Cancel, expire, or end a membership

Memberships can end through cancellation, contract completion, expiry, failed payment, or a staff action. These paths are not interchangeable: they affect remaining charges, benefits, access, and history differently.

Ending paths at a glance

One-time expiry

A day-based or fixed-date membership expires when its stored active period ends. Benefits and membership-based access are unavailable afterward, while the member record remains available to staff.

An indefinite one-time membership has no automatic end. Staff must set an end date or remove the member when the entitlement should stop.

Open-ended recurring cancellation

Only recurring memberships use the customer cancellation flow.

Without a termination period, cancellation prevents further renewals after the current period. Benefits normally remain available until that period ends.

With a termination period, cancellation starts the configured number of further billable periods. Benefits continue through those periods unless the membership is separately paused or restricted.

Example:

Current period already paid
Termination period count: 2
Customer cancels today
Result: 2 further renewals, then automatic end

A cancellation cannot be submitted again after the termination countdown has started.

Fixed-contract completion

A fixed recurring membership ends automatically after all committed periods are processed. The customer cannot cancel while fixed periods remain.

The initial paid purchase counts as the first period unless a trial precedes the contract. Introductory prices, free Goodwill periods, and other temporary prices still consume contract periods when their renewal is created.

Pauses can change whether skipped periods count or are added back. Review the pause arrangement before stating the final contract end.

Cancellation during a trial

When Allow termination during trial is enabled, cancellation during an active built-in trial prevents the fixed or termination commitment from beginning. The member keeps benefits until the trial boundary unless another restriction applies, and no post-trial renewal is scheduled.

When the setting is disabled, the member cannot terminate while the trial is active. The membership continues at the trial boundary, and its normal fixed-contract or termination rules apply from then on.

A paid trial is not refunded automatically. Handle an agreed refund separately through the payment process.

After the trial boundary, normal fixed-contract or termination rules apply. See Membership trial periods.

Staff removal or date correction

Staff can update the member's active dates or mark the membership expired. Setting the end to the current time removes benefits that require an active membership while preserving the record.

This is not the same as recurring cancellation:

• it does not start a configured termination period;
• it does not represent the customer's cancellation request;
• it does not itself refund or cancel an existing payment;
• it does not delete membership history.

Use it for corrections, immediate administrative removal, or one-time memberships. For a normal recurring cancellation, use the cancellation lifecycle instead.

Unpaid recurring renewals

When a renewal remains unresolved for seven days:

• a membership configured with neither fixed contract periods nor termination periods expires;
• a membership configured with either fixed contract periods or termination periods remains recorded, but cannot create new reservations and loses membership-based physical access while the payment blocks use.

Period counts advance when renewal charges are created. A fixed or terminated membership can therefore reach its scheduled end while an unpaid payment remains. Do not treat an administrative payment-status edit as debt collection or a refund; review the payment and remaining periods separately.

Pauses when cancellation begins

Cancellation can end payment-pausing date pauses and period pauses so required termination billing can proceed. A date pause that only suspends benefits may continue.

Saved duration from a date pause can affect the final active period where applicable. Completed skipped periods are not charged retroactively merely because a pause ends early or cancellation begins.

Use the pause history and member's stored active dates when confirming the final date.

Temporary prices during final periods

Introductory or Goodwill pricing can still determine the amount of an eligible termination renewal when the price entry is next in order. The period remains required even when the charge is free. Deactivating a temporary price does not remove the required period; it allows the next active price or normal member price to apply. See Membership pricing and trials for pricing order.

Product visibility and deletion

Making the product hidden or unavailable stops or limits new sales. It does not end current members.

Deleting the membership product is blocked while relevant current or future members or pending membership payments exist. Product deletion should not be used as a member-ending workflow.

Before confirming an end date

Check:

• membership type and stored active dates;
• whether a trial is still active;
• fixed or termination periods remaining;
• next billing boundary;
• active or scheduled pauses;
• pricing order for final renewals;
• unresolved payments;
• access-control integration state.

For direct member edits, see Manage membership holders.