Renewal & Expiry

Understanding how memberships renew and expire is critical to keeping your members happy and your revenue flowing. This guide covers what happens at the end of a membership term, how auto-renewal works, grace periods, and member status changes.

Member Status Lifecycle

Every membership enrollment in FeatsClub has a status that reflects where the member is in their membership lifecycle:

Status	Meaning	How It Happens
Pending	Member has started enrollment but payment or approval is not yet complete	Member submits enrollment; awaiting payment confirmation or admin approval
Active	Membership is currently valid and the member has full access	Payment succeeds and membership is within its valid dates
Expired	Membership validity period has ended	Term end date passes (Fixed Date) or term duration elapses (Date of Enrollment with One-time payment)
Lapsed	Recurring payment failed or was not received within the grace period	Auto-renewal charge fails and the grace period ends without resolution
Canceled	Member or admin explicitly canceled the membership	Member cancels their subscription or admin cancels on their behalf

📸

Screenshot: Member status indicators

The members list showing different status badges: Active (green), Expired (gray), Lapsed (amber), Pending (amber), and Canceled (red)

How Expiry Works by Term Type

Each term type handles expiry differently. Here is what happens when a membership reaches the end of its validity period.

Fixed Date Terms

For Fixed Date terms, all members share the same end date:

1. The end date arrives.
2. All memberships enrolled under this term change from Active to Expired.
3. Members lose access to membership benefits.

With Recurring payments: If auto-renewal is configured, the system attempts to charge the member before the end date. If the charge succeeds, the membership rolls into the next period automatically.

With One-time payments: The membership simply expires. Members need to re-enroll and pay again if you create a new term for the next period.

info

For Fixed Date terms, you can use the Renewal Opens date to give existing members early access to re-enrollment before the term ends. This helps ensure continuity for your most engaged members.

Date of Enrollment Terms

For Date of Enrollment terms, each member has their own individual expiry date based on when they signed up:

1. The member's individual term period ends (e.g., one month or one year from their enrollment date).
2. If Recurring: The system attempts to charge the member's payment method automatically.
   • Charge succeeds: Membership renews seamlessly. The next billing period starts immediately.
   • Charge fails: Membership enters the grace period (if configured). See Grace Periods below.
3. If One-time: The membership changes from Active to Expired.

Lifetime Terms

Lifetime terms do not expire. There is no expiry date, no renewal, and no status change over time. Once a member is enrolled in a Lifetime membership, their status remains Active indefinitely.

The only way a Lifetime membership changes status is through explicit cancellation by the member or an admin.

How Auto-Renewal Works

Auto-renewal is available for memberships with Recurring payment terms. When configured, FeatsClub works with your payment processor (Stripe or Cashfree) to automatically charge members when their current period ends.

The Auto-Renewal Process

1. Before expiry: The payment processor schedules an automatic charge for the member's saved payment method.
2. Charge attempt: On the renewal date, the system processes the payment.
3. If successful:
   • The membership's validity dates are extended by one period (monthly or yearly).
   • The member's status remains Active.
   • A new receipt is added to the member's payment history.
   • The next renewal due date is updated.
4. If the charge fails:
   • The payment processor may retry the charge automatically (Stripe retries failed payments over several days).
   • If the grace period is configured, the member retains Active status during the grace window.
   • If all retries fail and the grace period ends, the membership status changes to Lapsed.

📸

Screenshot: Auto-renewal timeline

A visual timeline showing the membership period, the renewal charge date, and the next period starting seamlessly after the current one ends

Auto-Renewal by Term Type

Term Type	Auto-Renewal Available?	How It Works
Fixed Date + Recurring	Yes	All members are charged at the end of the fixed period. The next period starts from the current end date.
Date of Enrollment + Recurring	Yes	Each member is charged individually on their own anniversary date.
Fixed Date + One-time	No	Members must manually re-enroll for the next term.
Lifetime	No	No renewal needed -- membership is permanent.

tip

Recurring memberships with auto-renewal are the easiest to manage because they minimize manual work. Members stay enrolled, payments happen automatically, and you only need to intervene when a charge fails.

Grace Periods

A grace period is a buffer of days after a membership's expiry or a failed renewal charge during which the member retains their Active status. Grace periods are only available for Recurring payment terms.

How Grace Periods Work

1. A recurring payment fails (declined card, insufficient funds, expired card).
2. Instead of immediately changing the member's status to Lapsed, the system starts the grace period countdown.
3. During the grace period, the member's status remains Active and they retain access to all membership benefits.
4. The payment processor (Stripe) may automatically retry the charge during this window.
5. If payment succeeds during the grace period: The membership renews normally and the member continues without interruption.
6. If the grace period ends without payment: The membership status changes to Lapsed.

