This article rounds up the most common questions and issues you and your clients run into. You can solve most of them yourself using the steps below. Start with the section that matches your problem.
A client can't complete a purchase
"To create a recurring membership, you need a connected Stripe account. Please set one up under Payment methods."
What you see: You or a client try to start a purchase, but Zenamu blocks it with this message.
Why: Your studio doesn't have a connected Stripe account, or the connection dropped.
How to fix it:
Go to Settings → Payments (the Payment methods section).
If Stripe isn't connected, click Connect Stripe account and go through the setup.
If Stripe is connected but it still doesn't work, try to disconnect and reconnect Stripe under Settings → Payments (the Payment methods section). The connection may have dropped for some reason.
"Recurring memberships aren't included in your current Zenamu plan."
Why: You're on a lower plan than Ultimate (or on a trial). Recurring memberships are only available on the higher plans.
How to fix it: Switch to the Ultimate plan under Plan management (left-hand menu). The feature becomes available immediately after you switch.
"You already have a pending or active membership for this variant."
What you see: A client tries to buy, but Zenamu shows them a message about a pending or active membership.
Why: The client started a purchase in the past but didn't finish the 3D Secure verification, or they already have an active membership in the same group.
How to fix it (for the client):
Click "Go to membership" (or "Manage membership" on the membership card). Zenamu takes you to the existing membership, where you can either:
Complete the payment (if you didn't finish the 3D Secure verification).
Change the variant.
Cancel the existing one and buy again once it ends.
If the previous unfinished attempt is more than 30 minutes old, just click the Buy button again on the purchase page. Zenamu automatically releases the old inactive attempt and starts a new one. So the client doesn't have to wait for the Stripe window to expire (up to 24 hours).
How to fix it (for the studio): In the admin, you'll see the client's existing membership. If the membership is in the waiting for payment state and the client doesn't want to finish the unfinished purchase, open the membership detail and click Cancel order. Zenamu confirms with "The unfinished purchase has been cancelled." and the client can then start the purchase again. As a backup, in case the action in Zenamu isn't enough, you can also cancel the same unfinished subscription directly in the Stripe Dashboard (in the client's profile, under Subscriptions).
"You already have a recurring membership with this provider."
Why: The client already has an active (or pending) recurring membership in the same group. The message also shows its current status.
How to fix it (client): They click Go to membership (the link in the message). That takes them to their profile, where they can:
Switch to a different variant (if they want to).
Cancel the existing one (then buy a new one once the period ends).
Complete the payment, if they have a pending one.
The client entered their card, the bank's 3D Secure window opened, and now they don't know what to do next (waiting for verification)
On the first purchase of a recurring membership, the client may see one of 4 states for the 3D Secure verification in their profile. Each one means something different and needs a different next step:
State in the client's profile | What's happening | What the client should do |
Complete payment verification | The bank's 3D Secure window is open and waiting for confirmation (SMS, in-app notification, biometrics). | Click Complete payment and go through the bank's verification. Zenamu then activates the membership. |
Payment verification not completed | The client closed the verification (closed the window, ran out of time). But the payment is still open (up to 24 hours). | Click Complete payment. The same form opens again, with no new charge. Or click Check again to refresh the status. |
Payment received (note: "The membership will activate within a few seconds…") | Stripe confirmed the payment, but Zenamu hasn't received the confirmation yet. | Wait a few seconds — the status usually updates on its own. |
Activation is taking longer than usual | The message from Stripe took more than a minute. Rare. | Click Check again. If the problem continues, wait a few minutes and try again. |
An important detail: If the client never completes the verification on the first purchase, Zenamu does not send them the "Membership payment failed" email. That email is only for failed renewals of an already active membership. The membership stays in the waiting for payment state. The client can buy the membership again at any time, or go back to the Complete payment button, for as long as Stripe keeps the payment open (up to 24 hours).
"The card was declined."
Why: The client's bank refused the charge. Typical reasons:
Not enough money in the account.
The card is blocked for online payments (the client has to unblock it in their banking app).
3D Secure is turned off (the bank won't let it pass European regulation).
A low limit for online transactions.
How to fix it (client): Contact the bank, allow the card to make online payments, or try a different card.
The studio can't create or edit a membership
"This feature requires Stripe."
See above: connect Stripe, or switch to a higher plan.
"This action isn't possible while active recurring memberships exist. Cancel them all first."
Why: You're trying to delete a group or a variant that has active recurring memberships.
How to fix it:
Hide it from the public. The variant or group disappears from the offer for new clients, but existing clients keep it. Then gradually let clients switch to another variant or cancel.
