Managing subscriptions as a developer or agency

If you build or manage WooCommerce stores for clients, you’ll often need to purchase, configure, and eventually hand off extension subscriptions. This page covers best practices and common workflows for developers and agencies working with WooCommerce.com subscriptions on behalf of clients.

Deciding who should purchase the subscription

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Before purchasing extensions for a client project, consider who should own the subscription long-term. This decision affects billing, support access, and how much handoff work is needed later.

Approach	Best for	Considerations
Client purchases directly	Clients who are comfortable managing their own WooCommerce.com account	Client owns everything from the start. No transfer needed. You may need to guide them through the purchase process.
You purchase, then transfer	Client projects where you handle setup but the client will manage the store long-term	You control the setup phase. When the project is complete, you transfer the subscription to the client’s WooCommerce.com account, which moves both ownership and billing to them.
You purchase and retain ownership	Ongoing client relationships where you manage the store on the client’s behalf	You keep ownership and billing. You can share the subscription with the client’s account so they have access, or manage everything yourself.

There is no single right answer — the best approach depends on your client relationship and how ongoing your involvement will be.

Setting up a client site with extensions

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A typical workflow for setting up a client’s site with WooCommerce.com extensions:

1. Purchase the extension on your WooCommerce.com account (or have the client purchase it on theirs, and share the subscription or add you as a Collaborator).
2. Connect your WooCommerce.com account to the client’s site via WooCommerce > Extensions > My Subscriptions in the WordPress dashboard.
3. Download and install the extension on the site.
4. Activate the subscription key for the site so it receives updates and support.
5. Configure the extension as needed for the client’s store.

When development is complete and you’re ready to hand off, you’ll need to decide whether to transfer, share, or disconnect your subscription. See Handing off to the client below.

Multi-site subscriptions

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If you had purchased a legacy multi-site subscription prior to February 2020, the following applies:

• You receive multiple subscription keys under a single subscription.
• Each key can be connected to a different client site.
• All keys are billed together under your WooCommerce.com account.

Sharing keys from a multi-site subscription

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You can share individual keys from a multi-site subscription with other WooCommerce.com accounts. This is useful when:

• A client needs to manage their own site connection for an extension you’ve purchased.
• You want the client to have access to download and update the extension from their own account.

When you share a key, you retain ownership and billing for the entire subscription. The client only gains access to use the shared key.

Limitations of multi-site subscriptions

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• Multi-site subscriptions cannot be split. You cannot transfer individual keys from a 5-site or 25-site package to separate WooCommerce.com accounts. The entire subscription is treated as a single unit for ownership and billing purposes.
• Each key connects to one site. If you need to move a key from one client site to another, you must first disconnect it from the current site.
• Two accounts cannot be linked to the same site. If both you and a client have WooCommerce.com accounts, only one can be connected to the site at a time.

If your client needs full independent ownership of a subscription, the best option is for the client to purchase their own single-site subscription, or for you to purchase a single-site subscription separately and transfer it to them.

Handing off to the client

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When a client project is complete and the client will be managing their store going forward, you’ll need to transition the subscription access. There are several options:

Option 1: Transfer the subscription

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Use this when the client should take over full ownership and billing.

1. Transfer the subscription from your WooCommerce.com account to the client’s account.
2. Once the client accepts the transfer, they own the subscription and are responsible for renewals.
3. The client connects the subscription to their site from their own WooCommerce.com account.

This is the cleanest handoff for single-site subscriptions where the client will be fully independent going forward.

Option 2: Share the subscription

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Use this when you want to retain ownership and billing but give the client access.

1. Share the subscription with the client’s WooCommerce.com account.
2. The client can download, install, and receive updates for the extension.
3. You continue to manage billing and can revoke access if needed.

This works well for ongoing agency-client relationships where you manage the subscription as part of a service agreement.

Option 3: Client purchases their own subscription

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Use this when you want the cleanest separation and the client is comfortable purchasing on their own.

1. Have the client create a WooCommerce.com account (if they don’t have one) and purchase the extension themselves.
2. Disconnect your subscription key from the client’s site.
3. The client connects their new subscription to the site from their own account.

This avoids the transfer or sharing process entirely, but means the client pays for a new subscription even if you already have an active one.

Should you need to manage the extension on the client’s behalf, they can add you as a collaborator.

For details, see Adding collaborators to your WooCommerce.com account.

Option 4: Add the client as a collaborator

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If the client needs access to manage the site on WooCommerce.com without owning the subscription, you can add them as a collaborator on your WooCommerce.com account. Collaborators can manage connected sites and access support, but they don’t own the subscriptions or handle billing.

For details, see Adding collaborators to your WooCommerce.com account.

Managing subscriptions across multiple clients

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When you work with many clients, keeping track of subscriptions can become complex. Here are some tips:

• Use a consistent WooCommerce.com account for your agency. Purchase and manage all subscriptions from a single account to keep everything in one place.
• Document which subscription keys are connected to which client sites. The My Subscriptions page shows connected sites, but keeping your own records can help, especially with multi-site subscriptions.
• Set calendar reminders for renewal dates. Even with auto-renew enabled, it’s good practice to review upcoming renewals periodically to confirm payment methods are up to date and subscriptions are still needed.
• Review subscriptions when offboarding a client. When your relationship with a client ends, decide whether to transfer, disconnect, or reassign the subscription key to another project.

Common agency scenarios

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“My client wants to manage everything themselves”

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Have the client purchase the subscription on their own WooCommerce.com account, or purchase it yourself and transfer it to them. After the transfer, the client handles billing and subscription management independently.

“I want to keep ownership but let my client access the extension”

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Share the subscription with the client’s WooCommerce.com account. They can download and update the extension, but you retain ownership and billing control.

“I’m moving a client to a new site”

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Disconnect the subscription key from the old site and connect it to the new site. Go to My Subscriptions on your WooCommerce.com account, remove the site connection for the old site, and then connect the key to the new site via the WordPress dashboard. See Activate and manage your subscriptions.

“My client is switching to a different developer”

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If the client should own the subscription, transfer it to their account. The new developer can then work with the client’s account directly. If you retain the subscription, you can share it with the new developer’s account or disconnect and reassign the key.

“I need the same extension on many client sites”

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If you’re managing many client sites which need WooCommerce.com extensions, we recommend using Automattic for Agencies to streamline your site and extension management experience.

Related documentation

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• What are WooCommerce.com subscriptions?
• Activate and manage your subscriptions
• Transfer a subscription
• Share a subscription
• Auto-renewal, cancellation, refunds
• Adding collaborators to your WooCommerce.com account

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Questions and support

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Do you still have questions and need assistance? 

• Get in touch with a Happiness Engineer via our Help Desk. We provide support for extensions developed by and/or sold on WooCommerce.com, and Jetpack/WordPress.com customers.
• If you are not a customer, we recommend finding help in the WooCommerce support forum or hiring a Woo Agency Partner. These are trusted agencies with a proven track record of building highly customized, scalable online stores. Learn more about Woo Agency Partners.