Managing Membership Subscriptions effectively is crucial for maintaining a good customer experience and ensuring smooth business operations. This guide will provide you with a comprehensive overview of how to cancel or pause your customers' membership subscriptions, including details on our brand-new feature that allows you to pause subscriptions temporarily.
How to Cancel a Membership
There are various ways to cancel a customer's subscription, depending on whether the customer is handling the cancellation themselves or you are doing it on their behalf as a store admin.
For End Users Cancelling on Their Own
Customers can cancel their subscriptions directly through their account. Here’s how:
On the Web:
Log in to your account and go to the Dashboard.
Click on Purchases.
Scroll down to locate the Active Plan and click on Manage.
Click End Membership under the active plan.
Confirm the cancellation when the pop-up appears by clicking End Membership.
Once these steps are completed, the subscription will be canceled, and the customer will not be charged in the future.
On Mobile Apps:
For iOS Users:
Go to Settings on your device.
Tap on your name at the top.
Tap on Subscriptions.
Find the subscription you want to cancel and tap on it.
Tap Cancel to end the subscription.
For Android Users:
Open the Google Play app.
Tap the profile icon in the top right.
Go to Payments & Subscriptions and then Subscriptions.
Select the subscription you want to cancel and follow the prompts to cancel it.
For TV Devices:
Due to the variety of TV devices available, it is recommended that customers refer to the specific instructions for their particular device to cancel in-app subscriptions.
To Cancel on Behalf of a Customer
As a store admin, you can cancel web subscriptions on behalf of your customers through the admin panel. Here’s how:
Log into your Uscreen Admin Area.
Navigate to the People section.
Search for the customer (end user) whose subscription you want to manage.
On the customer’s profile page, click on Manage Membership.
A dropdown menu will appear with two options:
Cancel Membership: This option will revoke access at the end of the current billing period.
End Membership: This option will revoke access immediately.
Note: No refund is automatically issued when a subscription is canceled. If a refund is required, it must be processed separately by accessing the customer’s latest invoice.
Note: As a store admin, you’re unable to cancel subscriptions set up through Apple, Roku, or Google Play stores. These subscriptions can only be canceled by customers themselves through the respective stores.
How to Pause a Membership (New Feature!)
We are excited to introduce a new feature that allows your customers to pause their subscriptions instead of canceling them outright. Pausing a subscription temporarily stops billing at the end of the current billing cycle and service without terminating the customer’s account. This is ideal for customers who may need a temporary break but intend to return.
Note: Pausing a subscription takes effect at the end of the current billing cycle, not immediately.
For example, if a customer goes to cancel their subscription on September 15th, knowing their next billing date is October 1st, and instead they choose to pause instead of cancel, their subscription will remain active until October 1st. On October 1st, the pause will begin for the customer's selected pause duration. Once the pause period ends, the subscription will automatically renew.
Note: Customers can only pause one time, per 12 months.
How your customers can pause their membership
On the Web:
Log in to your account and go to the Dashboard.
Click on Purchases.
Scroll down to locate the Active Plan and click on Manage.
Click End Membership under the plan
Users will be presented with a choice to Pause their membership or continue with the cancellation.
Choose the duration of the pause.
They can pause for 1, 2, or 3 months.
Click Pause to finalize.
Users will receive a confirmation email when their pause takes effect. You can edit this email under Settings > Email Templates > Paused Membership Confirmation.
The Pause feature is currently available for Monthly, Quarterly (3-month), and Semi-Annual (6-month) subscriptions, but not yet for Annual subscriptions.
During the paused period:
The customer will not be billed.
Access to subscription content will be restricted.
The subscription will automatically reactivate at the end of the pause period, and regular billing will resume.
This feature provides flexibility and helps retain customers who may otherwise cancel due to temporary circumstances.
To Pause on Behalf of a Customer
Currently, the only way for you to pause a membership on behalf of your customer would be to impersonate their account and follow the steps above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bulk cancel or pause all active subscriptions?
Yes, you can do this, but you cannot do so via Uscreen. You will need to set this up within your Stripe account. Learn More →