Sell Subscription Plans to Employers
Build recurring revenue with employer subscription plans.
What are employer subscription plans?
Employer subscriptions are recurring payment arrangements where employers pay a monthly or annual fee for ongoing access to your job board, rather than paying per posting. They provide predictable revenue, deepen employer relationships, and increase lifetime value compared to one-time purchases.
Why subscriptions matter
Subscriptions transform your business model. Monthly recurring revenue makes your income predictable. Subscribers stay longer than one-time buyers, increasing lifetime value. Regular employers become partners who are invested in your board's success. And committed employers keep posting, which means more content for job seekers.
Subscription models
Unlimited posting plans
The most common subscription model gives employers unlimited postings for a flat fee.
Monthly ($299 to $999/month): unlimited job postings with all features included. Employers can cancel anytime.
Annual ($2,499 to $9,999/year): the same unlimited access at a 15% to 20% discount over the monthly rate, typically with priority support included.
Tiered subscriptions
Tiered plans let you serve different employer sizes and budgets:
| Tier | Price | Active postings | Key features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $199/month | 5 | Basic features, email support |
| Professional | $399/month | 15 | Featured placement, resume access, priority support |
| Enterprise | $799/month | Unlimited | All features, dedicated account manager, custom reporting |
Credit-based subscriptions
An alternative to unlimited plans: employers purchase posting credits that they use as needed. Unused credits roll over month to month, which encourages advance purchases and reduces churn since employers don't want to lose their balance.
Pricing subscriptions
Calculate your value
Base subscription pricing on your employers' typical usage. If an employer normally posts 3 jobs per month at $200 each ($600/month), a $500/month subscription offers clear savings and makes the decision easy.
Factor in the value of included features like resume database access and featured placements. These add real value beyond just the posting discount.
Annual discount strategy
Encourage annual commitments by offering a meaningful discount. A common structure: $399/month ($4,788/year) vs. $3,499/year (27% savings). The discount is justified by reduced churn, upfront cash flow, and lower payment processing fees.
Setting up subscriptions in Cavuno
Create subscription plans in your Cavuno dashboard. See create and manage pricing plans for detailed instructions on configuring plans, pricing, and features.
Managing subscriptions in your dashboard
View subscriptions
Click Subscriptions in the sidebar. The table shows six columns: Employer (email address), Plan (name and type), Price (currency, amount, and billing interval), Status, Period (renewal date or expiry), and Started (when the subscription began).
Subscription statuses
- Active: the employer's subscription is current and they can post jobs
- Trialing: the employer is in a trial period
- Past Due: payment failed but the subscription hasn't been canceled yet
- Canceled: the subscription has ended
- Canceling: the employer canceled but still has access until their paid period ends
Managing subscriptions
Most subscription management happens through Stripe. Click on a subscription to view details, then access your Stripe dashboard to issue refunds, cancel subscriptions, update payment methods, or view payment history.
Stripe handles payment retries and reminder emails automatically. After several failed attempts, Stripe cancels the subscription and the employer loses posting access.
Revenue reporting
Your Stripe dashboard provides full revenue reporting including monthly recurring revenue, new subscriptions, churn rate, and revenue by plan. Go to Reports > Revenue in your Stripe dashboard for these metrics.
Building subscription value
What to include
Make subscriptions compelling by bundling features that employers actually use. For job posting: higher limits or unlimited access, longer listing durations, and priority placement. For recruitment: resume database access, candidate alerts, and application management tools. For branding: a featured company profile, sponsored content options, and newsletter inclusion.
What to reserve for upsells
Keep some features separate from subscriptions so you have room to generate additional revenue: one-time featured homepage placement, premium content sponsorships, and dedicated recruitment services.
Managing subscribers
Onboarding
Subscriber success in the first week predicts long-term retention. Send a welcome email with a quick-start guide, offer account setup assistance, review their first posting if that's part of your service, and check in after the first week.
Retention
Keep subscribers engaged with monthly usage reports showing their posting performance, application analytics, feature announcements, and timely renewal reminders.
Handling cancellations
When a subscriber wants to cancel, ask for feedback (an optional survey), offer alternatives like pausing or downgrading, process the cancellation gracefully, and keep the door open for their return. A positive cancellation experience often leads to reactivation later.
Subscription metrics
Monthly recurring revenue (MRR)
Total subscription revenue per month. This is the single most important metric for a subscription-based job board.
Churn rate
The percentage of subscribers who cancel each month. Under 5% monthly churn is good. Over 10% is concerning and signals a value or pricing problem.
Lifetime value (LTV)
Average revenue per subscriber over their entire relationship. Calculate it as: average monthly revenue divided by monthly churn rate. For example, $399/month with 5% churn equals $7,980 LTV.
Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
The cost to acquire each new subscriber. Your LTV should be at least 3x your CAC for a healthy business.
When to introduce subscriptions
Add subscriptions when you have employers who post repeatedly (they're your first subscribers), proven job seeker traffic that demonstrates value, and features worth subscribing to beyond just posting access.
Balancing subscriptions with pay-per-post
Keep both options available. New employers should start with pay-per-post to test your board. Regular employers benefit from subscription savings. Occasional employers are best served by pay-per-post. The two models are complementary, not competing.
Common mistakes
Overcomplicating tiers: too many options confuse customers. Start with two to three clear tiers and expand later if needed.
Underpricing: subscriptions should represent moderate savings over pay-per-post, not massive discounts. You're selling convenience and commitment, not just volume.
Ignoring churn: a 10% monthly churn rate means replacing your entire subscriber base every year. Focus on retention, not just acquisition.
Skipping onboarding: subscribers who don't use the service in their first week churn at dramatically higher rates. Help them succeed early.