Troubleshooting Cancellation Issues: When “Cancel On Next Payment Date” Is Not Working

As of Paid Memberships Pro v3.0, users who cancel their recurring membership retain access until their next scheduled payment date. This allows them to cancel their subscription without immediately losing membership benefits.

In this post, we will explain the expected behavior with cancellations, the conditions of the cancellation flow, and provide guidance on troubleshooting cancellation issues when they may not be working as expected.

Expected Behavior

Paid Memberships Pro implements the “cancel on next payment date” flow in two cases:

1. When a user cancels their membership via the Membership Cancel page.
2. When a payment subscription is terminated through a payment gateway, triggering a membership cancellation.

Memberships cancelled through other means—such as API calls, or custom code—are removed immediately.

Memberships cancelled by admin through the Edit Member screen may be cancelled immediately or maintain access through the next payment date.

Conditions for the Cancellation Flow to Work

For a membership to remain active until the next payment date, the user must have an active payment subscription for the membership level being cancelled. 

If this applies, the next payment date and amount should appear on the Membership Account page.

When a user cancels their membership, they should see a confirmation message stating their membership will remain active until the next payment date.

After confirming, the expiration date should be displayed on both the cancellation screen and the Membership Account page.

Since the subscription is now cancelled, reattempting the cancellation process will immediately remove the membership.

Troubleshooting Issues

If this behavior is not functioning correctly, follow these steps:

1. Replicate the issue
   1. Purchase a recurring membership.
   2. Go through the cancellation process and check if:
      1. The next payment date is displayed correctly.
      2. The membership expiration date updates correctly after cancellation.
2. Verify potential causes
   If you confirm an issue, check the following:
   1. When troubleshooting cancellation issues, ensure your site is running the latest version of Paid Memberships Pro
   2. Disable any caching and retest (More information on caching).
   3. Check for custom code using the `pmpro_cancel_on_next_payment_date` filter, which might be disabling this feature.
3. User-Specific Issues
   If you can’t replicate the issue, it may be a user error. Possible causes include:
   1. The user cancelled twice—first cancelling their payment subscription, then their membership.
   2. The user never had a payment subscription (check this on their Edit Member page in the WP dashboard by navigating to Memberships > Members > Edit Member).
4. Seek Additional Support
   If the issue persists, contact Paid Memberships Pro support. When opening a ticket, include:
   1. Screenshots of discrepancies in the cancellation process.
   2. Details of affected users.

Fixing Affected Users

If a user accidentally cancelled their membership, restore it by:

1. Navigating to Memberships > Members > Edit Member page for the affected user.

2. Select the Memberships panel.

2. Select Add Membership.

3. Setting an expiration date for when their next payment was originally scheduled. (Optionally, extend the expiration date to compensate for lost time.)

Key Takeaways on Membership Cancellations

The “Cancel On Next Payment Date” feature in Paid Memberships Pro ensures that users retain access to their membership benefits until their next scheduled payment date. If this process isn’t working as expected, troubleshooting steps like verifying subscription status, checking for custom code conflicts, and ensuring the latest version of the plugin is installed can help resolve the issue. 

By following these steps and seeking support when necessary, you can ensure a smooth cancellation experience for your members while maintaining proper subscription management.