How To Cancel A MemberPress Membership?

It can be annoying for the owner of a membership site to find out a member has decided to cancel their membership. After all that hard work and strategy, a customer can decide that it simply is not for them and that they would prefer to take their custom elsewhere.

Though it may feel uncomfortable, especially if you believe you are offering great value, it does happen and the process of canceling should happen smoothly. Should canceling a membership prove to be difficult than this could have an impact on the business in the long term which is important to remember.

In this guide, we will look at how to cancel a MemberPress membership. We will also look at the next steps after cancellation, the reason why one-time payment subscriptions cannot be canceled, and how to offer partial refunds.

How To Cancel A MemberPress Membership?

For a subscriber or member to cancel their membership, it should be really straightforward and it is. All they have to do is log into their account on MemberPress and then head to the ‘Subscriptions’ tab. At the far end of their Membership section to the right, there should be a link to ‘Cancel’.

That’s the crucial part yet there should also be a short survey to complete simply to gather information about the decision. Honest answers are encouraged to improve the process in the long term and, hopefully, prevent further subscribers or members from canceling their memberships.

Once the process has been completed, an individual user’s subscription status should be updated back on the ‘Subscriptions’ tab to prevent any more changes.

How To Cancel A MemberPress Subscription?

Canceling a MemberPress subscription is also relatively easy to do and there is essentially only one way to do it correctly. Head to the WordPress dashboard, then to MemberPress, and then click on the ‘Subscriptions’ page. Ensure that this is the ‘Recurring’ tab as non-recurring subscriptions cannot be canceled.

In the ‘Subscription’ column, there will be a unique Subscription ID for the specific subscription. Before any further steps can be taken, the unique Subscription ID must be confirmed as the right one that is going to be canceled. No one wants to see mistakes and that detail is crucial as the canceling process is irreversible.

If it is the correct subscription, click on the ‘Cancel’ button, and then click ‘OK’ on the pop-up dialog box which simply verifies that you are indeed canceling the right subscription and that you do want to do so. There are some technical requirements to ensure that the subscription cancellation process works as it should.

These requirements center on the gateway being set up properly initially. Should the gateway use PayPal Standard, check that the Advanced Mode has been configured correctly so that it uses the MemberPress functionality as you would expect.

The Next Steps After A MemberPress Subscription Has Been Canceled

After a MemberPress subscription has been canceled, there are still some next steps. For one, the license will remain active only up to when the current period ends. A user can still have access but only up to the point their latest transaction has expired. Once that occurs, the user will not be billed again and the license will become inactive.

A further action that should occur once a MemberPress subscription has been canceled is that an email is sent to the user. This is simply to remind them that their subscription will end soon, effectively once their last transaction expires.

The Reason Why One-Time Payment Subscriptions Cannot Be Canceled On MemberPress

For users with a one-off payment subscription on MemberPress, the cancel option should not be made available. This is specifically because there are no future bills occurring that need to be canceled.

The user has paid once and that’s all that was required yet it is important to ensure that the option for members to cancel their own subscriptions is selected in the ‘Account’ tab of your settings. It is crucial to note that canceling a subscription does not make it inactive straight away.

That only occurs once all the future billings have been canceled and ended. Specifically, the final transaction to go with the subscription has expired.

How Partial Refunds Can Be Offered?

Every single payment gateway on MemberPress should allow for partial refunds to be processed. First, head to the gateway to begin processing the refund and click on the right gateway in the list. Once the refund begins to be processed, allow for a few minutes for that transaction to appear in MemberPress as ‘refunded’.

To complete a partial refund, edit the transaction and revert it back to the ‘completed’ stage then alter the amount for however much the partial refund should be. Make sure that the status is changed from ‘refunded’ back to ‘complete’ straight away so the user does not lose access to protected content.

Final Thoughts

Having to process a canceled membership on MemberPress is not an ideal situation for an owner. It can feel a little embarrassing and make you think that your business is not doing as well as it perhaps is.

As long as there are only a few cancellations every so often, you can balance it out by checking your stats and ensuring that you are attracting new members to cover the difference and continue to build.

Remember that you can use it to your advantage by adjusting a strategy to ensure that more members are kept and those that leave may be tempted to come back. How cancellations are handled is especially important and it should not be taken personally.

See it from the customer’s perspective, perhaps they need to adjust their spending, or they have gotten as much out of their membership as they wanted. Instead of taking their decision to heart, make sure that there is a short survey for them to complete so you can get some feedback.

Learning why a customer has decided to cancel their membership and acting on it to improve your service is a great lesson to learn in business.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is The Key Difference Between A Membership And A Subscription On MemberPress?

Once you have a membership on MemberPress, you can gain access to crucial protected content. Also, a membership can create a subscription yet is not committed to one if the membership is allocated as free on a single, one-off payment.

The subscription is a feature that will be created on the payment getaway once an individual has bought a paid membership.

How Do You Upgrade A MemberPress Account And Then Only Pay For The Difference?

You can upgrade your MemberPress account from the version you have at the moment and it can be really easy. Start by logging into your account at MemberPress.com and then head to the ‘Subscriptions’ tab. Move your cursor along the right of your membership details and then click on ‘Change Plan’.

From there, you will see the purchase page for MemberPress and the prices should be pro-rated to be according to whatever you have paid up to now with how long you have had your membership (for more information about the prices of MemberPress, read here). The quicker you decide to upgrade your membership, the more you should be credited.