> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.metrifox.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Subscriptions ## **Overview** A subscription connects a customer to a plan. Customers usually subscribe through self-serve checkout, but you can also create and manage subscriptions directly in the dashboard. This page covers how to create a subscription manually and how to manage a subscription through its lifecycle: updating quantities, applying discounts, pausing, resuming and cancelling. How subscriptions are billed (collection mode, billing alignment, plan change timing and cancellations) is configured under **Settings → Subscriptions**. See [Configure Subscription Settings](/quickstart#configure-subscription-settings) in Getting Started in Minutes. ## **Manual Subscriptions** Manual subscriptions let you create subscriptions directly in the dashboard, without requiring customers to go through self-serve checkout. Each manual subscription is created as an **order**. Saving it as a draft creates a **draft order** you can come back to and finish later. **Use cases**: * **Sales-led or enterprise deals**: Create subscriptions for customers with negotiated/custom pricing, terms, or bundles that aren't available in self-serve checkout. * **Free or promotional access**: Quickly grant complimentary subscriptions for partners, beta testers, influencers, or marketing campaigns. * **Internal testing/demos**: Set up test subscriptions for your team or product demos without real payments. * **Support resolutions**: Fix or adjust subscriptions directly (e.g., extend access). Manual subscriptions support recurring billing, add-ons, credits, custom pricing overrides, and invoice generation, just like self-serve ones. ### **Creating a Manual Subscription** Manual subscriptions are created from the **Subscriptions** tab, or from **Charge customers → Orders → Create Order → Create Subscription Order**, which opens the same form. 1. Navigate to **Charge customers → Subscriptions**. 2. Click **Assign Subscription**. Assign 3. **Select a customer** * Search or choose from the dropdown. * Customer details (key, email, address and payment term) appear after the customer has been selected. Customer 4. If drafts exist for this customer: * You'll see a list of saved drafts (e.g., "ikoyi club • Deluxe – Created 23/01/2026"). * Choose **Continue** on a draft to resume editing, or **Start a new subscription** to ignore drafts and begin fresh. Drafts 5. Configure the subscription: * **Product**: Select from dropdown. * **Plan**: Select from product's plans (loads after product). * **Add subscription key** (optional custom ID). **Subscription Start & Duration**\ These options control when the subscription begins and how long it runs. Available choices depend on the **Collection Mode for In-Advance Plans** (set under **Billing and Collection** in [subscription settings](/quickstart#configure-subscription-settings)) and whether the customer has a saved payment method. **Subscription Start** * **Checkout completion**: Subscription starts once the customer completes payment.\ Available when: Collection mode is **prepaid**. * **Auto-charge & start subscription**: Automatically charges the customer and activates the subscription on the start date.\ Available when: Collection mode is **prepaid** and the customer has a saved payment method; if no payment method is saved, this option is grayed out and disabled. * **Start immediately without charge**: Activates the subscription right away; the customer is invoiced later.\ Available when: Collection mode is **postpaid**. * **Custom start date**: Activates the subscription on a date you choose.\ Available: Always. If collection mode is **prepaid**, payment must be completed before the subscription starts. **Subscription Duration** * **Forever**: No end date (ongoing until cancelled).\ Available for all terms. * **Duration**: Fixed length (e.g., 12 months).\ Available depending on term. * **Custom end date**: Specific end date.\ Available depending on term. **More options** → you can also enter a purchase order number. If you do not enter one, Metrifox generates one for that subscription. Right sidebar shows **Order summary** (subtotal, tax, total due) and it updates live as you configure. 6. Click **Assign Subscription** to create it, or **Save as draft** to save a draft order. Drafts for a customer appear in step 4 the next time you assign them a subscription. **Important Notes** * Manual subscriptions count toward usage/entitlements exactly like self-serve. ## **Managing Subscriptions** From the customer's profile or the global **Subscriptions** list (**Charge customers → Subscriptions**), click the subscription you want to manage. The detail page shows the current billing period, the next estimated bill with a **Preview invoice** for it, and tabs for the prepaid balance, entitlement usage and entitlement summary. ### **Subscription Statuses** Filter the Subscriptions list by status: | Status | Meaning | | :- | :- | | **Active** | The subscription is live and billing normally. | | **In trial** | The customer is in a free trial. | | **Grace period** | The subscription is outside normal good standing but is still treated as active, so the customer keeps access. It counts as an active subscription in the [check active subscription API](/api-reference/customers/check-active-subscription). | | **Paused** | The subscription is paused and can be resumed. | | **Cancelled** | The subscription has been cancelled and will not renew. | | **Expired** | The subscription has reached its end date and is no longer active. | | **Delinquent** | Payment could not be collected. See [Dunning](/dunning). | | **Deactivated** | The subscription has ended and is no longer active, for example after a cancellation takes effect. | ### **Actions** Use the **Actions** button at the top right of the subscription to: * **Update quantities**: change the quantity of priced items on the subscription. * **Apply discount**: apply a [discount](/discount) to the subscription. * **Pause subscription** * **Cancel subscription** ### **Pausing and Resuming** 1. Open the subscription and select **Actions → Pause subscription**. 2. Confirm. The subscription is paused **immediately**. A paused subscription shows under the **Paused** status filter. To resume it, do either of the following: * In the **Subscriptions** list, find the paused subscription and resume it from there. * Open the subscription and resume it from its details page. You can resume a paused subscription at any time. [Dunning](/dunning) can also pause a subscription automatically while payment retries run. ### **Cancelling a Subscription** 1. Open the subscription and select **Actions → Cancel subscription**. 2. Choose **When to cancel subscription**. By default this is **At the end of billing cycle**, which schedules the cancellation for the end of the current period. The dialog shows the exact date. 3. Click **Confirm**. If the plan is free, the subscription is cancelled immediately. Cancellation cannot be undone once it has taken effect. When a cancellation is scheduled, Metrifox sends the `subscription.cancel_scheduled` webhook, and the `subscription.cancelled` webhook when it takes effect. You can also schedule a cancellation through the [Cancel subscription API](/api-reference/subscriptions/cancel). To let customers cancel on their own from the customer portal, enable **Allow customers to cancel** in **Settings → Subscriptions** (see [Configure Subscription Settings](/quickstart#configure-subscription-settings)). This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.