Upsell subscriptions

Understanding Subscription Upselling

Subscriptions are inherently recurrent and long-term, often running indefinitely. Over time, a customer’s needs may evolve, requiring adjustments in quantity, features, or pricing. This creates a valuable opportunity to upsell offering a more premium product or service tier to the customer.

The upsell process not only increases average revenue per user (ARPU) but also strengthens customer engagement and satisfaction when done correctly.

Identifying Opportunities: Who to Upsell?

1. Loyal Customers

These are existing customers who already trust the brand and are accustomed to its products or services. Because of their consistent payment history and positive experiences, they are the ideal audience for upselling efforts. For loyal customers, the value proposition of an enhanced subscription often sells itself.

2. New Customers

With new or first-time customers, upselling requires a softer approach. Since trust is still being established, it’s effective to introduce premium subscriptions at a discounted rate. This strategy builds credibility while encouraging adoption of higher-tier offerings.

Tip: Offering discounted upsells to new customers can improve retention by familiarizing them with more features and establishing a stronger connection with your brand.

Activating the Tools: How to Enable Upselling in Odoo

To successfully execute upsell strategies within Odoo, certain features must be enabled most notably the Discounts feature.

Steps to Enable Discounts in Odoo:

Navigate to the Sales app.

Go to Configuration → Settings.

Scroll to the Pricing section.

Tick the checkbox next to Discounts.

Click Save.

Once activated, this allows users to apply line-item discounts on sales orders an essential component of incentivizing upsells, especially for new subscribers.

The Upsell Workflow in Odoo Subscriptions

1. Create a Subscription Quotation

Before initiating an upsell, a quotation using subscription products must be created. Once this quotation is confirmed, it becomes a Sales Order, and a new subscription is automatically generated in the Odoo Subscriptions app.

Note: The initial subscription sales order must be invoiced before an upsell can take place.

2. Upsell the Subscription

To initiate an upsell:

Open the existing Subscription Sales Order in either the Sales or Subscriptions app.

Click the Upsell button at the top of the page.

This opens a new quotation form marked with an “Upsell” status. The original subscription product appears in the Order Lines, along with a warning that the recurring products are discounted based on a prorated period.

Important: Prorated discounts are only applied to Service product types—not Consumables or Storable items—even if the message appears.

3. Add Upsell Products

In the new quotation:

Click Add a product in the Order Lines tab.

Choose the additional subscription product(s) to upsell.

Before sending to the customer, you can adjust the unit price, apply taxes, or include discounts as needed.

Once finalized, click Send by Email to deliver the upsell quotation to the customer for approval.

4. Confirm the Upsell

When the customer confirms:

Click Confirm on the quotation.

This turns it into a new Sales Order, and the upsell products are added to the original subscription.

Pricing is prorated based on the remaining time of the current invoicing period.

A new Sales History smart button will appear, allowing you to view all related sales orders for that subscriptionclearly labeled by their Subscription Status.