UniBee Update: Multi-Phases and External Gateways Support

Most billing systems give you a single price and a simple “trial or no trial” toggle. That’s fine for basic products. But what if your customer’s relationship with pricing needs to evolve over time? But what if your product’s journey is more complex than that? What if you need a free trial, followed by a discounted first year, and then a standard recurring price?

UniBee Multi-Phases changes that equation entirely. You can now design multi-stage subscription journeys directly from the dashboard, with each phase having its own rules, duration, and pricing structure.

And with UniBee’s External Gateway Integration, you can now pair these sophisticated billing models with virtually any payment provider you choose.

What Are Multi-Phase Subscriptions?

A multi-phase subscription allows a single customer relationship to evolve through distinct pricing stages over time. Instead of a single plan with one price, you can define a sequence of phases, each with its own duration, price, and billing interval.

Think of a classic SaaS customer lifecycle:

• Phase 1: Free Trial. A 14-day period with zero cost.
• Phase 2: Introductory Offer. A 6-month period at 50% off the standard price.
• Phase 3: Standard Recurring. The full price, charged monthly or annually.

Each phase transitions automatically to the next based on time or a specific event (like a user hitting a usage milestone). UniBee handles the complex logic of calculating prorations, generating invoices, and updating entitlements across these transitions.

Build Phase-by-Phase

The interface gives you complete control over each stage of the customer lifecycle.

To access the new setting:

1. Go to Product > Product and Plan.
2. Create a new plan, then open Advanced settings.
3. Under Plan Timeline & Phases, click “+ Add phase” to define the billing phase sequence.

Start from scratch or use templates. Quick Add Templates let you drop in common patterns instantly:

• 7-Day Free Trial
• 14-Day Free Trial
• 30-Day Free Trial

Each template pre-fills the duration so you don’t have to recalculate.

• Name each phase meaningfully. “7-Day Free Trial” or “Q1 Promo Period” — use whatever makes sense to your team.
• Set precise duration. Choose days, months, or custom intervals. The phase ends automatically when time runs out.
• Define total phase price. This is a one-time charge for the entire phase, not a recurring fee. Perfect for discounted first months or fixed-term introductory offers.
• Require payment info upfront. Toggle this on if you want to capture a credit card before the trial starts. Reduces friction at the moment of conversion.
• Attach metadata. Add custom key-value pairs to pass structured data to your backend or analytics tools.

Visualize the Entire Timeline

See the full sequence. The Plan Timeline & Phases section displays every phase in order, from trial to main plan to any additional stages.

Add phases flexibly. Click “+ Add Phase” to insert new stages anywhere in the sequence. No rigid limits.

Combine with other billing features. Multi-Phases work alongside:

• Recurring add-ons
• One-time payment add-ons
• Usage-based billing

Real-World Scenarios You Can Build

Scenario 1: The Classic SaaS Funnel

• Phase 1: 14-day free trial (requires payment info)
• Phase 2: 6-month discounted period at €29/month
• Phase 3: Standard pricing at €49/month

Scenario 2: Seasonal Promotions

• Phase 1: 30-day trial at €0
• Phase 2: 3-month summer promo at €19/month
• Phase 3: Standard €39/month

Scenario 3: Enterprise Onboarding

• Phase 1: 60-day implementation phase with dedicated support (€500 one-time)
• Phase 2: Standard recurring at €299/month

Your Payment Stack, Your Rules: External Gateways

Most subscription billing platforms come with a hard constraint: you must use their supported payment gateways. Stripe, PayPal, Adyen—pick from the list and that’s it. But what if your business has different requirements?

Maybe you’ve negotiated better rates with a regional processor. Perhaps you’re required to keep payment data within your own infrastructure for compliance reasons. Or you’ve built a custom checkout flow that works exactly the way you want.

UniBee’s new External Gateway option removes the constraint. You keep your payment logic. UniBee keeps the subscription logic. And the two talk to each other through a clean, secure API.

What Is the External Gateway?

It’s a different kind of payment gateway—one that doesn’t process payments directly inside UniBee. Instead, it hands responsibility to your backend.

As the configuration screen makes clear:

Getting Started with External Gateways

Under Configuration > Payment Gateways, you’ll find the External Gateway option. Select it and click Set up to configure.

View our External Gateway Integration Guide for implementation details.

How the Integration Works

The workflow is straightforward and symmetrical.

• UniBee manages billing objects. Invoices, subscriptions, payment records, and refund requests are created and tracked inside the platform. You don’t rebuild billing logic.
• Your system handles actual payment execution. When an invoice is due, your backend triggers your own checkout flow, processes the charge using whatever gateway or method you prefer, and captures the result.
• Your backend syncs results back via API. After payment succeeds or fails, you call UniBee’s Mark APIs to report the outcome. UniBee updates the invoice status, subscription state, and fires the appropriate webhooks.
• Backend integration is required — not optional. This gateway cannot function without a working API integration. Setup alone is not enough.

What Problem This Solves

Three common scenarios where External Gateway becomes essential:

• Legacy or custom payment processors. You have an existing contract with a regional bank or a specialized payment provider. Switching to Stripe isn’t feasible. External Gateway lets you keep that relationship intact.
• PCI scope reduction. You want to minimize your PCI compliance burden. By handling payment execution in a separate, isolated system, you can keep UniBee out of scope entirely.
• Unique checkout requirements. Your checkout involves complex logic—multi-step verification, custom fraud rules, or integration with a third-party KYC service. External Gateway lets you preserve that flow.

Full Control Over Time and Money

Two features. One shared goal. Giving you complete authority over how your subscription business operates.

• Multi-Phases handles the when. When a trial ends. When a discount period expires. When a customer moves from an introductory offer to standard pricing. You define the timeline. UniBee executes the transitions automatically.
• External Gateways handle the where. Where the actual payment happens. Where the money moves. Whether it’s Stripe, a crypto processor, a wire transfer, or a custom-built system. You keep your payment logic. UniBee manages the subscription lifecycle around it.

Together, they solve a problem that most billing platforms ignore: rigidity.

You’re not forced into a single pricing structure. You’re not locked into a specific payment gateway. You build what makes sense for your product and your customers.