Cancel them for everyone. Cancel the membership for each client in the group, one by one (from the admin). Once their periods end, the memberships deactivate and you can then delete the group.
Important: This is a safeguard against accidental cancellation. If you deleted the group but Stripe kept charging, you'd end up with a mismatch. Zenamu won't let that happen.
"You can't change the currency on a variant with active subscribers. Create a new variant in the target currency."
Why: You're trying to change the currency on a variant that at least one client holds in a live state (active, awaiting start, paused, waiting for payment, unpaid). Stripe can't convert an existing subscription between currencies, so Zenamu blocks the change as soon as you try to save.
How to fix it: Create a new variant in the target currency. The existing variant in the original currency stays available for existing clients. If you want to move a specific client to a different currency, you have to cancel their old membership and buy a new one in the target currency.
"You can't change the billing period on a variant with active subscribers."
The full message reads: "You can't change the billing period on a variant with active subscribers. If you want to change the billing period, archive the variant or create a new one."
Why: You're trying to change the billing period (for example from monthly to yearly) or its multiplier on a variant that at least one client holds in a live state (active, awaiting start, paused, waiting for payment, unpaid). Existing clients have the original period locked in with Stripe. If Zenamu allowed the change, you'd see the new values in the admin, but clients would keep paying according to the old ones.
How to fix it: Create a new variant with the period you want, and offer it to clients who want to switch through the usual variant switch (Change variant in their profile). The existing variant can stay active for existing members, or you can archive it. An archived variant disappears from the offer for new clients, but existing members keep running on it.
Note: The lock kicks in if a variant has at least one client in a live state (see the list above). You can freely change the billing period and currency only on a variant where no client is in a live state. That's typically a brand-new variant, or a variant where every original client has moved to cancelled / expired.
A variant can't be archived / I don't see the Archive button
Recurring variants can be archived individually. You'll find the Archive action in Settings → Passes and memberships → Recurring memberships, in the actions menu (the "⋯" icon) next to each variant.
An archived variant:
Disappears from the offer for new purchases. Clients no longer see it on the public widgets or in the admin under Add membership.
Existing active members keep running on it. Stripe charges as usual until someone cancels on their own or switches to a different variant.
Can be brought back at any time (the Unarchive variant action in the same actions menu).
If you don't see the button, check that you're on the latest version of Zenamu (or do a hard refresh of the page).
Scheduled variant change (Scenario B — a downgrade)
The client has a "Scheduled plan change" banner in their profile — what does it mean?
The client switched to a cheaper variant (or an admin did it on their behalf). So they don't lose the part of the current period they already paid for, Zenamu postponed the change until the end of the period. On the next renewal date, the new (lower) price of the new variant is charged straight from their card.
In the banner, the client sees the text "Your plan will change to [variant name] on [date]. Until then, your current plan continues." — that is:
The target variant (the one they switched to).
The date the change takes effect (= the next renewal date).
A Cancel scheduled change button. If the client changes their mind, they go back to the original variant with no trace left.
The client wants to cancel the scheduled change
In their profile or in the admin, click Cancel scheduled change in the banner. Zenamu immediately:
Cancels the scheduled change in Stripe.
Returns the variant to its original state (the price, name, and next renewal date all stay unchanged).
No email goes out to the client when a scheduled change is cancelled. Only an internal record stays in the membership history.
Watch out for overlap with a renewal. If the client (or the studio) cancels the scheduled change in the same minute Stripe triggers the automatic renewal, Zenamu has a safeguard that decides based on whichever happened first. Either the renewal goes through with the new variant (and the cancellation attempt ends with an error), or the cancellation succeeds and the renewal runs with the old variant. The client never pays twice or loses money.
Card payments turned off — behaviour for recurring vs. one-time memberships
If you have card payments turned off under Settings → Payments (the Payment methods section) — for example temporarily, because of a problem with your Stripe account — Zenamu behaves differently depending on the type of membership:
Recurring memberships: fully blocked.
A recurring membership technically depends on a card (no other method can charge automatically). So when cards are off, Zenamu won't open the purchase form from the public widgets. Instead of the form, the client sees an info window explaining that the studio isn't accepting card payments right now. Once cards are back on, they can complete the purchase as usual.
(A reminder: a recurring membership can only ever be ordered by the client themselves. You can never add one from the admin, because it needs the client's card and its 3D Secure verification.)
One-time (classic) memberships: the card simply disappears from the options.
