General Settings

Configure subscription cart rules, checkout behavior, free trials, renewal sync, grace periods, email reminder timing, customer self-service actions, cancellation timing, and automatic-payment controls — all from a single page.

Availability: Free (the Automatic Payments section requires Pro)

Page Navigation

• Admin screen: WordPress Admin → ArraySubs → Settings → General
• Direct admin route: /wp-admin/admin.php?page=arraysubs-mainadmin#/settings/general
• Related setup page: Easy Setup Wizard
• Related product setup: Create and Configure Subscription Products
• Related checkout guide: Subscription Checkout
• Related renewal guide: Renewal Operations

Overview

The General Settings page is the first place to visit after installing ArraySubs. It collects the store-wide rules that shape how subscriptions behave during checkout, renewal, and day-to-day management.

Navigate to ArraySubs → Settings → General to open the page. Every change takes effect after you click Save Settings. You can click Discard Changes at any time to revert unsaved edits.

The settings tabs at the top let you move from store-wide behavior into more specialized areas such as Toolkit, Plan Switching, Refunds, Skip & Pause, and Feature Manager. The fixed action bar at the bottom stays visible while you scroll, so save only after reviewing every changed section.

When to Use This

• You are setting up ArraySubs for the first time and need to review the defaults.
• You want to change how many subscriptions a customer can buy at once.
• You want new subscriptions to renew on predictable calendar billing dates.
• You want to adjust grace period timing before unpaid subscriptions are cancelled.
• You need to enable or disable customer self-service actions like cancellation, pause, or reactivation.
• You are fine-tuning trial rules or checkout behavior.

How It Works

General Settings are stored as a single configuration object. When you save, every section on the page is persisted together. The system merges your saved values with built-in defaults, so any setting you have not explicitly changed keeps its default behavior.

Settings apply store-wide — they affect all subscription products, all customers, and all future subscription actions unless a more specific per-product or per-subscription override exists.

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Multiple Subscriptions

This section controls how many subscriptions a single customer can hold and how subscription items interact with the rest of the cart during checkout.

Allow Multiple Subscriptions in Cart

Controls whether a customer can add more than one subscription product to the cart at the same time. This affects the current cart only — it does not limit how many subscriptions a customer already owns in their account.

Turn this off when customers should check out one subscription plan at a time.

One Subscription Per Customer

When enabled, a customer who already has an active, trial, on-hold, or pending subscription is blocked from purchasing another one. The check runs at add-to-cart for logged-in users and again at checkout for guests or returning email addresses.

Auto Migrate to New Subscription Upon Checkout

Instead of blocking checkout, this option lets the system replace the customer's existing subscription with the new plan they are purchasing. Pricing is adjusted using the plan switching proration rules for upgrades, downgrades, and crossgrades.

One Subscription Per Product

Limits each subscription product in the current cart to a quantity of one. A customer can still buy different subscription plans in the same order, but each plan can only appear once. This does not look at subscriptions the customer already owns.

Allow Mixed Checkout

Controls whether subscription items can be purchased together with regular one-time products in the same order. Turning this off forces separate checkouts for subscription and non-subscription items.

Allow Different Billing Cycles

When multiple subscription plans are allowed in one checkout, this controls whether those plans may use different billing periods or intervals (for example, one monthly and one yearly plan in the same cart).

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Button Text

Add to Cart Text

Overrides the add-to-cart button label on subscription product pages. Leave empty to keep the default text.

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Checkout & Trials

This section combines checkout flow behavior and free trial rules.

Auto Create Account

Automatically creates a WordPress/WooCommerce customer account when a guest purchases a subscription product. Subscriptions always require an account, so this setting avoids forcing the customer to register before checkout.

One Click Checkout

Controls whether clicking the purchase button sends customers straight to the checkout page, skipping the cart.

Disable Cart Page

When enabled alongside a one-click mode, the cart page is completely bypassed and customers land directly on the checkout page.

Non-Subscription Purchase Button Text

Replaces the standard purchase button label for regular non-subscription items. Leave it empty to keep WooCommerce's default text.

Require Payment Method for Trials

When enabled, customers must provide payment details even for free trials. This keeps billing information on file so the first paid renewal can happen smoothly when the trial ends.

When disabled, customers can start trials without entering payment information. You will need to collect payment details before the trial ends.

One Trial Per Customer

Prevents customers from signing up for multiple free trials of the same product. Helps prevent trial abuse by blocking repeat trial sign-ups from the same account.

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Grace Period

The grace period system controls what happens when a renewal payment is not received by the due date. It uses a two-phase approach: the subscription stays active for a configurable number of days, then moves to on-hold, and is finally cancelled if payment is still not received.

For a detailed walkthrough of the grace period lifecycle, see Getting Started — Before You Launch.

Generate Invoice Before Due

How far in advance of the payment due date the renewal invoice is created. This gives customers time to see and pay the invoice before the due date arrives.

