Managing Subscriptions in Admin

Reading time: 5 minutes | Difficulty: Beginner

Overview

Learn how to view, sync, and cancel subscriptions from the WordPress admin panel. This guide covers the subscription management interface.

Prerequisites

• Active subscriptions in your system
• Administrator access to WordPress

Accessing the Subscriptions List

1. Go to WP Payment Pal > Subscriptions in your admin menu
2. View all subscriptions in a sortable table

Understanding the List View

Columns

Column	Description
ID	Internal subscription ID
Subscriber	Customer name and email
Form	Payment form used
Amount	Recurring payment amount
Status	Current subscription status
Created	Subscription start date

Subscription Statuses

Status	Meaning
Active	Billing normally
Trial	In trial period
Suspended	Temporarily paused
Cancelled	Stopped by user or admin
Completed	All cycles finished
Expired	Payment method expired

Viewing Subscription Details

Click on any subscription to see full details:

Detail View Information

Section	Contains
Subscriber Info	Name, email, PayPal ID
Plan Details	Amount, interval, cycles
Status	Current status and dates
Billing History	Past payments
Form Data	Custom field values

Syncing with PayPal

Keep subscription status current by syncing with PayPal:

1. Open a subscription’s detail view
2. Click the Sync from PayPal button
3. Wait for sync to complete

When to Sync

• If status seems incorrect
• After PayPal dashboard changes
• To verify current state
• Troubleshooting billing issues

What Sync Updates

• Subscription status
• Next billing date
• Payment method status
• Cycle count

Cancelling Subscriptions

Cancel a subscription from the admin panel:

1. Open the subscription detail view
2. Click the Cancel Subscription button
3. Confirm the cancellation

Cancellation Effects

• Billing stops immediately
• Status changes to “Cancelled”
• Customer receives cancellation email (if configured)
• No refunds are automatically issued

Refunding After Cancellation

Cancellation doesn’t refund past payments. To refund:

1. Go to Transactions
2. Find the subscription payments
3. Issue refunds as needed

See Processing Full Refunds.

Filtering and Searching

Filter by Status

Use the status filter to show:

• All subscriptions
• Active only
• Cancelled only
• Other status filters

Search

Search by:

• Customer name
• Customer email
• Subscription ID

Subscription Actions

From List View

• View – Open detail page
• Filter – Narrow results

From Detail View

• Sync – Update from PayPal
• Cancel – End subscription
• View Transactions – See related payments
• View Form – Open the source form

Billing History

The detail view shows all payments:

Date	Amount	Status
Jan 1	$29.00	Completed
Feb 1	$29.00	Completed
Mar 1	$29.00	Pending

Click a transaction to view full details.

Troubleshooting Subscriptions

Subscription shows wrong status

1. Click Sync from PayPal
2. Verify status updates
3. Check PayPal dashboard if still incorrect

Payments not processing

1. Sync the subscription
2. Check payment method status in PayPal
3. Verify customer’s PayPal account is active
4. Check for PayPal notifications

Customer says they cancelled but status is active

1. Sync with PayPal
2. If still active, cancellation may have failed
3. Cancel from admin panel

Duplicate subscriptions

1. Check if customer subscribed multiple times
2. Cancel duplicates as needed
3. Refund unintended charges

Export Options

Currently, subscription data can be viewed in the admin panel. For reporting:

1. Use the list view for overview
2. Check detail views for specifics
3. PayPal dashboard has additional reporting

Subscription Lifecycle

Created → Trial (optional) → Active → [Cancelled/Completed/Expired]

Normal Flow

1. Created: Customer subscribes
2. Trial: Optional free period
3. Active: Regular billing occurs
4. Completed: All cycles finished (if limited)

Cancellation Flow

1. Active: Subscription is billing
2. Cancelled: Admin or customer cancels
3. Billing stops immediately

Failure Flow

1. Active: Subscription is billing
2. Suspended: Payment fails, retry pending
3. Cancelled: Too many failures

Best Practices

1. Regular monitoring – Check subscriptions weekly
2. Sync periodically – Keep data current
3. Prompt support – Respond to subscription issues quickly
4. Document cancellations – Note why subscriptions were cancelled
5. Follow up – Reach out to cancelled subscribers

What’s Next?

• Customer Subscription Portal – Self-service for customers
• Subscription Email Notifications – Automated emails
• Processing Full Refunds – Refund subscription payments