Recommended Grace Periods

Term Duration	Suggested Grace Period	Reasoning
Monthly	7 -- 14 days	Gives the member time to update their payment method without losing a significant portion of the next month
Yearly	14 -- 30 days	Provides a reasonable window for yearly renewals where the stakes are higher
No grace period (0 days)	Appropriate for	Organizations that require strict payment compliance or where access must stop immediately on non-payment

Grace Period Limits

FeatsClub enforces maximum grace period values to prevent configurations that would not make sense:

• Monthly terms: Grace period must be less than 30 days
• Yearly terms: Grace period must be less than 365 days

caution

Setting a very long grace period means members could have access for an extended time without paying. Choose a grace period that balances member experience with your organization's financial needs.

What Happens After Expiry

When a membership expires or lapses, the member's status changes and they lose access to membership benefits. Here is what the member experience looks like for each scenario:

Expired Status (Term Ended)

• The member's enrollment shows Expired status.
• The member no longer has access to membership-only benefits or events.
• The member can re-enroll if a new term is available or if the membership plan is still active.

Lapsed Status (Payment Failed)

• The member's enrollment shows Lapsed status.
• This indicates the member intended to continue but their payment could not be processed.
• The member can re-enroll by signing up again with a valid payment method.

Canceled Status (Explicit Cancellation)

• The member's enrollment shows Canceled status.
• For Recurring memberships, the Stripe or Cashfree subscription is canceled and no future charges will occur.
• The cancellation date and reason (if provided) are recorded.
• The member can re-enroll later if they choose to.

📸

Screenshot: Expired member detail view

A member's detail view showing Expired status, the original validity dates, and an option to contact the member or manage their enrollment

Re-Enrollment After Expiry

Members whose memberships have expired, lapsed, or been canceled can re-enroll in the same membership plan (if it is still active) or in a different plan. The re-enrollment process works just like a new enrollment:

1. The member visits the membership's enrollment page.
2. They complete any required registration forms.
3. They submit payment.
4. A new enrollment is created with Active status and fresh validity dates.

The system tracks re-enrollments through the acquisition type field:

Acquisition Type	Meaning
Initial	First-time enrollment in this membership
Renewal	Automatic renewal of an active membership
Manual Renewal	Member manually renewed after being prompted
Lapsed Repurchase	Member re-enrolled after their membership lapsed

info

Re-enrollment creates a new enrollment record. The member's previous enrollment history (payment receipts, form responses, validity dates) is preserved in their earlier enrollment record.

Managing Renewals Effectively

Here are practical tips for keeping your membership renewals running smoothly:

For Fixed Date Terms

• Create the next term early -- Set up your next term (e.g., "Annual 2026") well before the current term ends. This gives you time to communicate the renewal to members.
• Use the Renewal Opens date -- Set this to 30 to 60 days before the term ends so existing members can re-enroll early.
• Communicate proactively -- Let members know when their term is ending and how to renew. FeatsClub tracks whether reminders have been sent for each enrollment.

For Date of Enrollment Terms

• Set a reasonable grace period -- A 7- to 14-day grace period for monthly memberships handles most temporary payment issues without significant revenue loss.
• Monitor lapsed members -- Check your members list regularly for Lapsed status. These are members who wanted to continue but had payment issues -- reaching out to them can recover revenue.
• Review failed payments -- If you see a pattern of failed charges, it may indicate an issue with your payment processor configuration.

For All Term Types

• Keep membership plans active -- Make sure your membership plans remain in Active status so expired members can re-enroll without you needing to reactivate anything.
• Use member IDs for tracking -- Each enrolled member gets a unique member ID (e.g., GLD00001). This makes it easy to look up individual members and track their history across renewals.

📸

Screenshot: Members list with mixed statuses

The members list showing a mix of Active, Expired, and Lapsed members, with their member IDs, names, enrollment dates, and validity dates visible

Quick Reference: Renewal and Expiry by Configuration

Configuration	What Happens at End of Term	Member Action Required?
Fixed Date + One-time	All members expire on the end date	Yes -- must re-enroll for next term
Fixed Date + Recurring	Auto-charge attempts; renews or lapses after grace period	No -- automatic (unless payment fails)
Date of Enrollment + Recurring	Auto-charge on individual anniversary; renews or lapses after grace period	No -- automatic (unless payment fails)
Lifetime	Never expires	No -- permanent access

What's Next?

Now that you understand how renewal and expiry work, explore Managing Members to learn how to view, filter, and manage your enrolled members from the membership dashboard.