Set up auto-renewal process

The auto-renewal process is used when a membership needs to be automatically extended. It is possible to perform auto-renewal both from Business Central, and from Magento.

There are three auto-renewal models under the Membership setup:

  • Invoice - in this model, a backend user is tasked with running a job to determine which membership is set to expire in X days, and also set up for this type of auto-renewal.
  • Recurring Payment - in this model, automatic lookup of memberships in need of renewal is performed. The lookup is followed by an attempt to capture the required amount from a pre-registered credit card.
  • Customer Balance - this module works in a similar way to an Invoice. A backend user runs a job to find the membership that is set to expire in X days, and that is set up for this specific type of auto-renewal.

In all three cases, an invoice is issued and posted to the customer attached to the membership. On success, the membership is renewed. Backend users are responsible for managing the posted invoices in the same way as regular ERP invoices. An unpaid invoice doesn’t block the membership, but the outstanding amount is displayed when the membership status needs to be confirmed.

Procedure

  1. Click the Lightbulb button, enter Memberships, and choose the related link.
  2. Choose a Membership you wish to edit.
  3. Populate the Auto-Renew field with one of the following options:
    • No - the membership isn’t automatically renewed.
    • Yes (Internal) - the membership is automatically renewed in Business Central using the auto-renew process.
    • Yes (External) - the membership is automatically renewed in Magento.
  4. Populate the Auto-Renew Payment Method field.
    The payment method code indicates the payment method that is used by the member to pay for the invoice when the Auto-Renew field is set to Yes (Internal).

Next steps

After the auto-renewal process is in place, you can follow up on its status per a specific membership.

Membership Sales Setup

When a membership is purchased, membership ledger entries are created with the Sales Item No. used to buy the item.

When you set the membership for automatic renewal, the Item No. specified in the Auto-Renew To field will be used for that specific sales line to create the auto-renewal invoice.

Membership Alteration Setup

When a membership is altered using one of the Renew, Upgrade, Extend or Upgrade alternation types, membership ledger entries are created with the Sales Item No. used to alter the membership.

When you set the membership for automatic renewal, the Item No. specified in the Auto-Renew To field will be used for that specific alteration type line to create the auto-renewal invoice.

Configure auto-renewal process in Business Central

When a membership is set to automatically renew internally, the auto-renewal occurs in Business Central.

To launch the auto-renewal process:

  1. Navigate to the Member Community, then from the ribbon select Related, and click Auto Renew Process in the dropdown.
  2. Set the Community Code to Auto-Renew.
  3. Set the Membership Code to Auto-Renew.
  4. Choose the Valid Until Date.
    All memberships having Auto-Renew enabled and validity that ends before or on the current date will be renewed automatically.
  5. In Document Date provide the date when the invoice document was created.
  6. Select the number of days in Payment Terms Code. The due date is calculated based on the values provided in Document Date and Payment Terms Code.
  7. Select the payment method for the created invoice in the Payment Method Code.
  8. Check Post Invoice if you wish it to be automatically posted.
  9. Select the Salesperson Code of the responsible salesperson.
  10. Click Start Auto-Renew to initiate the process.
  11. Once the process is completed, you can view the details under the Auto-Renew Lot.

See also

← Set up Membership module web services
Member card →