> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://services.docs.growcrm.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Manage Recurring Subscriptions and Renewal Payments

> Understand how GrowCRM tracks subscription billing cycles, handles automatic renewals, and lets you cancel a recurring order when needed.

When a customer purchases a recurring service, GrowCRM links a live subscription to that order and keeps it updated throughout the billing relationship. This page covers how subscription information is displayed inside an order, what happens automatically on each renewal, and how to cancel a subscription — including what cancellation does and does not do to the customer's billing.

## The Subscription Section

Every order created from a recurring service includes a **Subscription** section in the order detail view. This section gives you a real-time summary of the subscription's state:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Subscription ID" icon="fingerprint">
    The unique identifier assigned by the payment gateway (Stripe or PayPal). Use this ID to look up the subscription directly in your gateway dashboard.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Status" icon="circle-check">
    The current state of the subscription — **Active**, **Cancelled**, or another gateway-reported status.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Billing Cycle" icon="calendar">
    The renewal frequency for this subscription, such as monthly or annually, as configured on the service at the time of purchase.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Last Renewed" icon="clock-rotate-left">
    The date of the most recent successful renewal payment. This field updates automatically after every successful billing event.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## How Renewals Work

GrowCRM tracks renewals automatically. After each successful billing cycle, the **Last Renewed** date in the Subscription section updates to reflect the most recent payment date. You do not need to take any action between billing cycles — the subscription record stays up to date on its own.

<Info>
  For a full payment history, visit your Stripe or PayPal dashboard directly. GrowCRM displays the latest subscription state but your payment gateway is the authoritative source for all transaction records.
</Info>

## Cancelling a Subscription

To stop future billing for a recurring order, open the order detail view and click **Cancel Subscription**.

<Warning>
  Cancellation does **not** issue a refund for any amount already charged. If a refund is required, process it separately in your [payment gateway dashboard](/settings/payment-gateways) — Stripe or PayPal — after cancelling the subscription.
</Warning>

Here is what happens after you click **Cancel Subscription**:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Cancellation is queued">
    GrowCRM queues the cancellation request. The subscription is **not** cancelled instantly — the process is handled asynchronously in the background to ensure reliable communication with the payment gateway.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Gateway confirmation is requested">
    GrowCRM sends the cancellation instruction to Stripe or PayPal. If the gateway does not confirm immediately, GrowCRM retries the request automatically several times before marking the cancellation as failed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Status updates to Cancelled">
    Once the payment gateway confirms that the subscription has been stopped, the subscription status in GrowCRM updates to **Cancelled**. The order record is preserved for your records.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Because cancellation is queued and processed asynchronously, you may see a short delay between clicking **Cancel Subscription** and seeing the status change to **Cancelled**. Refresh the order detail view after a minute or two to see the updated status.
</Note>

## Subscription vs. Order Status

It is important to understand the difference between the **order status** and the **subscription status**, as they are tracked separately:

| Field                   | Location             | What It Reflects                                                                                             |
| ----------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Order Status**        | Billing section      | The delivery or fulfilment state of the order (New, In Progress, Completed, etc.). You update this manually. |
| **Subscription Status** | Subscription section | The billing state reported by the payment gateway (Active, Cancelled). Updated automatically by GrowCRM.     |

Cancelling a subscription updates the subscription status to **Cancelled** but does not automatically change the order status. If you want the order status to reflect the cancellation, update it manually in the Billing section.

***

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Orders Overview" icon="list" href="/orders/overview">
    Review order details, statuses, and how to delete an order record.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Payment Gateways" icon="credit-card" href="/settings/payment-gateways">
    Configure Stripe and PayPal, and process refunds through your gateway.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>