Subscription management is a critical aspect of maintaining a healthy membership business.
By offering options like pausing and easy reactivation, you can reduce permanent cancellations and keep members connected to your platform during temporary breaks.
ℹ️ INFO: This guide covers how to implement these features, manage member transitions, and leverage these tools to improve retention and member satisfaction.
Pause Subscriptions
Pausing offers an alternative to cancellation, allowing members to temporarily suspend their membership without losing their account.
Enable Pausing for Your Plans
To make pausing available to your subscribers:
Navigate to Subscriptions
Create a Plan or Edit an existing plan
Scroll down and toggle the Allow Pausing option
Member Pause Process
Members can pause their subscription through their account dashboard.
🔗 Learn more about the User Dashboard: Purchases
Log in to the website
Navigate to Purchases (
.../account/purchases)Click Manage
Select End Membership, then click Pause
Pick the pause duration (1, 2, or 3 months)
Click Pause
During the Pause Period
While a subscription is paused:
The member won't be billed
Login is allowed, but access to subscription content is restricted
The subscription automatically reactivates after the pause period
Members receive an email notification 7 days before the pause ends
📝 NOTE: Pausing takes effect at the end of the current billing cycle, not immediately. Members can only pause once per 12 months.
Resuming a Paused Membership
Option 1: Upon login
When members log in, they'll see a Resume Membership 
button prominently displayed at the header, allowing for quick reactivation without navigating through account settings.
Option 1: From their account dashboard
Log in to the website
Navigate to Purchases (
.../account/purchases)Click Resume
💡 TIP: When a paused subscription is resumed, the member will be billed immediately for a new subscription period, access to content is restored right away, and the subscription returns to its normal billing cycle.
Cancellation During a Pause
Members can cancel their subscription while it's paused.
Log in to the website
Navigate to Purchases (
.../account/purchases)For a paused subscription, click the vertical ellipsis (⋮) menu
Select End Membership
📝 NOTE: When a paused subscription is canceled, the pause state is reset and access is revoked immediately.
Reactivating a Canceled Subscription
When a user accidentally cancels their subscription or wants to return after cancellation, you can help them regain access in different ways depending on their current status.
Pending Cancellation Reactivation
If a user's subscription is in Pending Cancellation 
status (requested cancellation and access will be revoked at the end of the billing cycle).
🔗 Learn more about Subscription Statuses
Log in to the website
Navigate to Purchases (
.../account/purchases)Click Reactivate
Select the same plan and click Reactivate
Choose a different plan and click
ℹ️ INFO: The subscription will continue with the same billing cycle as before the cancellation request.
Closed Subscription Reactivation
If a user's subscription has already ended:
Navigate to People
Find the user and click Edit
Under their profile card, click Add Membership
Choose the appropriate subscription plan
Adjust the next invoice date if needed to align with their previous billing cycle
🔗 Learn more about Manually Granting Access
📝 NOTE: Ideally, users should reactivate their own subscriptions by logging into their accounts and choosing a plan. The methods above are for when you need to assist them directly.
Common Use Cases
Ideal Scenarios for Pausing
Members going on vacation or traveling
Seasonal users who need temporary breaks
Those experiencing temporary financial constraints
Members recovering from injury or illness who plan to return
Optimal Reinstatement Situations
When a member accidentally cancels their subscription
When a payment method fails, causing automatic cancellation
When a member wants to return after a break with their previous settings
When you need to correct an administrative error
FAQs
Can I pause a subscription on behalf of a member?
Can I pause a subscription on behalf of a member?
Provided that the member has given permission, you may impersonate their account to pause on their behalf, as there's no direct admin option to pause subscriptions. 🔗 Learn more about User Impersonation
Which subscription types are eligible for pausing?
Which subscription types are eligible for pausing?
Pausing is available for Monthly, Quarterly, and Semi-Annual plans, but not for Annual plans. It's also only available for web and Android subscriptions (not iOS, Roku, or Amazon).