You have already created your subscriptions (if not, start with Subscriptions: automatic recurring payments). Here you will find what to do while they are running: check who is paying, handle a cancellation, understand what happens when a charge does not go through.
Where to find them #
All subscriptions are under Payments > Subscriptions, whether they come from Pages, Paylink or Donation. For each one the list shows the status, the amount with its frequency (for example «CHF 30.00 / 1 Month»), the description, the customer and the date of the Next payment.
With the search field and Filter you can find a specific subscription or narrow the list, for example by status or by the page or donation campaign it comes from. Handy for seeing only the members who pay a monthly fee.
The statuses #
A subscription in good order is Active: charges go out on the scheduled dates. The other statuses tell you that something has changed:
- the customer has stopped the renewal: the subscription ends at the end of the current period;
- the last charge did not go through and the system is trying again (see below);
- all attempts failed and the subscription has stopped;
- the subscription has been ended, by you or by the customer.
A subscription’s details #
Click a row to open the details:
| Section | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Details | Amount, ID, start date, provider and payment channel (for example the page or Paylink it came from), Payment interval with the date of the next charge, Cancellation period and Subscription period. |
| Payments | All the charges already made (Payment #1, #2…), each with status, date and amount. Click one to open its details. |
| Invoice | What the customer pays for, for example «Monthly membership fee». |
| Customer information | The customer’s details, at least their e-mail. |
At the bottom you will find End subscription, the red button to close it. Subscriptions created with test payments are flagged with the notice «This is a test payment».
What the customer can do #
When they subscribe, the customer receives personal access to their own payment page. There they see all the charges and can:
- stop the renewal: the subscription ends when it expires, with no further charges;
- change the payment method: for example enter their new card in place of the expired one.
This way you do not have to handle every card change yourself: just remind the customer that they can do it on their own.
When a charge does not go through #
An expired card, a limit reached, a TWINT account without funds: it happens. Here is what follows:
- The subscription moves to the Overdue status.
- For 7 days the system tries again by itself, once a day, overnight.
- If an attempt succeeds, the subscription goes back to Active.
- If all 7 fail, it becomes Failed and there are no further attempts.
You cannot start an extra attempt manually. So the best time to step in is during those 7 days: as soon as you see an overdue subscription, write to the customer and ask them to update their payment method from their page. To be alerted straight away, activate the notification for failed charges in Notifications.
If the subscription has already failed, send them a new Paylink with the subscription: it will start again from scratch.
Changing the amount or frequency #
If you raise the fee or want to switch from monthly to annual, the cleanest way is to create a new subscription (for example with a Paylink) and end the old one once the customer has paid the new one. Always let the customer know first: a charge different from what they expect is one of the most common causes of disputes.
Exporting #
Subscriptions can also be exported to Excel or CSV, for example to compare them with your membership list. Read Reports, statements and exports.
