Subscription Terms Outline
An outline for subscription terms written from how your recurring service actually works, so the document and the system say the same thing.
What you receive
An outline of subscription terms that follows your renewal cycle, cancellation process and price-change procedure as they operate, plus a short plain-language summary written for the sign-up screen, so a customer need not dig through the full document to see what they agree to. The wording is illustrative: it is a starting point to take to your own lawyer, not finished contract drafting.
Where subscriptions go wrong
Recurring services are often built before the terms are written, or the terms are adapted from a one-time-purchase template that never quite fits. The result is rarely unlawful, but a customer can be left unsure when the next charge falls or how to stop it, and that is where complaints tend to begin. Since the 2022 amendments the confirmation screen of a regular-purchase offer also has to present the main conditions clearly (Art. 12-6).
How the outline is built
It starts from a short description of sign-up, billing and cancellation in your system, and the outline is built around that description, not the other way round. That keeps the renewal mechanism, the stop procedure and the information shown at sign-up consistent with what happens when a customer presses the button.
A sample outline line
Illustrative wording, to be reviewed by your own lawyer
Renewal (outline) This subscription renews automatically at the interval chosen at sign-up. Cancelling before the renewal date prevents the next charge. The period already in progress is not refunded unless the store states otherwise on this page.
How it proceeds
You send a written or spoken description of the billing flow. A first outline follows, then one round of revision, then a final version paired with the sign-up summary. Questions about how a line interacts with the payment system are asked as they arise.
Price and scope
from ¥27,000
- · Scope of about three weeks, confirmed in writing
- · One revision round included
- · Plain-language sign-up summary included
- · Outline built around your actual billing flow
Starting price. Scope, tax treatment and payment are confirmed in writing before any work begins.
What it does not cover
The outline is not a signed-off contract and is not tailored legal drafting. It does not include payment-provider terms, negotiation of any clause, or a view on how a court would treat a given clause. A lawyer should review the final text before it goes live.
Next step
Write to us through the contact page with a short description of the service and its billing cycle. Scope and timing are confirmed in writing before anything is prepared.
Other written notes
Online Terms Review Notes
Published terms read against the display items of the Act.
Note 03Complaint Handling Briefing
A one-hour briefing on the general rules around a complaint.