Import subscriptions

Import from Stripe

Import customers and subscriptions from Stripe into Subsail

You can import existing customers from Stripe as subscribers into Subsail.

Because Subsail's payments are handled by Stripe, you can easily migrate subscriptions created in Stripe into renewing Subsail subscriptions.

If you want to import Stripe customers as non-renewing subscriptions, you can use the regular CSV import instead.

During import you can specify a Subsail product that each customer will be moved on to, and the magazine issues they should have access to. If the product is renewing, imported subscriptions will renew on your issue release dates.

The import process works with a CSV upload.

Stripe imports only work with issue-based subscriptions, not memberships. If you want to import Stripe customers onto Subsail membership products, email dan@subsail.com.

Create a Stripe export

Go to Customers in Stripe. You can import your full customer list or use filters to import a specific subset.

Above the list of customers, click "Export".

Connect Stripe in Subsail

To be able to import from Stripe, you need to connect Stripe in Subsail.

Go to Settings > Integrations in Subsail.

Click "Connect Stripe".

Follow the instructions to connect your Stripe account.

Create a Subsail product

Every imported customer from Stripe needs to be associated with a Subsail subscription or membership product. During import, the customer will have a new subscription/membership created for them, including the magazines you specify in the import.

Go to Sell in Subsail and create a new product.

Copy the product ID for the next step.

Prepare the CSV

Subsail needs the following data when importing from Stripe.

Required columns:

email
stripe_customer_id (cus_…)
product_id (the ID of the Subsail product each customer's subscription should be migrated on to)
start_issue
country
order_id (unique — e.g. Stripe charge ID)
price
currency (original charge price, for reference; future renewals use the assigned Subsail product's price)
date (the date of the original charge, YYYY-MM-DD format)

Optional:

length (optional.how many issues per charge, if omitted, defaults to product's length)
name/address fields (required if the customer needs to be shipped physical magazines)
sent_issues (a list of magazine issue nummbers like 1|2|3 or All that should be marked as sent)
sent_dates (a list of dates in YYYY-MM-DD format like 2026-01-01|2026-01-02|2026-01-03 that record in Subsail when the sent issues were sent)

Import into Subsail

Go to Import > Upload a CSV in Subsail.

Subsail creates a customer record, subscription, periods and copies based on the information in the CSV file.

During import, Subsail will check your connected Stripe account for customers and their default payment method. If either can't be found, the row will be skipped.

If your Subsail product is renewing, imported customers will be charged just like any Subsail-initiated subscriptions, on the renewal dates you specify on your issues.