Create a fixed expiration subscription

You can use AutomateWoo with WooCommerce Subscriptions to give subscriptions from a recurring product the same calendar end date, regardless of when each customer purchases the product.

This example creates a monthly membership subscription and sets every new subscription to end on the same date, the last day of the membership year, no matter when the customer signs up.

Before you start

↑ Back to top

• Install and activate WooCommerce Subscriptions and AutomateWoo.
• Choose an end date that is later than the subscription start date.
• Confirm that the payment gateway used for the subscription supports subscription date changes. If it does not, AutomateWoo records an order note and leaves the end date unchanged.
• Test the full purchase, renewal, and expiration flow on a staging site before offering the product to customers.

Create the subscription product

↑ Back to top

1. Go to Products > Add new product.
2. Enter the product name and description. State the fixed end date clearly in customer-facing content.
3. In Product data, select Simple subscription.
4. Enter the subscription price and billing interval. This example uses $25 every month.
5. For Stop renewing after, keep Do not stop until cancelled. The AutomateWoo workflow will write the exact calendar end date to each subscription.
6. Configure any sign-up fee, trial, tax, inventory, and other product settings your store requires, then publish the product.

Create the end-date workflow

↑ Back to top

1. Go to AutomateWoo > Workflows and select Add Workflow.
2. Enter a descriptive title. Keep the workflow disabled while you configure and test it.
3. Set the trigger to Subscription Created.
4. In Subscription products, select the product created in the previous section. This prevents the workflow from changing unrelated subscriptions.
5. Keep Timing set to Run immediately.
6. Select Add Action, then choose Subscription > Update End Date.
7. Enter the fixed New End Date and New End Time. AutomateWoo uses the site’s time zone. For example, enter the last day of your membership year and 23:59.
8. Save the workflow, test it with a controlled subscription, and activate it when the result is correct.

Test the subscription

↑ Back to top

1. Place a test order for the subscription product.
2. Open the new subscription and confirm that its end date matches the workflow.
3. Review AutomateWoo > Logs and the subscription notes. If the payment gateway does not support date changes, the note explains why the update was skipped.
4. Test a purchase close to the fixed end date and confirm that renewal dates, prorated amounts, taxes, customer emails, and account information match the terms you intend to offer.

Customer-facing information

↑ Back to top

The product’s recurring price and checkout totals are generated before the workflow changes the subscription’s end date. They may therefore show a renewal date or recurring schedule that does not communicate the fixed expiration clearly.

State the end date in the product name or description and anywhere else customers make the purchase decision. Check the product page, cart, checkout, order emails, and My Account pages. A price-string customization changes presentation only; it does not set the subscription end date.

Manage future periods

↑ Back to top

A fixed date includes a year. Update the workflow before selling subscriptions for a new period, and disable it when the current enrollment period closes. Changing the workflow later does not update subscriptions that already ran through it; review those subscriptions separately if their end date must change.