Pause a subscription

Configure pause settings

In the FastSpring app, follow these steps to set up subscription pausing:

1. Go to Catalog > Subscriptions and select the subscription you want to configure.
2. In the Notification & Retention section, click Edit. The Edit Subscription Notifications & Retention modal opens.
3. In the Pause section:
   • Select Offer buyers to pause subscription for [x] billing cycle(s) instead of canceling to let customers pause their subscriptions from their account management portal.
   • From the pause dropdown, choose the number of billing cycles to pause. For example, a value of 2 pauses the subscription for two billing cycles.
   • Clear the checkbox to restrict pausing to sellers only.
4. Click Save.

Pause a subscription

In the FastSpring app, follow these steps:

1. Go to Sales > Subscriptions and select the subscription you want to pause. The subscription details page opens.
2. Click Pause in the Overview section. The Pause Subscription modal opens.
3. Enter the number of billing cycles to pause.
4. Click Confirm. On the subscription details page, the Next Charge section shows the pause start and end dates.

On the next rebill date, FastSpring moves the subscription into the paused state.

The subscription will display in the Subscriptions tab > Active Subscriptions section of their account management portal. Depending on your settings, customers can cancel or resume the pause before it takes effect.

Cancel a scheduled pause

If a pause is scheduled but not yet active, you can cancel it to resume billing immediately.

In the FastSpring app, follow these steps:

1. Go to Sales > Subscriptions and select the subscription with a scheduled pause. The subscription details page opens.
2. Click Cancel Scheduled Pause in the Overview section.

This action immediately resumes the subscription. Customers can also cancel their scheduled pause from their account management portal.

Resume a paused subscription

You and your customers can resume any paused subscription at any time.

In the FastSpring app, follow these steps:

1. Go to Sales > Subscriptions and select the paused subscription. The subscription details page opens.
2. Click Resume in the Overview section.

Resuming the subscription charges the customer immediately and adjusts future rebills. Otherwise, the subscription will automatically resume on its configured resume date. To view all status changes, scroll to the Timeline section on the subscription details page.

Automate via API

You can also manage subscription pauses programmatically using the FastSpring API.

Pause via API

To pause a subscription, send the following API request:

Endpoint

Replace {subscription_id} with the target subscription ID.

POST https://api.fastspring.com/subscriptions/{subscription_id}/pause

Request body

Use pausePeriodCount to specify how many rebill cycles to pause (numeric values 1-10 are accepted):

{
  "pausePeriodCount": 2
}

Response attributes

The API returns these fields in the subscription object:

• state: billing status, e.g., paused.
• pauseDateInSeconds: scheduled pause timestamp (Unix seconds).
• pauseDateDisplay: pause date (MM/DD/YY).
• resumeDateInSeconds: scheduled resume timestamp (Unix seconds).
• resumeDateDisplay: resume date (MM/DD/YY).

Cancel or resume via API

If you cancel a scheduled pause, FastSpring will immediately charge the customer and start a new billing cycle. To do so, send the following API request:

Endpoint

Replace {subscription_id} with the target subscription ID.

POST https://api.fastspring.com/subscriptions/{subscription_id}/resume

Response attributes

After resuming, the subscription returns to an active state and removes the pause fields:

• state: active.
• pauseDateInSeconds, pauseDateDisplay, resumeDateInSeconds, resumeDateDisplay: removed.

This triggers the following webhooks:

• subscription.updated
• subscription.resumed
• subscription.charge.complete or subscription.charge.failed