dammyola | Stripe Developers | Page 1

gray spindleBOT Oct 16, 2023, 10:48 AM

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steel vapor Oct 16, 2023, 10:49 AM

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Hello!

Is this the guide I should be reading.
It depends on what your definition of 'pause' is. Can you elaborate on what behaviour you want exactly?

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If yes, which of the option fits my need
Depends entirely on your business needs! If it's paused and the intention is to not allow them to use your service then I guess c

I realized I can set resumes_at at the pause_collection, is it also possible to set the date the pause should take effect, because our members can decide to pause the subscribe within a date range E.g From 16th - 31st of oct 2023
No, you can't schedule the pause

Does the current_period_end of the subscription also changes since the subscription won't end on that date again?
I'm not 100% but I would imagine it'll be reset when you actuall resume the subscription. SHould be easy enough for you to test!

Does the status changes to 'paused'
It would be paused until the resumes_at timestamp yes

If none of these happens, what happens? And how do I know if the subscription is paused and what is the new current_period_end
Don't understand the question, but status: 'paused' would be on the Subscription

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 11:03 AM

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steel vapor Hello! > Is this the guide I should be reading. It depends on what your definit...

Pause in the sense that, a member of our platform might not to available to take a gyming session or classes for a period of time. Say from 20th - 25th Oct 2023. This implies if their subscription was suppose to end on the 31st of Oct, it ends on the 5th of Nov. The number of days their subscription was paused will be added to expected ending date of their subscription

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 11:06 AM

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steel vapor > If yes, which of the option fits my need Depends entirely on your business nee...

Yes, they won't be able to take a gym class or session within that period.

steel vapor Oct 16, 2023, 11:15 AM

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Do my answers above help?

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 11:25 AM

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steel vapor > If yes, which of the option fits my need Depends entirely on your business nee...

I'm not 100% but I would imagine it'll be reset when you actuall resume the subscription. SHould be easy enough for you to test!

I actually tested it, no the current_period_end doesn't reset. It remains the same

steel vapor Oct 16, 2023, 11:25 AM

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Remainds the same when? Got an example?

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 11:26 AM

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Example, you mean the code?

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The status doesn't change to 'paused', it remains 'active'

steel vapor Oct 16, 2023, 11:29 AM

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No, an example sub_xxx you've tested it on

steel vapor Oct 16, 2023, 11:30 AM

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finite hare The status doesn't change to `'paused'`, it remains `'active'`

Ah sorry yes. status: 'paused' is related to a different feature (for free trials): https://stripe.com/docs/billing/subscriptions/trials#create-free-trials-without-payment

Using trial periods on subscriptions

Delay payments on active subscriptions using trial periods.

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 11:33 AM

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steel vapor No, an example `sub_xxx` you've tested it on

Let me grab it.

gray spindleBOT Oct 16, 2023, 11:38 AM

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finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 11:54 AM

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This is the subscription id: "sub_1O0n8aHRjtpT0GYpS9FwaGiv"

languid rapids Oct 16, 2023, 11:55 AM

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👋 taking over for my colleague. Let me catch up.

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 11:56 AM

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The change I noticed is this "pause_collection": { "behavior": "void", "resumes_at": 1698796799 },

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The status still remains active "status": "active",

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 12:02 PM

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Hi! I'm taking over this thread. Give me a few minutes to catchup.

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Can you clarify what is your question exactly about this Subscription?

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 12:08 PM

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How to pause a subscription on Stripe.

Hello Stripe

We are building a fitness platform where members can subscribe to different packages.
Depending on their subscription, they can book a trainer for a session or join a class.

They (members) might not be available for training for a specific period, so we want them to pause their subscription for that time range
I've read this guide (https://stripe.com/docs/billing/subscriptions/pause).
But I still have some questions.

Is this the guide I should be reading.
If yes, which of the option fits my need
a. Offer services for free
b. Temporarily offer services for free and collect payment later
c. Unable to provide services
I was of the view it's the third option, let me know if I chose the right option.
I realized I can set resumes_at at the pause_collection, is it also possible to set the date the pause should take effect, because our members can decide to pause the subscribe within a date range E.g From 16th - 31st of oct 2023
What happens after setting pause_collection.behavior = 'void' and resumes_at?
a. Does the current_period_end of the subscription also changes since the subscription won't end on that date again?
b. Does the status changes to 'paused'
c. If none of these happens, what happens? And how do I know if the subscription is paused and what is the new current_period_end

Side note, I'm using NodeJs.

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 12:08 PM

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I've already read this message, and I think ynnoj answered everything

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So let me know if you have any remaining questions

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 12:12 PM

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I want to know what happens after a subscription is paused after stripe.subscriptions.update('sub_xxxxx', { pause_collection: { behavior: 'void', resumes_at: "454652616" // This a random number to represent the resume at. }, })

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 12:13 PM

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What do you mean by "what happens"? What do you want to check exactly?

