Understanding Laravel Cashier's Core Traits: A Deep Dive

Laravel Cashier provides several powerful traits that handle Stripe integrations. Today, we'll explore three core traits and their public methods: ManagesSubscriptions, ManagesCustomer, and ManagesInvoices. Understanding these traits is crucial for implementing subscription-based billing in your Laravel applications.

ManagesSubscriptions Trait

Subscription Creation and Management

newSubscription($type, $prices = [])

Creates new subscription builder instance. Type defines the subscription name (e.g., 'default'), and prices can be single ID or array.

Trial Management

onTrial($type = 'default', $price = null)

• No parameters: Checks ONLY generic (model-level) trial
• With $type: Checks subscription-specific trial
• With both: Checks if specific price is on trial
• Returns boolean

hasExpiredTrial($type = 'default', $price = null)

• No parameters: Checks generic trial expiration
• With $type: Checks specific subscription trial expiration
• With both: Verifies specific price trial expiration
• Returns boolean

onGenericTrial()

• Checks model-level trial status
• Returns true if trial_ends_at exists and is future
• No parameters needed

scopeOnGenericTrial($query)

• Scope to filter customers on generic trial
• Used in query builder
• Requires query builder instance

hasExpiredGenericTrial()

• Checks if model-level trial has expired
• Returns true if trial_ends_at exists and is past
• No parameters needed

scopeHasExpiredGenericTrial($query)

• Scope to filter customers with expired generic trials
• Used in query builder
• Requires query builder instance

trialEndsAt($type = 'default')

• No parameters: Returns generic trial end date if on generic trial
• With $type: Returns subscription-specific trial end date
• Returns Carbon instance or null

Subscription Status Checking

subscribed($type = 'default', $price = null)

• Just $type: Checks valid subscription existence
• With $price: Checks specific price subscription
• Returns boolean

subscription($type = 'default')

• Gets subscription by type
• Returns Subscription model or null

subscriptions()

• Gets all subscriptions
• Returns HasMany relationship
• No parameters needed

hasIncompletePayment($type = 'default')

• Checks for incomplete payment on subscription
• Returns boolean

subscribedToProduct($products, $type = 'default')

• $products: Single product ID or array
• $type: Subscription type to check
• Returns boolean
• Checks if subscribed to ANY of given products

subscribedToPrice($prices, $type = 'default')

• $prices: Single price ID or array
• $type: Subscription type to check
• Returns boolean
• Checks if subscribed to ANY of given prices

onProduct($product)

• Checks for valid subscription with specific product
• Returns boolean
• More specific than subscribedToProduct

onPrice($price)

• Checks for valid subscription with specific price
• Returns boolean
• More specific than subscribedToPrice

taxRates()

• Gets tax rates for subscription
• Returns array
• Empty by default, meant to be overridden

priceTaxRates()

• Gets tax rates for individual subscription items
• Returns array
• Empty by default, meant to be overridden

ManagesCustomer Trait

Customer Identification

stripeId()

• Returns Stripe customer ID or null
• No parameters needed
• Returns string|null

hasStripeId()

• Checks if customer has Stripe ID
• Returns boolean
• No parameters needed

Customer Creation and Management

createAsStripeCustomer(array $options = [])

• Creates new Stripe customer
• Options affect customer metadata, email, name, etc.
• Throws exception if customer already exists
• Returns Stripe Customer object

updateStripeCustomer(array $options = [])

• Updates existing Stripe customer
• Options determine what gets updated
• Returns updated Stripe Customer object
• Requires existing customer

createOrGetStripeCustomer(array $options = [])

• Gets existing customer or creates new one
• Options affect creation if needed
• Returns Stripe Customer object
• More forgiving than createAsStripeCustomer

updateOrCreateStripeCustomer(array $options = [])

• Updates existing or creates new customer
• Options affect both update and creation
• Returns Stripe Customer object
• Combines update and create functionality

syncStripeCustomerDetails()

• Syncs local details to Stripe
• Returns Stripe Customer object
• Uses model attributes for sync

syncOrCreateStripeCustomer(array $options = [])

• Syncs if exists or creates new customer
• Options affect creation if needed
• Returns Stripe Customer object

asStripeCustomer(array $expand = [])

• Gets Stripe customer object
• Expand parameter determines related data
• Returns Stripe Customer object
• Requires existing customer

Customer Attributes

stripeName()

• Gets name for Stripe sync
• Returns string|null
• Default returns $this->name

stripeEmail()

• Gets email for Stripe sync
• Returns string|null
• Default returns $this->email

stripePhone()

• Gets phone for Stripe sync
• Returns string|null
• Default returns $this->phone

stripeAddress()

• Gets address for Stripe sync
• Returns array|null
• Empty by default

stripePreferredLocales()

• Gets preferred locales for Stripe
• Returns array
• Empty by default

stripeMetadata()

• Gets metadata for Stripe
• Returns array
• Empty by default

Discount Management

discount()

• Gets active customer discount
• Returns Discount object or null
• No parameters needed

applyCoupon($coupon)