A one-time membership can also be paid for in other ways (bank transfer, cash on site, from an existing credit, with a pass…). So for these memberships Zenamu just doesn't show the card as one of the payment methods. The client picks a different method and completes the purchase as normal. No info window appears — the card just isn't there.
The turn-off doesn't affect existing recurring clients. Their automatic renewals keep running through the cards saved with Stripe (Stripe works independently of your settings in Zenamu). Turning card payments off in Zenamu blocks new money coming in, not the subscriptions that are already set up.
A client is paying a different amount than I see in the admin
The client is paying less than I set
Possible reasons:
A discount code was applied to the first payment. The client paid a discounted amount. From the second payment on, the full price is charged.
A credit balance on the client's profile. Clients sometimes have a credit balance with Stripe — for instance after a refund issued as credit instead of to the card, or from an earlier variant switch that changed the period length. The credit is applied gradually to the following payments until it runs out.
A billing day set on the group to a specific day of the month (for monthly / yearly variants). The client bought mid-period, and the first payment was prorated for the remaining days until the next regular renewal.
How to check it: In the admin, open the client's membership detail → the Orders section. You'll see every payment with its date, billing period, and amount.
The client is paying more than I set
Possible reasons:
The client recently switched to a more expensive variant (Scenario A — an upgrade). On an upgrade, only the prorated difference for the remaining days of the current period is charged right away (not the full new price), and the next renewal date doesn't change. The next regular payment, on the original date, then goes through at the full new price. See the article on changing a variant.
A bulk price change took place. The new price was applied at the next renewal.
VAT in the price. If the studio is VAT-registered, the client sees a breakdown on the invoice: price excluding VAT + VAT + price including VAT. The amount actually charged is the "price including VAT", which matches what the studio set as the variant's price.
Recurring memberships don't use any platform fee. The client pays exactly the variant's price (plus VAT where applicable). No extra fees are added on top of the price.
How to check it: The Orders section in the membership detail, and the Stripe Dashboard if you need a detailed breakdown.
The status in Zenamu doesn't match the Stripe Dashboard
Zenamu shows the client as Active, Stripe shows Cancelled
Possible reasons:
You or the client cancelled recently and Zenamu hasn't received the confirmation yet (usually 5–30 seconds).
A brief outage on Stripe's side. Rare, but it happens.
A manual cancellation directly in the Stripe Dashboard. If someone cancelled the membership directly in Stripe (outside Zenamu), Zenamu finds out within a few minutes, but not instantly.
How to fix it:
Wait a minute, then refresh the page.
If the mismatch lasts longer than 5 minutes, sync the status manually: in the Stripe Dashboard, check the client's current subscription status in their profile and compare it with what you see in Zenamu. If they really don't match, you can cancel or edit the subscription manually in Stripe, and Zenamu will line up within a minute.
Zenamu shows the client as Cancelled, Stripe shows Active
Rare, but possible:
Zenamu cancelled automatically because the grace period expired, while Stripe's automatic retry went through in the meantime.
A message from Stripe was lost.
How to fix it:
In the client's detail in the admin, you'll see the last status change. That tells you what happened.
If Stripe took the money and Zenamu shows cancelled, Zenamu should refund the money automatically. Check the refund status in the Stripe Dashboard.
If the refund didn't happen automatically, you can do it manually in the Stripe Dashboard: open the client's last invoice → the Refund button → choose the full or a partial amount → confirm. Stripe refunds the money to the client's card within 5–10 business days.
A client was deleted in Zenamu, but Stripe keeps charging them
Why: This case shouldn't normally happen. Zenamu won't allow you to archive a client with an active recurring membership. The Delete client button ends with an error along the lines of "the client has an active recurring membership" (the exact wording depends on the admin language). You have to unsubscribe the client from the recurring membership first. Self-service account deletion from the client's profile is blocked in the same way.
A mismatch can only happen in rare cases — for example if someone edits the database manually, outside the application.
A safety net: Even then, Zenamu has an internal safeguard. On Stripe's next attempt to charge, it recognises that the relevant membership is missing in Zenamu and automatically tries to refund the money and cancel the subscription in Stripe.
How to fix it if it happens anyway:
Open the Stripe Dashboard → find the client and their active subscription → cancel it manually (if the safeguard hasn't reacted yet).
If needed, refund them for any payments charged in error.
Recommended prevention: always cancel the recurring membership in Zenamu first, wait for the cancelled status, and only then archive the client. See Managing existing members → Delete / archive a client.
Notification emails
The client didn't get a confirmation email after the purchase
Possible reasons:
The email went to spam.
The client entered the wrong email address.
Email delivery is sometimes delayed (by a few minutes at most).
