscriber will pay via the link that you provide. Their subscription will begin as soon as they pay. 
   
   If you select Stripe invoice: The group admin will be sent a Stripe invoice to pay their bill. Once you’ve finished setting up your group deal, you’ll receive a link to your invoice to send to the group admin. If you have automatic invoice emails set up in Stripe, the invoice will be sent by Stripe to the Admin email you set on the Group details page automatically. 
   
   Set your Payment due within (days) to set how many days the group admin has to pay their Stripe invoice by bank transfer or credit card. Once paid, the group’s subscription will begin. 
   
   If this due date and your invoice grace period have passed without payment, your group subscription deal will be automatically moved to canceled. 

   After the due date has passed, there is a grace period before the custom group deal is canceled. By default, the grace period is set to 14 days, but you can modify this if you wish. To access these settings, go to Subscriptions > Tiers, then click the Settings section, and scroll down to Invoice grace period to set your custom grace period for past-due group subscriptions. 
   

   Then, use the Checkbox to confirm that this reader group has consented to receiving your email. 

   All reader groups must have provided explicit consent to receive emails from you, in order to be in compliance with our terms of use and privacy policy. 

   If you select Off-platform: No payment is collected through beehiiv. You will manage payments and invoices outside of our platform. 
   
   

   You are entirely responsible for handling payments outside of beehiiv if you select this option.

   Set your Subscription start date. Since billing is managed outside of beehiiv, this is the date that your subscription will begin for the group subscription. 
   
   Then, use the Checkbox to confirm that this reader group has consented to receiving your email. 

   All reader groups must have provided explicit consent to receive emails from you, in order to be in compliance with our terms of use and privacy policy. 

4. After you’ve selected your billing method, use the dropdown to select a cadence. You can choose between Annual or One-time billing. 
   
   

   Custom group subscriptions only support an annual or one-time billing option.

5. If you chose the Annual option: 
   
   With a credit card billing method: The card the group admin pays with will be charged annually for their subscription. 
   
   With a Stripe invoice billing method: A new Stripe invoice will be sent annually for the group admin to pay. 
   
   With the off-platform option: You are responsible for collecting payment. The group subscription will stay active unless and until you cancel it. 

   Set a calendar reminder to send a new invoice for the next billing cycle for off-platform payments.

6. Next, set your pricing. You can choose to price your group subscription by Per seat or Total price. The final price for your custom group deal will display at the bottom. 
   

   This pricing will override any pricing that you originally set for your tier, allowing you to create a customized deal for your custom group deal.

7. When you’re done setting up your pricing and billing method, click on Create and generate payment link to finalize your custom group deal. 
   
   

   If you use the off-platform payment option, your button will instead say Create custom group, and a link will not be generated. 

8. For the off-platform billing method: Your custom group will be created, and no link will be generated. 
   
   For credit card billing method: a modal will pop up with your payment link. Click Copy to copy your link to send to your subscriber. 
   
   Your payment link will look like this on your publication website.
   For Stripe invoice billing method: a modal will pop up with a link to your invoice to share with the group admin. If you have automatic invoice emails set up in Stripe, this invoice will also be emailed automatically to the group admin. 
   
   Your invoice will be generated by Stripe and look like this: 
   
   If you need your payment link again, you can always get it by navigating your group subscriptions list and clicking the 3 dots menu next to your intended group plan > Copy payment link. 
   

How payment is tracked by billing method

How you confirm payment depends on which billing method you chose when creating the deal.

Off-platform: you set a start date when creating the deal, either the same day you create it or a future date. Because beehiiv doesn't process payment for off-platform deals, there's no way to go back later and mark one as paid. The start date you choose is what determines when the group activates, and once activated, the subscription will stay active unless and until you cancel it. 

Invoice: once the buyer pays the Stripe invoice, the deal's status updates automatically in beehiiv. You don't need to take any action to reflect the payment.

The group admin will have the number of days that you specified in the deal + the number of days that you specify as your invoice grace period. Once that date has passed, the deal will automatically cancel. By default, the grace period is set to 14 days, but you can modify this if you wish. To access these settings, go to Subscriptions > Tiers, then click the Settings section, and scroll down to Invoice grace period to set your custom grace period for past-due group subscriptions. 

To view the expiration date for your invoice: 

1. Go to the Tiers tab in your Paid Subscriptions area and open the Group subscriptions section.
2. Find the custom group deal and select the 3 dots menu next to it > View details. 
   
3. Once in your custom group subscription details, you’ll see your expiration date (number of days that you specified until the invoice is due + your publication’s internal grace period) at the top. 
   

Credit card: the buyer pays through the payment link you send them, the same as a standard checkout.

How to cancel a custom group deal

If a buyer doesn't pay their off-platform invoice, you can cancel the deal directly:

1. Go to the Tiers tab in your Paid Subscriptions area and open the Group subscriptions section.

2. Find the custom group deal and select the 3 dots menu next to it > Cancel deal. 
   

   Off-platform subscriptions will stay active unless and until you cancel it, even if you forget to send an invoice or collect payment. It is your responsibility to handle all off-platform subscriptions.

Managing a custom group deal

Once you've created the deal, you can send the admin a link so they can manage it directly from their own subscription management dashboard, the same one covered in How to manage a group subscription you purchased. You can also handle member invitations and seat management on the customer's behalf, directly from the custom deal's details page, rather than handing that responsibility to the buyer.

To access the custom deal detail page: 

1. Go to the Tiers tab in your Paid Subscriptions area and open the Group subscriptions section.
2. Find the custom group deal and select the 3 dots menu next to it > View details.