Overview
A Subscription bills a patient automatically on a schedule — useful for payment plans, memberships, and recurring services. Each time it runs, it generates an invoice and charges the patient's card on file. This article covers creating a subscription and managing its lifecycle.
Creating a subscription
Subscriptions are added as part of an order (see Billing a Patient). When you add a subscription, you'll set:
- What's billed — the items included in the recurring charge.
- Frequency — how often it charges (for example, Daily or Monthly).
- Due dates — when charges are scheduled.
- Limit number of occurrences (optional) — cap it at a set number of charges (for example, a 6-payment plan). Leave it open-ended for an ongoing membership.
- Notes (optional).
Card required: Recurring charges use the patient's card on file. Make sure a card is saved before the first charge is due — see Saving & Managing Cards on File.
Managing a subscription
Open Payments V2 → Subscriptions and select a subscription to manage it. Each action asks you to confirm before it takes effect.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pause | Temporarily stops scheduled charges. No invoices are generated while paused. |
| Resume | Restarts a paused subscription on its schedule. |
| Mark as Completed | Ends the subscription because it has finished its intended run (for example, a payment plan that's fully paid). |
| Mark as Canceled | Ends the subscription going forward. |
| Mark as Void | Voids the subscription. |
Updating the card used for a subscription
When a patient's card changes, update the subscription so future charges succeed:
- Open the subscription and update its stored payment method to the new card.
- If the patient has several subscriptions on the old card, you'll be offered "Also update card on…" the other subscriptions — select them to switch all of them at once.
When a recurring charge fails
If a scheduled charge is declined, it appears on the Payment Attempts tab with the decline reason. You can retry it there once the card issue is resolved. See Handling Failed Payments & Payment Attempts.