How Membership Subscriptions Are Created: Calculating Start and End Dates
A subscription is a paid period on a client’s membership. It is created automatically when you pay a membership invoice or a renewal invoice, and it has a start date, an end date, a price, and an invoice number. The package credits are granted with it. Each client has one membership and can have several subscriptions on it.
This guide explains when a membership subscription is created, how the system calculates its start and end dates for a new membership, an on-time renewal, and a late renewal, and the effect of grace days and suspension periods.
Article contents
When is a subscription created?
When you record a completed payment (full or partial) on an invoice that contains a membership package, whether it is the membership signup invoice or the renewal invoice. It is not created when you save the membership or the renewal itself.
Calculating the end date
End date = start date + package duration − 1 day.
| Package duration | Example (start 1/10) |
|---|---|
| Daily (10 days) | 10/10 |
| Weekly (two weeks) | 14/10 |
| Monthly (one month) | 31/10 |
| Yearly (one year) | 30/9 of the following year |
| Never expires | No end date |
Calculating the start date
| Case | Subscription start date |
|---|---|
| First subscription of the membership (paying the new membership invoice) | The joining date, even if the invoice is paid later. |
| Renewal before the membership expires or during the grace days | The day after the current membership end date, so the membership continues without a gap. |
| Renewal after the grace days end | The renewal invoice date. |
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Note: When you renew, the system compares the renewal invoice date with the membership end date + the membership renewal grace days from Membership Settings, not with the payment date.
Examples
| Scenario | Details | Resulting Subscription |
|---|---|---|
| New membership | Monthly plan, joined 1/10, paid 10/10 | 1/10 ← 31/10 |
| Early renewal | The membership ends 31/10, renewal invoice dated 25/10 | 1/11 ← 30/11 |
| Renewal within the grace period (7 days) | The membership ends 31/10, renewal invoice dated 5/11 | 1/11 ← 30/11 |
| Late renewal | The membership ends 31/10, renewal invoice dated 20/11 | 20/11 ← 19/12 |
| Annual plan | Joined 15/3 | 15/3 ← 14/3 of the following year |
What changes after the subscription is created?
- The plan’s credits are added in Credit Charging, valid from the start of the subscription until its end.
- The membership’s End Date becomes the end of the latest subscription, and the Current Plan becomes the plan of the latest subscription.
- The membership status is recalculated.
- The subscription appears in Manage Subscriptions and in the Membership Subscriptions tab of the invoice.
When is a subscription not created?
| Reason | Solution |
|---|---|
| The invoice is a draft | Issue the invoice, then record the payment. |
| The payment is under review or failed | Set the payment status to Completed. |
| The invoice has a return invoice | A subscription is not created from a returned invoice. |
| The plan is a credit top-up type | Only credits are added, without a subscription. |
| Deleting the payment and then restoring it | A new subscription is not created; the existing subscription’s credits are restored. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the new subscription start after the old one ended instead of on the renewal date?
Because the renewal was made before the membership expired or during the grace period, the new subscription starts right after the previous one with no gap.
Why did the subscription start on the invoice date?
Because the renewal was made after the grace period ended.
How do I make a renewal start on a specific date?
When you renew an expired membership, set the renewal invoice date to the date you want.
Does a subscription change if I change the grace period later?
No, the setting affects only the subscriptions that are created after you change it.