Renewal

At the end of each period, the subscription is charged again and the period moves forward, without anyone in the community having to do anything. How it is charged depends on the method the person pays with.

#What it's for

Renewal is what turns a sale into recurring revenue. A community with 200 subscribers to Student Monthly (R$ 49) renews 200 charges a month; each one that fails without anyone noticing is a lost subscriber. Understanding how renewal works is understanding where money slips away.

#How it works

#The cycle

#On the card

On the next charge date, the subscription is charged to the saved card: the card it was paid with, or the member's default card under Billing. The period only moves forward once the payment is confirmed.

• Approved: the period moves forward and the member gets "Renewal charged: …".
• Declined: the subscription becomes past due and the member gets "We could not renew …".

With annual in installments, the renewal charges the year again on the card, in the same number of installments as the purchase.

#By PIX and boleto

Renewal charge: 5 days before the due date, the platform generates a PIX or a boleto, with the same method as the purchase, for the same subscription, and sends it by email ("Renew …: your PIX is ready" or "…: your boleto is ready"). The code also shows under Billing ("Renewal: pay by 11/15 · R$ 129.00"). The PIX is valid until the due date; the boleto is due on it.

• Paid: the period moves forward.
• Not paid by the due date: the subscription becomes past due, with no second automatic charge for the same period. The member sorts it out with Pay now.
• Card saved after the charge: if the member saves a card before the due date, the card is charged on that date and the PIX or boleto charge is canceled. A saved card always takes priority.

#Add-ons and coupons at renewal

• Add-ons billed with the plan renew in the same order, on the same date, with the fixed fee charged only once.
• A forever or repeating coupon keeps discounting renewals for the agreed time; once applies only to the first charge.
• A downsell discount follows the offer's rule (1st charge, N charges or for as long as it lasts).

#Contracts

On an option with a contract length, the monthly renewal carries on as normal until the end of the contract; at the end, the contract renews for another period of the same length, unless the member canceled before.

#Cancellation

Canceling doesn't refund what was already paid: access continues until the end of the period, and there is no new renewal. With a contract, the cancellation takes effect at the end of the contract. On the yearly plan, there is no refund: access lasts until the end of the year.

#Past due and access

A past due subscription keeps showing under Billing with the notice to pay, and in the billing option's list as Past Due.

#A renewal's timeline

On the card (subscription with the next charge on the 20th):

By PIX (next charge on the 20th):

#What the team sees

• Under Monetization › Options, the Subscribers column for each option.
• The Past Due status on subscriptions.
• Paid renewals go into the statement as sales, each with its fee.
• The Dashboard adds each renewal to Total Revenue.

#How to reduce late payments

1. Prefer the card for subscriptions: it renews on its own. Say so in the option's description.
2. Offer the yearly plan: one renewal a year instead of twelve.
3. Ask for the card during the free trial (Require Card for Trial?), so the first charge doesn't depend on the member coming back.
4. Remind members to keep their card up to date under Billing, especially close to the card's expiry date.
5. Keep an eye on who is past due and send them the way to Pay now.

#Examples with numbers

Student Monthly (R$ 49), card. Every 10th, R$ 49 on the saved card. Each month, R$ 43.08 is left for the community (fee R$ 5.92).

Growth Monthly + Coworking (R$ 579), card. Every 20th, one order of R$ 579. Fee R$ 42.96. R$ 536.04 is left.

Growth Monthly with the coupon ANUAL10 (10% forever). Every renewal: R$ 116.10 instead of R$ 129.00.

Student Monthly by PIX. On the 5th, the R$ 49 PIX arrives, due on the 10th. Paid on the 7th: the period moves forward to the 10th of the following month. Not paid: on the 10th, the subscription becomes past due, and the member uses Pay now.

#Renewal emails

See Payment emails.

#Common errors and how to fix them

#Frequently asked questions

Does the platform try the card again after a decline? Not automatically. The member pays through Pay now, with the same card or another one.

Can I change the renewal date? The date is the purchase date. An add-on added mid-cycle lines up with the plan's date.

Does the member get a notice before being charged on the card? The email arrives when the renewal is charged. With PIX and boleto, 5 days before, because they need to pay.

What happens to the access of someone who is past due? The subscription is no longer up to date; the member sorts it out with Pay now, and once paid, access carries on as normal.

#In the API

Subscription reads (GET /api/subscriptions, /api/subscriptions/{id} and /api/subscriptions/me) include nextBillingDate, status and, when there is an open charge, pendingRenewal. See Subscriptions.

#Related

• Pay now
• Member billing
• PIX, boleto and card