Pause options

Pause options record why a subscription was paused. You keep a list of reasons, the same way you keep cancel reasons. Customers see only the reasons you show in the customer portal. Staff see every reason when they pause from the Awtomic admin.

How long the pause lasts, and how soon someone can pause again, is set in Pause limits. Pause options and Pause limits are on the same page.

Before you start

Pause options and Pause limits appear together. If you don't see Pause options under Cancel mitigation, this feature isn't on for your store yet. Contact Awtomic support.

Decide the reasons you want before you turn the list on. Saving with pause reasons turned on and an empty list is blocked. The page shows "Add at least one pause reason, or turn off pause reasons."

Where to find Pause options

1. In Awtomic, open Settings.
2. Open Customer portal.
3. Open Cancel mitigation.
4. Use the Pause options section.

1. Turn pause reasons on or off

Turn pause reasons on when you want a reason stored every time a subscription is paused from the customer portal or the admin.

Turn them off when you don't need a reason. The pause still follows your Pause limits. Customers choose how long to pause, then can leave optional feedback.

2. Manage the reason list

Add each reason customers or staff should be able to choose, such as traveling, too much product, or a temporary budget change.

• Show a reason in the customer portal when customers should be able to pick it.
• Hide a reason from the customer portal when only staff should use it. Hidden reasons stay in the admin pause flow.
• Edit or remove a reason when the list changes.

Customers only see the reasons you leave visible. In the admin, the pause flow lists your reasons, including the ones hidden from the portal.

3. What customers see

On an active subscription, the customer selects Pause subscription.

1. They choose a reason, if pause reasons are on. The list is only the reasons you show in the portal.
2. They choose how long to pause. The choices come from Pause limits. Indefinitely is included when indefinite pause is allowed.
3. They can leave optional feedback.
4. The confirmation tells them when the subscription comes back. For a timed pause, the portal says the subscription will be reactivated on that date.

While the subscription is paused, its status is Paused. Orders and billing stop until it is reactivated.

If customers are not allowed to pause, Pause subscription is removed from the portal. Cancel subscription stays. Staff can still pause from the subscription in the Awtomic admin.

4. What staff see in the admin

Open the subscription and select Pause subscription from the status badge. The same badge is described in Pausing a Subscription. With Pause options and Pause limits on, that action opens a short flow:

1. Choose a pause reason, if pause reasons are on. Staff can pick a reason that is hidden from the portal.
2. Add feedback. This step can be left blank.
3. Choose when the subscription reactivates. This step is Reactivate on. The screen shows Reactivates on and the date.

The subscription timeline stores the pause with the reason and the feedback.

To turn a paused subscription back on, reactivate it from the same status badge and choose the date it should become active. See Pause limits for what that date does to the next order and to the cooldown.

5. Pause from cancel mitigation

A cancel reason can offer pause as the way to stay. When the customer picks that reason, the cancel flow shows Pause available, then the same lengths as a normal pause.

The pause uses your Pause limits. Choosing pause finishes the flow and leaves the subscription paused. Awtomic stores it as a cancel-mitigation pause, with the length they chose and any feedback.

For the rest of the cancel flow, see Cancel Mitigation.

What a pause changes for the customer

• The subscription status becomes Paused. Shopify Flow can trigger on Subscription Contract Paused, and on Subscription Contract Reactivated when it comes back.
• A subscribers-only membership stops for a customer whose only matching subscription is paused. See Memberships overview.
• Customer tags follow the status, so a customer with no active subscription and at least one paused subscription can be treated as paused in email, Flow, and POS.