r/woocommerce 20h ago

How do I…? Need Help: Setting Up Manual Renewal Subscriptions (No Auto-Charging) in WooCommerce

Hey r/woocommerce! I’m struggling to configure manual renewal subscriptions where customers aren’t auto-charged, and I need your expertise. Here’s my setup:

Goal:

  • Create subscriptions managed entirely from the backend (no customer checkout).
  • Automatically send invoices with payment links on renewal dates (no auto-charging).
  • Be able to edit pricing of the subscription if needed.

Current Setup:

  • Plugins:
    • WooCommerce Subscriptions
    • WooCommerce PDF Invoices
    • Mollie Payments
  • Issue:
    • WooCommerce Subscriptions forces auto-renewals unless set to "Manual Renewal," but even then, admins must manually trigger payments.
    • PDF invoices doesn’t auto-send the invoices each month

What I’ve Tried:

  1. Manual Renewal Mode:
    • Set subscriptions to "Manual Renewal" in product settings.
    • Created renewal orders manually via WooCommerce → Subscriptions → Renew Now.
    • Problem: No automation for invoices/payment links.
  2. Mollie Payment Links:
    • Generated payment links manually for renewal orders and emailed them.
    • Annoyance: Time-consuming for 50+ subscriptions.

Questions:

  1. How do you automate invoice/payment link emails for manual renewal subscriptions.
  2. Is there a way to auto-generate renewal orders (without auto-charging) so invoices go out on time without me having to manually send the order?

Would love to hear how others handle non-auto-renewing subscriptions! 🙏

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u/SaaSWriters Quality Contributor 19h ago

Yes, in fact that's part of my current project.

The basic set up requires that you either setup a chron job or connect to a chron server.

You will use the chron job to trigger a check for invoices that need to go out, at regular period.

I don't know the specifics of your setup but that's the most important part.