How to fix it:
The client checks their spam folder.
In the admin, check the email in the client's profile.
If they need the confirmation, open the order detail, view or download the receipt, and send it to the client from your own email.
The client got more reminders than they should have
Why: Very rare. Zenamu has a safeguard (deduplication) against repeated messages from Stripe. Even if Stripe sends the same message again (for example after a brief outage), Zenamu recognises it and almost always sends the reminder only once. In exceptional cases, the same reminder may arrive twice.
How to fix it: If a client complains, apologise and explain that it was a one-off technical event. You can't look up the exact number of emails sent directly in the app.
Plans and limits
I downgraded my plan and clients stopped being charged
Why: After you downgrade from Ultimate or a trial to a lower plan, Zenamu automatically paused all active recurring memberships (to protect clients from an unexpected charge).
How to fix it:
If you want to resume the payments, switch back to Ultimate.
Zenamu automatically resumes every membership that was paused automatically. Memberships paused manually (from the admin, or by the client through the Stripe customer portal, if you have it enabled) stay paused. You have to resume those manually with the Resume membership button.
A technical detail: The automatic resume recognises automatically paused memberships from an internal note on the pause record in the history (Zenamu saves a special note for a pause triggered by a plan change). Manually paused memberships are not brought back by the automatic resume. You have to resume those yourself with the Resume membership button.
"When your trial ends, your plan will be downgraded automatically…"
Why: You see this notice on a trial plan. It tells you that when your trial expires, your plan will drop down and recurring memberships will be paused.
How to fix it: Switch to a paid Ultimate plan before the trial ends. If you don't make it in time, the automatic pause happens, but everything resumes once you switch to Ultimate.
Accounting and invoices
A client tells me they didn't get an invoice
How to fix it:
In the admin, find the client → membership detail → the Orders section → click the specific payment → the receipt or invoice opens.
The client also has the invoice and receipt available in their own profile in Zenamu (the Orders section).
If the client needs to update the billing details on the invoice (company, company ID), they can do it in their profile → Billing details. The change applies to all future invoices (past ones stay as they are).
Hungary — Számlázz.hu or Billingo
If your studio is in Hungary and you use an external invoicing service (Számlázz.hu or Billingo), recurring memberships work with them fully. A tax document is issued automatically through the external service for each payment. You'll find the settings under Settings → External invoicing.
The Stripe Dashboard
Where do I find a payment's details in the Stripe Dashboard?
Sign in to dashboard.stripe.com.
Customers → search for the client by email.
In the client's detail, you'll see Subscriptions (their recurring memberships) and Invoices (the individual payments).
Click a specific invoice for the details.
Stripe is charging me a higher fee than before
Stripe's fees are adjusted from time to time, so keep an eye on Stripe's official pricing. Zenamu itself doesn't charge any fees, only Stripe does.
When you're really stuck
Before you contact us, please go through the sections above one more time. You'll solve the vast majority of situations yourself, and faster than through chat. If you feel a specific step isn't clear, or you've tried it and it really didn't help, write to us through the in-app chat (bottom right). Have these ready:
Studio ID (you'll find it in the admin URL).
Client ID or their email.
Stripe subscription ID (in the format
sub_xxx), found in the Stripe Dashboard in the client's profile.A short description of the problem and exactly what you've already tried.
Frequently asked questions (summary)
Can I offer recurring memberships without Stripe? No. Stripe is the technical heart of automatic recurring payments. It can't be done without it.
A client changed their email in the Stripe customer portal. Does it carry over to Zenamu? Not automatically. Zenamu doesn't learn about the change, and the client's email in Zenamu stays as it was. If the client wants both places in sync, they have to change the email in their Zenamu profile too.
A client opened a disputed payment with their bank. What now? There's a separate article on this: Refunds and disputed payments. In short: Zenamu does not notify you about a disputed payment automatically — you have to watch the disputed payments section in the Stripe Dashboard yourself, or turn on email alerts from Stripe. Once a dispute is lost, cancel the client's membership right away, otherwise they could keep both the refund and access to the service at the same time.
What happens to recurring memberships if I disconnect Stripe (for example when changing accounts)? After you disconnect, payments to clients keep running on your Stripe account. Stripe charges them independently of Zenamu. But Zenamu no longer learns about those payments: the memberships stop updating (new payments and cancellations won't show in the app) and you won't be able to manage them from the app. That would create an awkward mismatch where the client is paying but nothing is happening in Zenamu.
