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How Phoenix Works: System Overview

Phoenix is a unified eCommerce and subscription system that connects your stores, checkout pages, gateways, customer billing profiles, and payment processing logic into a single platform. You use Phoenix to manage subscription renewals, route payments, store customer data, and automate billing actions without relying on external systems.

This system overview explains how these core elements work together behind the scenes.

System Architecture​

Phoenix uses a modular architecture with four core layers that work together to handle payments, subscriptions, and customer activity.

Core System Components​

Phoenix is made up of five main components that operate together:

Store

A store represents your business environment. You can use stores to separate brands, regions, product lines, or markets. The store defines how your business operates, including:

  • Currency and locale

  • Gateway and processor setup

  • Salvage and retry rules

  • Subscription settings

  • Fee and tax configuration

All customers, products, and billing activity flow through a store.

Checkout

A checkout connects your store to a payment processor. When a customer purchases a product or begins a subscription, Phoenix captures their billing details, enrolls them into the correct product, and assigns their payment method to that store.

The checkout sends customer and transaction details back to Phoenix, and the platform handles renewals, retries, and billing rules automatically.

Customer Profile

A billing profile stores secure customer payment information. Phoenix tokenizes and manages this profile so you can:

  • Charge renewals automatically

  • Retry failed payments

  • Change payment methods

  • Keep billing data secure and PCI compliant

Gateway & Processor

Phoenix routes payments through the gateway configured in your store. The gateway returns transaction results, such as approvals, declines, response codes, and reason descriptions. Phoenix uses these responses to:

  • Approve or deny charges

  • Trigger retry or salvage workflows

  • Update subscription status

  • Generate analytics for revenue visibility

Gateways handle the transaction; Phoenix handles the decisions that follow.

Processing Logic

Phoenix applies automated logic to renew subscriptions, retry payments, enforce billing rules, and execute store-wide business logic. This processing engine manages:

  • Renewal timing and cycles

  • Salvage and retry attempts

  • Trial conversions

  • Pauses and cancellations

  • Chargebacks and refunds (when available)

This logic ensures every transaction follows consistent rules across every store.

How Phoenix Handles a Subscription Renewal​

When a subscription is due for renewal, Phoenix processes it through a standardized sequence:

  1. Renewal Trigger

    Phoenix identifies subscriptions scheduled for billing.

  2. Validation

    It checks customer status, billing profile, store rules, holds, trials, and timing.

  3. Gateway Routing

    Phoenix selects the correct gateway configuration based on the store and settings.

  4. Payment Attempt

    The gateway authorizes or declines the charge.

  5. Decision Logic

    • If approved, Phoenix updates the renewal date, records the order, and stores the result.

    • If declined, Phoenix triggers salvage logic (based on your store rules).

This process repeats automatically without manual action.

Key System Benefits​

Phoenix streamlines subscription billing and payment operations through:

Automated Subscription Management

Payment Orchestration

Complete Customer Visibility

Operational Control

Security and Compliance

Phoenix provides a single system for subscription management, checkout operations, payment processing logic, and customer billing data. By connecting stores, checkouts, processors, and billing profiles under one automation layer, Phoenix keeps your business scalable, secure, and consistent across brands and high-volume operations.

To continue learning how Phoenix works, explore: