A subscription's status tells you where it is in its lifecycle. It does not always tell you whether the most recent payment succeeded or whether a paid fulfillment is still waiting to ship.
For example, a subscription normally remains Active while PayWhirl is retrying a failed payment. It changes to Failed only after the configured dunning process reaches its terminal result. Your final-attempt setting can instead pause the subscription or skip the failed order, so review both the status and the next scheduled action.
Status reference
Status | What it means | Billing behavior | Typical admin action |
Active | The subscription is ongoing. It can still be Active while a failed payment is being retried. | Future billing or fulfillment activity remains scheduled unless another rule pauses, skips, completes, or ends it. | Review the next action and any payment-retry notice before changing the status. |
Paused | Automatic subscription activity has been temporarily stopped. | Automatic billing is paused until the subscription is resumed. | Resume when ready, then verify the next billing date. |
Cancelled | The subscription was ended by a customer or administrator. | No future automatic billing should occur unless the subscription is reactivated. | Reactivate only with the customer's authorization and verify the next date and terms. |
Expired | A fixed-term subscription completed its configured payments or fulfillments and is finished. | No further automatic billing is scheduled under the completed term. | If reactivating, first adjust the maximum installments or other completion settings so the subscription can bill again. |
Failed | The configured payment-recovery process reached its terminal failed state. | Automatic billing has stopped under the failed state. | Resolve the payment issue, select Reactivate, and choose the next billing date. |
Status filter showing the subscription lifecycle states used in this article.
Active during dunning
One declined charge does not immediately make a subscription Failed.
PayWhirl can retry failed payments according to the store's dunning settings. During those retries, the subscription remains Active. The merchant controls:
the number of attempts
the time between attempts
the messages sent to the customer
what should happen after the final attempt
After the final attempt, the configured action may fail or cancel the subscription, pause it, or skip the failed order. Check the subscription's status, payment history, and next action together before deciding what happened.
Repeated failed payment attempts during the retry sequence.
Paused versus skipped
A paused subscription stops automatic billing until it is resumed. A skipped payment moves past a specific scheduled charge while the subscription continues.
When resuming a paused subscription:
If it is resumed before the next order date, it keeps the original billing cycle.
If it is resumed after the next order date, PayWhirl bills immediately and shifts the billing cycle to the resumed date.
Review the next billing date before confirming the change with the customer.
Cancelled versus expired
Cancelled means someone ended the subscription before it naturally completed, or as an administrative result.
Expired means a fixed-term subscription completed its configured payments or fulfillments. Prepaid subscriptions with a finishing behavior of End of cycle can remain Active until the last paid fulfillment is complete, then change to Expired.
An expired subscription may need more than a status change to bill again. If the subscription has already reached its maximum installments or fulfillments, increase or otherwise adjust that limit before reactivation.
Reactivate a subscription
Administrators can restore a subscription when the customer wants to continue, but the checks differ by status:
Open the subscription details page.
Confirm the customer's authorization and payment method.
Review the price, products, shipping, billing interval, next billing date, and installment count.
For a Failed subscription, select Reactivate and choose the next billing date.
For a Paused subscription, select Resume and verify whether PayWhirl will bill immediately.
For a Cancelled or Expired subscription, reactivate it and correct any completed-term or maximum-installment settings that would prevent the next bill.
Confirm the next scheduled action before closing the page.
Reactivate dialog with the next payment date selector.
Fixed-term subscription with three successful payments, zero remaining, and a maximum of three payments.
Billing and fulfillment are separate
A status change does not cancel or reverse an order already created in Shopify.
A prepaid subscription may have paid, scheduled fulfillments remaining even after cancellation. Review the related Shopify order and the PayWhirl fulfillment schedule before promising that all future shipments have stopped.
Likewise, refunding or canceling an individual Shopify order does not automatically cancel the PayWhirl subscription.
Questions about a subscription or its status?
Contact PayWhirl Support with the subscription ID and a brief description of what you expected to happen. We can help you review its status, payment history, and next scheduled action.
Sincerely,
Team PayWhirl