How do subscriptions automatically or manually renew?

You can set up subscriptions to automatically renew or you can manually renew them.

You can manually renew a subscription when the subscription is in either the Active or Expired status.

In the Subscriptions page, open a subscription and click Actions > Renew.
On the Renew Subscription page, enter the new subscription number.
Click Save and Continue.

Your renewed subscription is created according to the configured subscription profile. When one-time charges are associated with your subscription, these charges are placed into your new subscription. You can also see the source and any renewed subscriptions in the Relationship subtab, which is included in the renewal rules template. This means that the general information in that subscription profile is used to renew the subscription. For example, the billing frequency will be taken from that subscription profile included in the renewal template. If you need to manage the billing frequency separately, the subscription profile should be removed from the renewal template.

Note: You can override renewal settings at the covered product level. For example, when you select Do not renew at the product level, then -- upon renewing a subscription -- the renewed subscription doesn't contain that product.

You can also set up your subscriptions for automatic renewal. You must have setup and administrator privileges to perform this action.

From the Navigator, select Scheduled Processes.
On the Scheduled Processes overview page, click Schedule New Process.
Select Automatically Renew Eligible Subscriptions.
Click OK.
Select your business unit and click Submit.

Go to the Renewal Controls subtab to override renewal settings on the renewal rules template. This table describes the combinations of renewal process, customer acceptance, and internal approval criteria:

Renewal Process	Customer Acceptance Required	Internal Approval	Description
Automatic	Not required	Not required	The application renews and activates the subscription.
Automatic	Not required	Required	The application renews the subscription and then sends it to an internal approver for approval.
Automatic	Required	Required/Not required	The application renews the subscription and leaves it in the subscription administrator's queue for further action. You can configure event notification rules to automatically send the subscription to the customer for acceptance.
Manual	Required/Not required	Required/Not required	The application renews the subscription and leaves it in the subscription administrator's queue for further action.
Do not renew	N/A	N/A	The application doesn't renew the subscription.

You can control which renewal period is used by the automatic renewal process on the Edit Renewal Rules Template page.

Example of a One-Month Subscription

Consider the following example of a one-month subscription:

Duration of Existing Subscription	Minimum Renewal Duration	Renewal Duration	Renewal Period
1 Month	60 Days	1	Year

By default, the subscription is automatically renewed for either the minimum renewal duration or the duration of the existing subscription, whichever is greater. In this case, the automatic renewal process will renew the subscription for 60 days. You can select the Use renewal term for automatic renewal check box to override this default. When selected, the automatic renewal process uses the Renewal Duration and Renewal Period values for the automatic renewal. In this case, the subscription will get automatically renewed for a period of 1 year.

Override Renewal Duration

You can override the renewal duration for subscriptions and subscription products, even if they are renewed automatically. You can use the Renewal Duration and Renewal Period fields from the Renewal Controls tab to override the automatic renewal duration at the subscription level. This duration is considered as an exception, and a renewed contract is created.

Similarly, you can use the Renewal Duration and Renewal Period fields on the Summary tab of the Edit Product page to override the automatic renewal duration at the product level. This duration is considered as an exception, and a renewed contract is created for the subscription product.

Automated Renewal Consolidation

Use the Consolidate Subscriptions feature to consolidate all the subscription due to be renewed over a given period into a single, renewable subscription. The application consolidates all subscriptions that belong to the same business unit or that have the same legal entity, primary party, pricing strategy, renewal process, or currency. When both your source and target subscriptions have the same service, the covered levels are consolidated into a single line in the target subscription.

Use the Consolidate Subscriptions option in the renewal rules template to consolidate subscriptions during the renewal process.

In the renewal rules template, you can use the Renewal Consolidation Grouping section to select criteria for merging two or more renewal subscriptions. The application performs subscription consolidation based on the default grouping rules and the rules selected by you.

Here are the grouping rules that the application uses by default:

Business Unit
Primary Party
Legal Entity
Currency
Pricing System
Renewal Process

Here are the grouping rules that you can select:

Billing Account
Bill-to Site
Ship-to Party
Ship-to Site
Price Adjustment Type
Payment Method

Note: In the case of Automated Renewal Consolidation, custom field values for the Subscription header, product, and covered level aren't carried over into the newly created subscriptions. Custom fields only get carried over when "Consolidate subscriptions" is unchecked under Subscription Configuration > Renewal Rules Template.

Coterminate

Use the coterminate feature to align the end dates of the renewed line. You can set the end dates of all the eligible lines to the latest end date, and the target subscription is also adjusted according to the latest end date of the subscription lines.