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Also are you aware of Test Clocks? They allow you to move time forward for a subscription, so you can test this type of scenario: https://stripe.com/docs/billing/testing/test-clocks

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 12:22 PM

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I'm interested in knowing:

When a subscription is paused. This will allow us to stop providing service to the customer within that period.
Since the subscription was paused for a period, when does the subscription ends. Ideally, if the subscription was paused for 5 days, their should be an additional 5 days added to the days the subscription was supposed to end.

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 12:24 PM

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You can check this property to know if ths Subscription is paused or not: https://stripe.com/docs/api/subscriptions/object#subscription_object-pause_collection

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No that's not how pausing works. The billing period of the subscription won't change.

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If you want to change the billing period, then maybe instead of pausing the subscription, you could add a free trial to it.

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Again, I would recommend to do some test in test mode with Test Clocks to better understand how all of this works: https://stripe.com/docs/billing/testing/test-clocks

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 12:28 PM

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celest spear Also are you aware of Test Clocks? They allow you to move time forward for a sub...

I'll check it out.

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"If you want to change the billing period, then maybe instead of pausing the subscription, you could add a free trial to it."

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How does it work, can you explain?

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 12:31 PM

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You would update the subscription with this: https://stripe.com/docs/api/subscriptions/update?lang=node#update_subscription-trial_end
During the trial, the customer won't be charged. And at the end of the trial, a new billing period will start

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 12:35 PM

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Sounds like what I'm looking for, let me check it out.

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Unix timestamp representing the end of the trial period the customer will get before being charged for the first time. This will always overwrite any trials that might apply via a subscribed plan. If set, trial_end will override the default trial period of the plan the customer is being subscribed to. The special value now can be provided to end the customer’s trial immediately. Can be at most two years from billing_cycle_anchor.

In our case, the customer has been charged for their subscription, but wants to pause or preserve their subscription within a period, will this work with our use case?

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 12:40 PM

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Yes it will work. And once more, please try to test this in test mode with Test Clock to make sure it works as you expect.

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 12:41 PM

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Thank you.

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I have an entirely different question, can I ask it in this thread?

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 12:42 PM

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yes sure!

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 12:44 PM

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Renew a subscription
This is my defination for renewing a subscription.
I subscribed to a package of $100 monthly subscription, at the end of my current subscription, I re-subscribe to the same package.

My questions.

What happens on Stripe when this happens?
Does a new subscroption get created for the customer or the current_period_end of the customer changes to a new date?

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 12:45 PM

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at the end of my current subscription, I re-subscribe to the same package.
what does that mean exactly? you let the existing subscription renew? or start a new one? or something else?

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By default, at the ebnd of the billing cycle, the subscription will jsut renew automatically and continue forever

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 12:50 PM

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"at the end of my current subscription, I re-subscribe to the same package.
what does that mean exactly? you let the existing subscription renew? or start a new one? or something else?
"

Say I subscribe to a Pro plan of $100, I love the service, I don't want to cancel it, so at the beginning of the next month, I continue or re-subscribe to the same Pro plan of $100.

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 12:50 PM

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you don't "re-subscribe". You do nothing, and the subscription wil automatically renenew and you will get charged $100.

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 12:53 PM

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If the subscription get renewed automatically, how do I get to know as a developer?

How do I know if I should continue providing service to this customer on my platform?

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 12:54 PM

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With webhook events: https://stripe.com/docs/billing/subscriptions/webhooks#active-subscriptions

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 1:00 PM

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Thanks, this guide sounds like what I'm looking for.

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 1:00 PM

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Happy to help 🙂

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 1:01 PM

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Another question.

If a customer cancel a subscription, what happens?

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After the subscription get cancelled.

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 1:03 PM

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The status will become canceled and the Subscripiton will stop generating new invoices.

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 1:03 PM

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Does Stripe refund the customer?

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 1:03 PM

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you'll also get webhook events: https://stripe.com/docs/billing/subscriptions/cancel#events

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No there's no refunds, but if there's unused balance, it will be added to the Customer Credit Balance https://stripe.com/docs/billing/customer/balance

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Or you can use the cancel_at_period_end to cancel te Susbcription at the end of the billing period, so there won't be any unused balance. https://stripe.com/docs/api/subscriptions/update?lang=node#update_subscription-cancel_at_period_end

finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 1:06 PM

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Can you explain what an unused balance means?

celest spear Oct 16, 2023, 1:07 PM

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If you cancel a monthly subscription after 15 days, then there would be 15 days that the customer didn't use. So 50% of the amount they already paid will be added to the Customer Credit Balance.

gray spindleBOT Oct 16, 2023, 1:08 PM

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finite hare Oct 16, 2023, 1:09 PM

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Thank you @celest spear for all your answers. They were helpful.

#dammyola