Subscriptions | Statuses & Lifecycle

Every subscription in Orbit moves through a series of statuses over its lifetime, from the moment it is created to the point it ends. Understanding these statuses helps you see at a glance where each subscription stands and what is likely to happen next.

The current status is shown as a coloured badge next to the title on the subscription details page, and again against each subscription in the list.

Subscription statuses

A subscription can be in one of the following statuses:

• Trialing — the customer is in a free or reduced-price trial period and has not yet been billed at the full rate. The subscription will move to Active once the trial ends and the first full payment succeeds.

• Active — the subscription is live and being billed on schedule. Payment is up to date and the customer has full access to the product.

• Past due — a renewal payment has failed and Orbit is attempting to recover it. The subscription remains in this status while recovery is in progress.

• Paused — billing has been temporarily stopped, either by you or the customer. No payments are taken while a subscription is paused, and it can be resumed later.

• Canceled — the subscription has been ended and will not renew again. This may happen immediately or at the end of the current period.

• Expired — the subscription has reached its natural end and is no longer active, for example after recovery was unsuccessful or the final period has passed.

How a subscription moves through its lifecycle

A subscription follows a predictable path from start to finish:

• When a customer subscribes, the subscription is created. If the plan includes a trial, it begins in Trialing; otherwise it starts as Active.

• When the trial period ends and the first full payment succeeds, the subscription becomes Active.

• While Active, the subscription renews automatically at the end of each billing period, taking payment for the next period.

• If a renewal payment fails, the subscription moves to Past due and Orbit retries the payment. A successful retry returns it to Active; if recovery is unsuccessful, it is canceled or expired.

• A subscription can be paused and later resumed, which stops and then restarts billing without ending the subscription.

• A subscription can be canceled at the end of the current period, so the customer keeps access until then, or canceled immediately. Once a period has fully run its course, the subscription becomes Expired.

The Activity timeline

Each of these changes is recorded on the Activity timeline, found under Activity on the subscription details page. The timeline gives you a complete, dated history of everything that has happened, so you can see exactly how a subscription reached its current status.

Events recorded on the timeline include:

• Subscription created

• Trial started and trial ended

• Subscription activated

• Payment succeeded and payment failed

• Renewed

• Paused and resumed

• Plan changed

• Canceled and expired

Why statuses and the lifecycle matter

Knowing what each status means lets you respond at the right moment, whether that is following up on a payment that has gone Past due, reaching out before a trial ends, or understanding why a subscription has expired. The Activity timeline gives you the full context behind every status, so nothing about a subscription is left unexplained.

If you have any questions, please contact us at support@orbitcommerce.net