Introducing the Chargebee CLI
chargebee docs

Go-live Checklist

Introduction

This go-live checklist will help you finalize the Live site after configuring your Chargebee Test site via the implementation guide. A Live site is one where transactions occur in real time, involving actual charges to payment methods and real income generation.

Activate your Live Site

Plan selection and checkout are a separate step from verifying go-live settings. Follow Activate your Live Site to select a plan and activate the Live site. Then continue with this checklist to transfer configurations and reconfigure settings that do not transfer.

Transfer Configurations

Transfer configurations, products, and pricing data from the Test site to the Live site. You can select the following settings: We recommend that you transfer everything:

If you skipped any step on the TEST site implementation guide, you can either complete that first in the TEST Site and then transfer it or directly set it up on the LIVE site. To start the transfer, click Settings > Configure Chargebee > Transfer Configurations.

Learn more about Transfer Configurations.

Additional Settings

While you can use Transfer Configurations to transfer the majority of the settings and data from the Test site to the Live site, you need to reconfigure the following settings on the LIVE Site.

1. Adding Users

When you have already invited users to your Test site and need those users to have access to your Live site as well, re-invite those users again from the Live site. In Chargebee, access is controlled at a site level, irrespective of the Test or Live site. Therefore, you need to invite users explicitly for each site.

2. Setting Up Payment Gateway

Connect your production/live version of your payment gateway to the LIVE site. Learn more about setting up a payment gateway.

3. Change API Keys for your Integrations

API Keys authenticate your application and control its access to the Chargebee API.

API Keys for Test and Live sites are distinct from each other.

To create and configure the API keys, select Settings > Configure Chargebee > API Keys and Webhooks, and then click on the API Keys tab.

4. Change Domain Name for Checkout & Portal

If you have integrated Chargebee Checkout into your website, replace the domain name in your integration script or URL. For example: acme-test → acme.

5. Reconfigure Taxes

Reconfigure your tax settings on your live site. Learn more about taxes.

Testing

We recommend that you run a few small-value test transactions with real cards in your Live site before offering it to your customers.

  • Test your checkout flow by creating a new order/subscription using a plan with an amount and 0 trial days to ensure the card is charged immediately.
  • After a subscription has been created and charged successfully, try to add a charge immediately after 20 minutes. This is to confirm that the recurring charges are successful.
  • Cancel an order / subscription.
  • Issue a partial refund.
  • Issue a full refund.

Try these tests using all the card types that you've enabled.

To test billing configurations, you can use Time Machine, a simulation tool that lets you travel back from the present and then move forward through the simulated dates. It supports testing of consolidated invoicing, subscription states, scheduled subscription actions, and webhooks, so you can see how the billing rules configured on your test site behave.

Once you have completed all the test transactions, log in to your Live payment gateway account and check for corresponding entries there.

External Settings

There are a few things that you will need to have done outside of Chargebee:

1. SSL Certificate(s)

Security is non-negotiable, and it pays to have a proper SSL certificate, regardless of whether you let credit card information pass through your server or not.

Wildcard certificates are expensive, and you do not need them unless you intend to allow your customers to create subdomains under your site, as Chargebee does.

As a merchant, you will only need a single domain certificate with a named sub-domain, like app.xyz.com or billing.xyz.

The SSL certificate requirements differ based on how you integrate with Chargebee:

  • Chargebee's Checkout SSL Certificate is not mandatory for merchants using Chargebee's Checkout. However, we do recommend configuring HTTPS for the webhook URLs.

  • API-based/Custom Checkout Pages It is mandatory for merchants using custom checkout pages to have HTTPS configured. As credit card details are transferred via the merchant's servers, having an SSL certificate is mandatory.

  • Where to get SSL Certificates You can get an SSL certificate from many companies, and the price varies from $9 per year to $195 per year, depending on the provider. Here are a few providers:

Buy the certificate from a trusted source and install it.

2. Compliance Requirements

As a customer of Chargebee using Chargebee's Checkout, submit a Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ-A) to stay compliant (the basic level of compliance required).

Your exposure is minimal when using Chargebee Checkout with the basic declaration to submit to Payment Gateway. Some gateways ask for this SAQ-A form to be submitted once a year and some don't.

You may download the latest version of the SAQ-A document from the PCI Security Standards Website. It is under the SAQs section. For any queries, email security@chargebee.com.

3. Approved Payment Gateway and Merchant Account

If you don't already have an approved payment gateway and merchant account, you need to get them before going live. Learn more about the card payment method.

As part of your payment gateway settings, check these documents as well:

Post-Go-Live Optimization

Migration

You can migrate your data from any other billing provider or a third-party system to Chargebee.

Users can opt for Self-migration using Chargebee's Bulk Operations or the Import API (subscriptions, invoices) for API users. Alternatively, the migration team can assist. To raise a request to our migration team, go to your Chargebee app and click Settings > Import and Export data > Raise a migration request.