[Advisors] How to Pause, Resume & Extend Paused Subscriptions
Important: The ability to pause a subscription may be disabled by your Home Office. If you don't have the option to pause a subscription, please contact your Home Office if you require an update to your client's subscription.
In This Article:
Pausing Subscriptions
To temporarily pause an active subscription so that it stops billing a client for one or more billing periods, we recommend using the Pause function!
Subscriptions can be paused for a time period you designate, and they will automatically resume once the pause period ends. Additionally, if circumstances change, you can manually r
esume a paused subscription at any time or
extend the pause if required.
Tip: A subscription can be paused anytime during the billing cycle and will take place immediately. As long as the charge has not yet been initiated, the pause will prevent billing on an upcoming invoice. If a pause is made on the invoice's bill date and the charge has already been initiated, the pause will take affect for the next invoice. You can verify whether an invoice is already processing or has been paid by visiting View Subscription > Payments. If you see a Processing or Paid status, that invoice has been charged to the client. To prevent the next invoice from billing, we recommend pausing at least one (1) day prior to its bill date! 👍
1. To get started, find the client's subscription you wish to pause and select Pause Subscription from its drop down menu:
2. Enter in the number of payments you wish to skip.
We'll let you know on the screen when payments will resume! (This date is always based on the original bill date and cannot be adjusted.)
If your subscription had an End Date, pausing the subscription will push out that date as well. For example, when a monthly subscription next set to bill on 10/09 and end on 11/09 is paused for 1 payment, it will adjust so that when billing is resumed, it will bill on 11/09 and end on 12/09 instead.
3. Click Pause Subscription. Your client will be notified via email that their subscription has been paused.
When viewing the subscription overview, you'll see the status change from Active to Paused. You'll also be able to see the updated next bill date (and end date, if applicable).
Tip: Find all of your Paused subscriptions
by using the filter on the Subscriptions screen!
Extending Paused Subscriptions
We understand that there can be circumstances where an extension of an already paused subscription is required for you and your client.
No worries! Paused subscriptions can be extended for a time period you designate, and they will automatically resume once the pause period ends. Additionally, if circumstances change, you can
manually resume a paused subscription at any time or
extend the pause again if needed.
💥 Great news! The same tips and end date behavior above apply also when extending a pause!
To extend a paused subscription:
1. To get started, find the client's subscription you wish to pause and select Extend Pause from its drop down menu:
2. Enter in the number of payments you wish to skip.
We'll let you know on the screen when payments will resume! (This date is always based on the original bill date and cannot be adjusted.)
3. Click Extend Pause. Your client will be notified via email that their subscription pause has been extended.
When viewing the subscription overview, you'll be able to see the updated next bill date (and end date, if applicable).
Resuming Subscriptions
Want to resume a subscription earlier than scheduled? No problem! Select
Resume Subscription from the drop down menu:
Manually resumed subscriptions will not "back bill" for skipped payments or charge the client immediately for the current billing period; they will only bill on the next bill date displayed when you confirm resume:
Your client will be notified via email when a subscription is manually or automatically resumed!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pause a subscription indefinitely?
While you can select a large number of payments to be skipped, there is no "indefinite" option available. If a subscription needs to be paused for an unknown and lengthy period of time, we recommend canceling the subscription instead. This will help avoid possible trouble with expired cards, closed bank accounts, etc. A new subscription can be set up in its place if needed!
Is there a place where I can track pause/resume activity on subscriptions in the event I need to show it to a regulator or compliance officer?
You bet! All activity related to pausing and resuming subscriptions is recorded in your Audit Log -- and searchable under the Audit filter. :) You will also find pause/resume activity viewable in the log at the bottom of each subscription's overview page.