• Applies coupon to customer
• Void return
• Requires coupon ID

applyPromotionCode($promotionCodeId)

• Applies promotion code to customer
• Void return
• Requires promotion code ID

findPromotionCode($code, array $options = [])

• Finds promotion code
• Returns PromotionCode object or null
• Options affect search

findActivePromotionCode($code, array $options = [])

• Finds active promotion code
• Returns PromotionCode object or null
• Options affect search

Balance Management

balance()

• Gets formatted customer balance
• Returns string
• No parameters needed

rawBalance()

• Gets raw customer balance
• Returns integer
• No parameters needed

balanceTransactions($limit = 10, array $options = [])

• Gets customer balance transactions
• Returns Collection
• Limit affects returned count

creditBalance($amount, $description = null, array $options = [])

• Credits customer balance
• Returns CustomerBalanceTransaction
• Amount is required

debitBalance($amount, $description = null, array $options = [])

• Debits customer balance
• Returns CustomerBalanceTransaction
• Amount is required

applyBalance($amount, $description = null, array $options = [])

• Applies balance adjustment
• Returns CustomerBalanceTransaction
• Amount is required

Tax Management

taxIds(array $options = [])

• Gets customer tax IDs
• Returns Collection
• Options affect retrieval

createTaxId($type, $value)

• Creates new tax ID
• Returns Stripe TaxId
• Both parameters required

deleteTaxId($id)

• Deletes tax ID
• Void return
• Requires tax ID

findTaxId($id)

• Finds specific tax ID
• Returns Stripe TaxId or null
• Requires tax ID

Tax Status Checking

isNotTaxExempt()

• Checks if customer is not tax exempt
• Returns boolean
• No parameters needed

isTaxExempt()

• Checks if customer is tax exempt
• Returns boolean
• No parameters needed

reverseChargeApplies()

• Checks if reverse charge applies
• Returns boolean
• No parameters needed

Billing Portal

billingPortalUrl($returnUrl = null, array $options = [])

• Gets Stripe billing portal URL
• Returns string
• ReturnUrl optional

redirectToBillingPortal($returnUrl = null, array $options = [])

• Redirects to Stripe billing portal
• Returns RedirectResponse
• ReturnUrl optional

ManagesInvoices Trait

Invoice Items

tab($description, $amount, array $options = [])

• Adds invoice item
• Returns Stripe InvoiceItem
• Description and amount required

tabPrice($price, $quantity = 1, array $options = [])

• Adds price-based item
• Returns Stripe InvoiceItem
• Price ID required

Invoice Creation

invoiceFor($description, $amount, array $tabOptions = [], array $invoiceOptions = [])

• Creates immediate invoice
• Returns Invoice object
• Description and amount required

invoicePrice($price, $quantity = 1, array $tabOptions = [], array $invoiceOptions = [])

• Creates price-based invoice
• Returns Invoice object
• Price ID required

invoice(array $options = [])

• Generates invoice
• Returns Invoice object
• Options affect creation

createInvoice(array $options = [])

• Creates Stripe invoice
• Returns Invoice object
• Options affect creation

Invoice Retrieval

upcomingInvoice(array $options = [])

• Gets upcoming invoice
• Returns Invoice object or null
• Options affect preview

findInvoice($id)

• Finds specific invoice
• Returns Invoice object or null
• Requires invoice ID

findInvoiceOrFail($id)

• Finds invoice or throws exception
• Returns Invoice object
• Requires invoice ID
• Throws NotFoundHttpException or AccessDeniedHttpException

downloadInvoice($id, array $data = [], $filename = null)

• Gets invoice PDF
• Returns Response
• ID required, filename optional

invoices($includePending = false, array $parameters = [])

• Gets all invoices
• Returns Collection
• Parameters affect filtering

invoicesIncludingPending(array $parameters = [])

• Gets all invoices including pending
• Returns Collection
• Shorthand for invoices(true)

cursorPaginateInvoices($perPage = 24, array $parameters = [], $cursorName = 'cursor', $cursor = null)

• Gets paginated invoices
• Returns CursorPaginator
• Multiple parameters affect pagination

Key Observations

1. Parameter Sensitivity: Methods often have different behaviors based on parameter presence.
2. Return Types: Methods consistently return specific types (boolean, objects, collections).
3. Default Values: Many parameters have reasonable defaults but can be overridden.
4. Trait Interdependence: Methods often rely on other trait methods.
5. Stripe Integration: Most methods interact with Stripe's API either directly or indirectly.

Best Practices

1. Always check parameter requirements for desired behavior.
2. Handle potential exceptions, especially for *OrFail methods.
3. Use proper type hinting when extending these traits.
4. Test different parameter combinations thoroughly.
5. Consider caching frequent calls to reduce API requests.

Conclusion

These traits form the backbone of Laravel Cashier's functionality. Understanding the full scope of available methods and their parameter behaviors is crucial for proper implementation. Always consult the official documentation alongside this reference for the most up-to-date information.