Joining, status, expiry and renewals

A person record and a membership holding are separate. Joining identifies the person; the holding records the chosen offering, payment state, eligibility review, current period and renewal choice.

Choose the join path

Use a signup wizard when joining must collect profile details, eligibility evidence, agreements or dependant information. A quick purchase is suitable for a simple offering. Test the exact route you intend to publish, including its free path: a completed form must create a holding even when no payment page is needed.

Do not treat a checkout redirect as proof of access. Pending payment still needs payment confirmation, Pending validation still needs the configured review, and Active means the holding has reached its usable state. The member record can remain active in the community after one particular holding ends.

How automatic renewal works

For an eligible recurring membership, checkout shows Renew automatically selected by default. It remains on unless the buyer clears it or later switches it off from their membership controls. Resuming an earlier checkout preserves an explicit opt-out.

A paid renewal charge is allowed only when all of these are still true at the final money gate:

• the offering permits automatic renewal;
• the holding's audited renewal choice is on;
• the holding is the active top-level membership contract and is not set to end;
• the current period is the exact period being renewed; and
• a reusable PayStack card authorization belongs to that contract.

Turning renewal off closes that gate. Removing the saved card also prevents a card charge. A free recurring membership can advance its zero-cost period without pretending that it has a saved card.

For a family offering, the primary holding is the one renewal contract. Its next amount is the current primary price plus every current, unreleased priced place. A dependant's initial seat payment cannot replace the primary's saved renewal card.

Price notice and failed payments

Renewal uses the community's current configured price, not a permanently frozen signup price. JollyBee records and sends the pre-charge notice for the exact upcoming period and amount before opening the charge gate. If an owner changes the price after that notice, the unstarted claim is abandoned and a new current-price notice is required.

Card failures are attempted on day 0, day 3 and day 7. After the final definitive failure, automatic renewal is switched off and the member is notified. An uncertain provider result is held for verification and review; JollyBee does not invent another reference and risk a duplicate charge.

Counter or offline POS sales can record renewal as on, but an external cash or card tender does not create a reusable PayStack authorization. No automatic card charge can occur until the membership contract has a reusable card saved through the hosted payment route.

Before launch

Run a test-mode purchase and renewal, then a controlled small live purchase. Verify the period is the intended rolling duration, the notice shows the current amount, an opt-out cannot be charged, card removal closes renewal, a successful renewal advances the period once, and the same callback can replay without extending it twice.

Membership specials and early renewal

A published membership special can include new members, active early renewals, lapsed members, or any combination selected by the owner. It may reduce the price, add time, or combine both. An early renewal extends from the holder's existing paid-through date rather than discarding time already paid for: a Black Friday 2026 renewal for a membership paid through June 2027 can extend it through June 2028.

Every special checkout shows its ordinary price, discount, amount payable, current and new paid-through dates, eligibility state, redemption limit and refund policy. Fresh recurring checkouts start with automatic renewal ON; a member's earlier explicit opt-out remains off unless that buyer changes it. See Run membership specials and early-renewal campaigns for campaign setup and testing.