About subscription renewals
This document explains how subscription renewals work in Cleverbridge, the types of renewal processes available, and the platform features that support them.
Renewal types and grace periods
- Subscription Management 2.0
- Subscription Management 1.0
With the Subscription Management 2.0, Subscriptions can renew automatically or manually, with an optional grace period.
Automatic and manual renewal
The users can easily switch between automatic and manual renewal in the Subscription Management Portal.
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Automatic renewal
- Default for subscription products.
- Renews at the end of the term unless deactivated by the customer.
- Checkout includes text informing the customer of recurring billing and requires confirmation via checkbox.
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Manual renewal
- Customer must initiate renewal.
- Renewal type can be set at the subscription level during signup.
Grace period
- Allows continued product use after non-payment for a set number of days.
- Must be requested from Client Experience.
When using Subscription Management 1.0. most of the settings must be defined in the Commerce Assistant.
Automatic and manual renewal
The renewal mode is defined with the flag in the Commerce Assistant.
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Automatic renewal
- Default for subscription products.
- Renews at the end of the term unless the customer deactivates it.
- Checkout includes text informing the customer of recurring billing and requires confirmation via checkbox.
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Manual renewal
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Customer must initiate the renewal.
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Can be set up as:
- Normal product – You set the license key term; you manage the renewal process.
- Subscription product – Set at product level; customers can manually renew and are automatically notified, but cannot return to AwaitingReinstate without manual intervention.
Grace period
- Allows continued product use after non-payment for a set number of days.
- Must be requested from Client Experience.
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Platform functions supporting renewals
Function | Description |
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Online payment option | Auto-renewal – Automatically bill at renewal; on decline, email customer to update payment method. Manual renewal – On decline, email customer to update payment method. |
Offline payment option | Auto-renewal – Send payment reminder before billing date. |
Commerce Assistant | Change subscription status to AwaitingReinstate; see Set up a fixed-price or variable-price subscription. |
Subscription API | See Renew subscriptions via API. |
Optional features | For manual-renewal subscriptions, email customers before billing date with a renewal link. This uses Message Direct. |
Database-level renewal settings
Setting | Description |
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Payment reminder for auto-renewal subscriptions | Controls whether to notify customers before charging a stored card. Default = no reminder. |
Deactivate/reactivate automatic billing for a product | Allows products to be created with Manual Renewal (AwaitingReinstate). Only applies to first interval (interval 0). |
Set all subscriptions to manual-renewal type | Assigns manual renewal type to all subscriptions with offline payment, even if customer opted for automatic renewal. Useful for email campaign-based renewals. |
Database settings are maintained by Technical Support. Contact Client Experience for changes.