# Manage members and renewals

> Enroll members, read a member record, pause, cancel or change plans, check what a member can access, recover failed renewals and correct usage.

Canonical: https://help.spacebrain.ai/memberships/manage-members-and-renewals/
Last modified: 2026-09-25T00:00:00.000Z

This guide covers the day-to-day work of running memberships. You will add members, check what they can access, make changes such as pausing or cancelling, and sort out renewals that need payment. It is for front-desk staff, managers and anyone who answers member questions.

## Before you begin [#before-you-begin]

* Publish at least one plan. See [Set up membership plans and offers](/memberships/set-up-plans-and-offers/).
* The person must exist in the CRM, or you can pick them as you enroll.
* Staff grants and imports need a reason, so have one ready (for example, "Founding member offer").

## Where to find it [#where-to-find-it]

* Members: **Memberships → Members**
* Renewals: **Memberships → Renewals**
* Usage: **Memberships → Usage**

## Enroll a member [#enroll-a-member]

1. Open **Memberships → Members** and choose **Add member**.
2. Choose the **CRM person**.
3. Optional: choose a **Payer group** if someone else pays. Leave it empty if the member pays for themselves. See [Payers, promotions and settings](/memberships/payers-promotions-and-settings/).
4. Choose the **Membership plan**. Only published plans are listed.
5. Choose the **Enrollment basis**:
   * **Paid — await verified payment** — access starts after payment is confirmed.
   * **Trial** — start with the plan's trial.
   * **Complimentary** — free access.
   * **Staff grant** or **Imported entitlement** — for special cases or moving members from another system. Add a **Grant reason**.
6. Optional: enter a **Promotion code (optional)** for paid or trial enrollments.
7. Choose the **Start policy**: **When activation requirements are complete** or **Fixed start date**.
8. Decide whether to **Renew automatically**.
9. Choose **Review enrollment**. Check the price, dates, payer and **Required agreements**.
10. Choose **Create enrollment**.

**What you should see:** **Enrollment created**, with **Continue to member** and **View invoice in Payments**. A paid membership stays **Pending** until payment and any required agreements are complete.

To add many members at once, use **More actions → Import members**.

## Read a member record [#read-a-member-record]

Open a member from the list. At the top you see chips for **Membership**, **Billing** and **Access**, plus the billing date and whether automatic renewal is on.

The record is one page with these sections:

* **Needs attention** — anything blocking the member, with a button to fix it, such as **Review renewal**, **Review documents** or **View unpaid renewal**.
* **What this member can access** — each benefit, its state and where the access came from.
* **Payer and collection** — who pays and how.
* **Activation checklist** — what must happen before access starts. Choose **Check payment and documents** to recheck.
* **Required documents**, **Scheduled change**, **Future periods**, **Communications**, **Period history** and **Audit history**.

### Check what a member can access [#check-what-a-member-can-access]

When a member says "I can't get in", start with **Needs attention**, then **What this member can access**. Each item shows a clear state, such as **Can open**, **No current access** or **Waiting for approval**, and where access came from, such as **Membership benefit** or **Added by staff**. Use the button in **Needs attention** to go straight to the fix.

### Membership statuses [#membership-statuses]

| Status        | Meaning                                                   |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Pending**   | Enrolled, waiting for payment, signature or a start date. |
| **Active**    | The member can use their benefits.                        |
| **Paused**    | Use and renewals are stopped for now.                     |
| **Cancelled** | The membership has ended.                                 |

An unpaid renewal does not change the membership status. It shows on the renewal instead.

## Change a membership [#change-a-membership]

On the member record, choose the change you need:

* **Pause membership** — stops use and future renewals. The paid end date stays the same; pausing does not add time or credit.
* **Resume membership** — restarts a paused membership.
* **Cancel at period end** — the member keeps access until the period ends.
* **Cancel immediately** — ends access now. This does not refund payments or cancel bookings.
* **Schedule plan change** — moves the member to a **New plan** at the next period.
* **Change automatic renewal** — turns renewal on or off.
* **Undo scheduled change** — cancels a planned change.

Each change needs a **Reason** of at least three characters. Choose **Review impact** to see what will happen, then **Confirm change**. Choose **Keep unchanged** to back out.

To give money back, refund the payment separately in [Payments](/payments/transactions-and-refunds/).

## Handle renewals [#handle-renewals]

**Memberships → Renewals** shows who has renewed and who needs help. Use the quick filters **Failed**, **Customer action**, **Needs review** and **Awaiting payment**.

| Renewal status                | What to do                                                             |
| ----------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Pending** or **Processing** | Wait. It is in progress.                                               |
| **Awaiting payment**          | The invoice is out. Remind the member or check the invoice.            |
| **Failed**                    | Choose **Review failure** and read the reason.                         |
| **Customer action required**  | The member must act, for example update their card or sign a document. |
| **Needs review**              | A staff member should check it.                                        |
| **Succeeded**                 | Paid and renewed.                                                      |
| **Skipped**                   | No renewal was needed for this period.                                 |

### Recover a failed renewal [#recover-a-failed-renewal]

1. Open the renewal with **Review failure** or **Review payment**.
2. Read **Collection**: the method (**Manual invoice**, **Send invoice** or **Saved-card payment**), delivery and invoice.
3. If the member needs to pay, open the invoice. They can pay from the same invoice link.
4. After fixing the cause, choose **Retry collection**.
5. Choose **Refresh verified facts** to pick up the latest payment result.

**Access during collection** shows when the previous period's grace ends. Retrying does not extend grace or give units for an unpaid new period. Do not create a second renewal to "try again".

## Check and correct usage [#check-and-correct-usage]

**Memberships → Usage** has two views:

* **Balances** — for each member and benefit: **Remaining**, **Reserved**, **Consumed** and the period.
* **Activity** — each time a benefit was used, with its state (reserved, consumed, released or reversed).

If a unit was used by mistake, choose **Correct usage**, pick **Release reserved units** or **Reverse consumed units**, add a **Reason for correction** and save.

## What members can do themselves [#what-members-can-do-themselves]

Members can open their own account from the signup page (**Open your account**). Depending on your plan's **Customer access** settings, they can pause, cancel at period end, change plan or renew, and see their invoices under **Billing**.

## Worked example: a member moves abroad [#worked-example-a-member-moves-abroad]

1. The member asks to stop at the end of the month.
2. You open their record and choose **Cancel at period end** with the reason "Moving abroad".
3. **Review impact** shows access continues until the period end date. You choose **Confirm change**.
4. The **Scheduled change** section shows the cancellation. If they change their mind, choose **Undo scheduled change**.

## If something goes wrong [#if-something-goes-wrong]

* **The plan isn't in the list.** It is not published or is archived. Choose **Refresh available plans** after publishing.
* **The member is stuck on Pending.** Open the **Activation checklist** and choose **Check payment and documents**.
* **A renewal keeps failing.** Ask the member to update their payment method or pay the invoice directly, then choose **Retry collection**.
* **Usage looks wrong after a class was cancelled.** Use **Correct usage** to release the unit.

## FAQ [#faq]

### Does pausing give the member extra time? [#does-pausing-give-the-member-extra-time]

No. The paid end date stays the same.

### Can I export my members? [#can-i-export-my-members]

Yes. Choose **More actions → Export memberships**. It exports every membership matching your current filters.

## Next step [#next-step]

[Set up shared payers and promotions](/memberships/payers-promotions-and-settings/).