Version 3.9 of Paid Memberships Pro includes native settings to set a variable-length period between checkout and the first recurring subscription payment. Navigate to Memberships > Settings > Edit Level to customize payment delays. We are working to update this documentation as quickly as possible.
What Changed
The “Delay” field is now the First Recurring Payment setting on levels and on custom pricing discount codes. Your saved settings carry over and are used as they are.
- Default (one billing cycle after checkout): The standard behavior.
- After a number of days: The first recurring payment is charged that many days after checkout.
- On a specific date: The first recurring payment is charged on a date set with the date pattern builder.
For developers: the pmprosd_current_date filter still runs, and the Add On’s helper functions remain as deprecated wrappers. Custom code that removed the Add On’s own hook callbacks no longer has any effect.
Set the First Recurring Payment
- Navigate to Memberships > Settings > Levels and edit a level, or navigate to Memberships > Settings > Discount Codes and edit a code that uses “Set custom pricing per level”.
- In the Billing Details section, check Recurring Subscription.
- Under First Recurring Payment, choose an option, then click Save Level.
See Date Patterns for Membership Start and Expiration Dates for the builder, syntax, and examples. The Membership Level Setup and Discount Codes docs cover the rest of each screen.
Moving From Old Delay Values
Old values still work. Use these equivalents if you want the builder to show them.
| Old Add On value | Choose now | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
7 | After a number of days: 7 | Not a pattern |
2023-10-01 | On a specific date > Custom pattern | 2023-10-01 |
Y2-01-01 | On a specific date > The same date each year > January 1 | Y-01-01 |
Y1-M2-01 | On a specific date > The same day each month > 1 | Y-M-01 |
Fixed-Date Renewals for Large Membership Sites
Membership sites with thousands of members may encounter issues if they force renewals on a specific date. If you have over 1,000 members, please check with your host to see how they can accommodate an increase in CPU usage on the renewal date. Your gateway will be sending data for each individual member that has a recurring payment on that date.
Please refer to our complete guide on hosting recommendations to support Paid Memberships Pro for more details on hosting compatibility.
In general, we do not recommend forcing renewals on a specific date unless you have to.
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