#Santos
tight flame
snow arch
why is the current_period_end timestamp on the updated subscription not the same as the end_date on the current phase/first phase of the subscription schedule
I'm confused, those looks like the same value to me. What are you expecting to see?
at what time will the customer be charged
This should happen at the billing cycle, the period end date, barring any changes or phases that trigger invoicing earlier than that
normal shadow
apologies, i copied the wrong value
the value for current_period_end is 1706211628
this is the test subscription in question btw sub_1MUEpcELRGuFUMs68VrYNH4h
snow arch
Sorry to keep you waiting - lots of folks on here, still looking at this
normal shadow
No worries. Thanks
snow arch
Ok, sorry for the delay & thanks for your patience, but this is because your phase is slightly longer than a year, and the current_period_end is 1yr after the start due to the annual price
You probably want to match the end date to the period end date, or switch to use iterations: 1 to align that automatically
The end_date you set is a minute or two after the one year renewal
normal shadow
Oh. Could I create the sub schedule from the existing sub, remove the start date and set the end date and iterations to 1? I guess what I want to do is start the existing sub in the future.
candid crag
Can you clarify a bit of what you mean by "start the existing sub in future"?
You should be able to create a schedule from an existing subscription and swap out the first phase's start and end for iterations: 1 if you want it to switch to the next price at the end of the current cycle
normal shadow
Initially I am creating a subscription with price 1.
But I want to shift the billing cycle anchor for the same price. There is no next price, I merely want to shift the start and end dates forward.
Is this possible?
candid crag
So the subscription is already active, but you want it to briefly not be active, and start again at some point in the future?
normal shadow
Ah sorry. I want it to remain active but have the future end date be a little later than the end date when the sub was first created.
candid crag
Gotcha, yeah at that point you can just update the end date timestamp on the phase's schedule or change the number of iterations for the phase
normal shadow
A couple of questions that I had regarding updating the end date timestamp:
- why is the current_period_end timestamp on the updated subscription not the same as the end_date on the current phase/first phase of the subscription schedule
- at what time will the customer be charged if the subscription is not set to cancel at the end of the period? the current_period timestamp or the end_date timestamp represented by the current phase/first phase?
candid crag
It looks like the end date initially did line up but then you changed that phase's end date with an API call https://dashboard.stripe.com/test/logs/req_pRjMfoJ795rsi8
It is important to note that the subscription schedule can't change the subscription's cycle length. That will always be a yearly cycle, if you push back the end date, it basically means that transition will happen at some point in the next cycle
at what time will the customer be charged if the subscription is not set to cancel at the end of the period? the current_period timestamp or the end_date timestamp represented by the current phase/first phase?
This would just be whenever the subscription renews. Looking at this specific schedule it looks like that will happen on 2024-01-25 19:40:28 UTC, which is when the cycle ends, just before the schedule would change the price
Have to jump to other threads but can take a better look in a minute
normal shadow
Okay. Let me see if I can rephrase this to make it simpler to understand. Sorry for the confusion.
I create sub A on Jan 25, 2023. End date should be Jan 25, 2024.
I then create sub B on Feb 25, 2023. End date should be Feb 25, 2024.
Is there a good way to have sub A end on Feb 25, 2024 the same date sub B ends?
candid crag
Thank you that is clearer though I am still a bit fuzzy on the finer details. Since this is a yearly subscription do you basically want to charge for one more month when they get to the end of that year, rather than charging for the whole next year?
normal shadow
Ah. I would like to not charge.
Also, the end date could be variable. So in that example it was exactly a month later, but the end date for sub B could've been Jan 29, 2024.
candid crag
Gotcha, so you want to provision subscription A for extra time without taking a payment? Trying to think of what the best way to do that might be
With schedules you could have a $0 price that you switch them to for that extra time. Could even be named something like "Service X (extra time)" to make the invoice clearer.
And then you could set the end date on that second phase to be later if you want
normal shadow
Sounds good, but wouldn't I have to set a billing period for this $0 price?
candid crag
Yes, it could be whatever because it is $0. It might make sense to make that recur yearly so that you can extend it for however long you want
normal shadow
I see.
What about this: what if I delete sub A and create a subscription schedule using sub B's start/end dates? Would this allow the dates to be "in sync"?
hardy nacelle
Hi there 👋 taking over, as my colleague needs to step away
Give me a few minutes to get caught up.
What about this: what if I delete sub A and create a subscription schedule using sub B's start/end dates? Would this allow the dates to be "in sync"?
What problem are you hoping to solve by doing this? I don't see anything wrong with the solution, I just want to make sure I understand what you're hoping to achieve
normal shadow
In our case, I want to align the dates of two subscriptions that get created at different times.
hardy nacelle
That seems like it would work then. Nothing comes to mind that would block you or create unnecessary side-effects