When a recurring membership payment fails or an amount becomes owing, the membership moves to a Standby state. This behaviour can be confusing because it changes what you see for the student, so this article explains what happens and how to resolve it.
What "Standby" means
Standby is the state a membership enters when its payment has failed or there is an outstanding balance owing on it. The membership is not cancelled, but it is not fully active either.
What changes while a membership is on standby
Bookings are hidden from the Attendance and Upcoming tabs, so it can look like the student isn't enrolled when they actually are.
Credits cannot be used until the outstanding balance is paid. The membership can't be used to book new classes while it is on Standby.
A student may also unexpectedly land on "standby" when trying to book, if their membership is already in this state.
The 7-day grace period
For the first 7 days after the failed payment, the membership status shows Standby- Inside 7 day grace period. The student's bookings for the new cycle are held during this time.
If the balance still hasn't been paid when the grace period ends, those bookings are cancelled and the status shows Pending (payment not made, bookings cancelled).
Standby does not move the billing date
The membership's billing schedule stays the same. Paying late does not shift the next payment date to the day the overdue amount was paid. If the balance is still unpaid when the next regular billing date arrives, that cycle's amount is added to what is owing.
Which actions are available on Standby
View Standby and Pay Now — see and collect the owing amount. You can edit the Amount in the Pay Now window to collect less, or $0 to waive it.
Cancel & Pay Now — settle the owing amount (you can edit it, including to $0) and cancel the membership. This replaces the normal Cancel option while a membership is on Standby.
Pay Now & Accept — shown instead of Cancel & Pay Now when the student has requested the cancellation. Click it, set the amount to $0 to waive the owing balance (choose Other as the payment method), and accept the cancellation.
Pause/Resume, Cancel, Upgrade/Downgrade and Change Billing Day/Date are hidden until the balance is settled. A pause that was scheduled before the membership went onto Standby is cancelled automatically when its start date arrives.
How to resolve it
View the owing amount on the student's membership and take payment (Pay Now). Once the balance is paid, the membership becomes active again and the student's bookings and credits become usable - the hidden bookings reappear on the Attendance and Upcoming tabs. You don't need to cancel the membership to clear an owing amount. See Override the Owing Amount of Memberships.
If a payment has been made but the membership still appears on standby, or the configuration looks correct, contact Groovio Support.