Some states, like California and New York, have introduced laws and regulations around auto-renewal payments. Regardless of your location, providing auto-renew compliance mechanisms is a best practice. If your organization accepts automatic recurring member dues, see All about auto-renew payment compliance for best practices and steps to ensure compliance.
On this page
About auto-renew payments
Auto-renew payments automatically charge membership dues on a regular schedule, so members don't need to manually renew. Before configuring auto-renew, review member type settings and the member self-service renewal process.
Prerequisites: Auto-renew must be set up with your payment processor (Payroc, Moolah, Authorize.net, or others). Credit card information is stored in your payment processor, not in MC Professional. Renewal notifications must be enabled for auto-renew to work.
Auto-renew payment settings
- Go to Database > Member Types.
- Hover over the member type, then select EDIT SETTINGS.
- Under Renewal Settings, set auto-renew to Off, Optional, or Required:
- Optional: Members choose whether to keep a credit card on file for automatic annual billing. To opt in, the member must renew through a form.
- Required: All members must opt in to auto-renew to renew their membership. Members still receive a renewal reminder before their expiration date with the renewal invoice attached.
Renewing through a form
For members to opt in to auto-renew, they must renew through a form. See Membership forms for details.
- Auto-renew Required: The Automatically Renew checkbox is pre-selected when the member goes through the form.
- Auto-renew Optional: The Automatically Renew checkbox is pre-selected. Members can deselect it to opt out.
How auto-renew payments are processed
Once a member enrolls in auto-renew, their credit card is saved in your payment processor. They are charged membership dues automatically on their next expiration date.
Depending on your renewal notification settings, the member receives a renewal reminder before their expiration date with the renewal invoice attached. On the expiration date, payment is made automatically and posted to their renewal invoice.
Payment failures
If payment fails, the member receives the payment failure notification email (if configured in member type notification settings) and moves into graced or lapsed status depending on member type settings.
To link the membership form in the payment failure notification email, use the site links feature to direct members to the form to renew their membership and update their payment information.
Cancelling auto-renew payments
To opt out of auto-renew, a member can complete the renewal form on your website and deselect Auto-Renew. An admin can also complete the form on the member's behalf. The member must be in their renewal period to access the renewal form.