Articles on: Services & ordering

Choose a service type

Every service you sell in Zendo is one of three types: one-off, subscription or custom. Each type is set up differently, so you choose it once, when you select Create service in Settings › Sales › Services. You cannot change it afterwards.


Create service starts with the kind: one-off, subscription or custom. You choose it once.


One-off: a fixed scope for a fixed price


A one-off service works well when you know the scope and the price before the client buys. The price comes from a table of items. You can make an item an optional add-on, and you can let the client choose the quantity. When the client can change the price this way, Zendo shows it as Starting at followed by an amount. When the client pays, an order appears in Zendo. See Sell a fixed-price service and Add add-ons and let clients choose quantity.


Subscription: the client pays every billing cycle


A subscription works well when the client pays every cycle and keeps sending you work. You build it from packages instead of items. Each package has its own billing cycles, prices, free trial, pausing and request limits. Request limits decide how much work a subscriber can have with you at the same time. A subscription has no add-ons; to offer more, you offer a higher package. See Sell a subscription with packages.


Custom: priced with a quote


A custom service can be used for work you cannot price until you see what the client needs. A custom service has no fixed price, so the Front Desk shows Custom instead of an amount. The client sends a brief, and you reply with a quote. See Quote for custom work priced case by case.


What all three types share


In general, the three types work the same way. Every service can:


  • have an Order Form the client fills in at checkout;
  • appear on the Front Desk;
  • have its own link;
  • create a request after a purchase;
  • unlock request types for the client who buys it.


See Add an Order Form to a service and Decide what happens after a purchase.


Free work is a request type, not a service


There is no free service type, and a service cannot be saved with items that all cost 0. Quotes and invoices also need at least one item with a price. To offer something for free, such as a consultation or a support question, let clients submit a request type for it instead. No order or document is created. See Create a request type and Decide who can submit a request type.


Find and share services


Settings › Sales › Services lists your services of all types. To find a service, search the list or filter it by Service type and Front Desk. A filter marked Pro + needs a higher plan. To copy a service's own link without opening it, use Copy Front Desk link on its row. The link works whether or not the service is on the Front Desk. See Sell with a direct link, without the Front Desk.


The services list, with the Service type and Front Desk filters, the type of each service, and the link icon that copies its Front Desk link.


If you have more services than your plan allows, Zendo archives the extra ones instead of deleting them. The archived services show how many your plan archived. They come back as soon as you upgrade. See Understand your plan and limits.



Updated on: 09/11/2026

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