The number field accepts values from 1 to 30. The unit can be Hours or Days.

Days Active After Due

The number of days the subscription stays Active after the payment due date passes without payment. During this window the customer retains full access.

Days On-Hold Before Cancel

The number of days the subscription stays On-Hold after the active grace period ends. If payment is still missing at the end of this window, the subscription is automatically cancelled.

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Renewal Sync

Renewal Sync aligns new non-trial subscriptions to predictable billing-cycle dates instead of renewing exactly one interval after checkout.

Sync Renewals to Next Billing Cycle

When enabled, new eligible subscriptions set their first full renewal date to the next billing-cycle boundary:

The synced date is stored as the subscription's Next Payment Date, and later renewals continue from that date using the product's normal interval.

First Charge

Signup fees are still charged normally. The recurring amount stored on the subscription remains the full product price so renewal orders are not prorated.

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Email Reminder Schedule

Controls how many days before an event the system sends reminder emails to customers. Each value sets the timing for one email type.

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Customer Actions

Controls which self-service action buttons appear on the customer's subscription management page in their account area.

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Cancellation Settings

Cancel Immediately

When on, cancelling a subscription takes effect immediately — the subscription status changes to Cancelled right away.

When off, cancelled subscriptions remain active until the end of the current billing period. The customer keeps access until the paid-through date, at which point the subscription transitions to Cancelled automatically.

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Automatic Payments Pro

This section is relevant when the ArraySubs Pro plugin is active and at least one automatic payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, or Paddle) is configured.

Allow Customers to Turn Off Auto-Renew

When enabled, customers whose subscriptions are billed through an automatic payment gateway can turn off auto-renew from the customer portal. The subscription stays active, but the next renewal generates a manual invoice instead of charging the payment method automatically.

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Settings Reference

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Real-Life Use Cases

Use Case 1: Single-Plan Membership Site

A coaching platform sells one membership plan at a time. The merchant enables One Subscription Per Customer and Auto Migrate so that when a member wants to upgrade, they simply purchase the higher-tier plan and checkout automatically replaces the old subscription.

Use Case 2: Subscription Box with Generous Grace Period

A subscription box store wants to give customers plenty of time to resolve payment issues. They set Days Active After Due to 5 and Days On-Hold Before Cancel to 14, giving a total 19-day window before automatic cancellation.

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Edge Cases / Important Notes

• Auto Migrate requires exactly one match. If a customer has multiple active subscriptions and tries to purchase a new plan, checkout migration will not kick in. The customer must manage the switch manually.
• Guest checkout is never available for subscriptions. Even when WooCommerce allows guest checkout, subscription purchases always require an account.
• Disabling "Allow Cancellation" hides the button but does not remove admin's ability to cancel subscriptions from the admin panel.
• Grace period changes apply to future renewals only. Subscriptions already in a grace phase use the timing values that were active when their grace period started.
• Auto-renew toggle (Pro) does not cancel the subscription. It only switches future renewals from automatic to manual invoice mode. The subscription remains active.

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Troubleshooting

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Related Guides

• Toolkit Settings — Admin bar, wp-admin access, login page, and multi-login controls.
• My Account Editor — Rename, reorder, and manage the Subscriptions tab in WooCommerce My Account.
• Customer Portal — What customers see and can do in their account area, driven by the settings on this page.
• Getting Started — First-Time Setup — Quick walkthrough of settings to review during initial setup.
• Getting Started — Before You Launch — Grace period lifecycle and subscription status reference.
• Advanced Analytics Pro — How grace periods and renewal timing affect churn rate and revenue-at-risk metrics.

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FAQ

Do General Settings apply to all subscription products?

Yes. These settings are store-wide defaults. Individual product configurations (like trial length or billing period) are set on the product edit screen, but cart rules, checkout behavior, grace periods, and customer actions are global.

What happens if I change the grace period while subscriptions are in a grace phase?

Subscriptions already in a grace phase keep the values that were active when the phase started. New grace periods triggered after the change will use the updated values.

Can I allow cancellation for some products but not others?

Not from this screen. The Customer Actions toggles apply globally to all subscription products. Per-product or per-plan action controls would need to be managed through the Retention Flow or conditional hooks.

Does the "One Click Checkout" setting clear the customer's existing cart?

Yes. When a one-click mode is active, clicking the purchase button clears any existing cart items and adds only the clicked product before redirecting to checkout.

Where do I rename or reorder the Subscriptions tab?

Use ArraySubs → Profile Builder → My Account. The My Account Editor is the built-in place to rename the Subscriptions menu item, move it higher or lower in the WooCommerce My Account sidebar, or hide/show other account tabs.

Can customers re-enable auto-renew after turning it off?

Yes. Customers can toggle auto-renew back on at any time from the customer portal, as long as a valid payment method is still on file for the subscription.