Set a Membership Anchor Date

Learn how setting renewal dates affects your members' billing and perk delivery

By default, Single-powered subscriptions renew on the same day each month that a member originally signed up. This applies to all automated perks, including physical products triggered At Renewal, Monthly Recurring, and Specific Months.

However, you may prefer to have all members billed and receive perks on the same day each month, regardless of their sign-up date. This guide explains how to set up and use flexible renewal dates, also known as anchor dates.

Renewal Date Options

Same as Signup (Default)
Anchor Date (Advanced)

Setting an Anchor Date

In the "Terms" section of tier creation, find the "Renewal Date" dropdown
Select "Anchor Date (Advanced)"
Two additional fields will appear:
- Anchor Date (ET)
- Anchor Time (ET)
Enter the date and time you want all memberships to renew

anchor-date

Note: Customers are always billed immediately upon purchasing a membership tier. The anchor date affects when they will be billed next.

How Anchor Dates Affect Billing

If a customer purchases your membership before the anchor date:

The customer is billed immediately upon purchase.
When the first anchor date arrives, they are not billed again. This is because they already paid for the current month.

If a customer purchases your membership after the anchor date:

The customer is billed immediately on purchase.
When the anchor date of the next month arrives, they are billed again. This would be considered the second term of their membership.

Additional Logic for Physical Perk Memberships

When setting up a membership with both an anchor date and physical product perks, you may want to ensure that customers are only charged for months in which they receive products. This is particularly important for customers who purchase after the anchor date - and useful for subscriptions (like vinyl of the month clubs) where it's crucial to align billing cycles with product delivery schedules.

If the current month's product perk has inventory available:

The customer is billed immediately upon purchase
The customer immediately receives the first product perk
On the following anchor date, the customer receives the next month's product perk and is billed for the next month

If the current month's product perk is out of stock:

The customer is billed immediately upon purchase
The customer does not receive their first product perk (since it is sold out)
On the following anchor date, the customer receives the next product perk and is not billed (since they already paid for a month but have not received a product)

In summary:

Customers who sign up after the anchor date may miss out on the current month's product if it's out of stock
In this case, they're essentially signing up for the next month's product
This approach is especially useful for memberships like "Vinyl of the Month" clubs, where it's crucial to align billing cycles with product delivery schedules.