So before you disconnect Stripe, cancel all active recurring memberships first (in bulk through the client admin), so clients get a proper notice and the charging stops. Alternatively, set up the same variants on the second Stripe account and move clients over gradually by buying a new membership.
Stripe restricted our account. What now? If Stripe restricts your account — because of identity verification, suspicious activity, or a high number of disputes — payments stop being charged: automatic renewals fail, clients move to the unpaid state, and after the grace period they're cancelled. Zenamu knows about the restriction, but it can't resolve the Stripe situation for you. Here's what to do:
Open the Stripe Dashboard → the Account requirements tab. Stripe shows you what it needs from you (usually adding documents, explaining transactions, or paying outstanding fees).
Add what's required as quickly as you can. Stripe usually restores the account within 1–7 days.
Once it's restored, you can resume the paused memberships in Zenamu (if they were paused automatically), or try the payment again manually on the cancelled ones.
In the meantime, keep clients informed and agree on a manual fix (for example, waiving one month).
What is the "statement descriptor" and why does it matter? The statement descriptor is the text the client sees on their bank statement next to your payment (for example "YOGA STUDIO PRAGUE"). Set it in the Stripe Dashboard (Settings → Branding) to a clear name for your studio. If the descriptor is just anonymous text (for example "PAYMENT 12345"), the client can't match the payment to you and may open a dispute with their bank. It's the simplest way to prevent disputes.
I have 3 studios in one organisation and I only want recurring memberships in one of them. Can I do that? The Zenamu plan is set at the organisation level, so to have recurring memberships in one studio you need the whole organisation on Ultimate (or a trial). It can't be set per studio. The Stripe account, on the other hand, is per studio: each branch has its own separate account. If you don't want to pay for Ultimate but one studio needs recurring memberships, you could consider moving that studio into its own organisation.
A client with a recurring membership at studio A comes to host studio B (a collaboration). Does their membership work there? No. A recurring membership is tied to a specific studio (to its Stripe account) and doesn't apply to classes at another studio. If the client wants to book at the host studio, they have to buy that studio's membership separately, or pay for the class as a one-off.
Can I create a "first month free" trial period for a recurring membership? Zenamu doesn't support trial periods (a period with no payment before the first charge). The workaround is a discount code with a 100% discount: the client pays nothing for the first period, and the full price kicks in from the second one. More in the Discount codes article.
A client didn't get a notice before the renewal — is that a bug? The renewal reminder goes out roughly 7 days in advance, and only for memberships with a billing period longer than 14 days (typically monthly and longer). For shorter periods, don't rely on it — it may not come. So if a client has, say, a weekly membership and got no notice, that's fine, not a bug.
More in the How a client buys a recurring membership article.
A client switched to a cheaper variant and got no credit — is that a bug? No. A downgrade switch (Scenario B — a scheduled change) works by not making the change right away, but only at the end of the current period, when the new (lower) price is charged straight from the client's card. So the client uses up what they've paid for, and only then starts paying less. Nothing is refunded as credit. The client hasn't lost any money, and no intermediate step with a credit balance is created.
If the client still sees a credit balance, it may have come from an earlier change of interval (Scenario C), or from an earlier refund issued as credit. Stripe keeps applying that credit to the following payments until it runs out. In the Stripe Dashboard, on the Balance tab in the client's profile, you'll see the history and where it was applied.
Can recurring memberships be tested without real money? There's no test mode in Zenamu — all purchases run on your live Stripe account. To test, we recommend:
Create a special variant with a 100% discount code (the client pays nothing).
Test the purchase with your own card and go through 3D Secure.
After the test, cancel the membership (and hide or archive the variant if needed).
Stripe sends a message twice because of a network retry — does Zenamu run the action twice? No. Zenamu has protection against duplicates: every message from Stripe has its own identifier, and Zenamu remembers which ones it has already processed. If Stripe sends the same message again, Zenamu recognises it and skips it. Changes in Stripe are also made with a safeguard against retries, so a repeated identical request returns the original result without running the action a second time.
I have 1,000 clients and I'm planning to change the price — what should I do? Use the keep existing clients on the original price option. New purchases will go through at the new price. If you want to raise the price for existing clients too, give them 30 days' notice by email and only then run the bulk transfer.
A client pays me through Multisport — can I connect that? No. A recurring membership requires a payment card. Benefit cards (Multisport, FlexiPass, Pluxee) can be used with one-time (fixed-term) memberships.
Are you planning to support automatic payments for recurring memberships without a card (for example, direct debit from a bank account)? We only support card payments (and Apple Pay or Google Pay).
Can a recurring membership be given to a client as a gift? No. If you want to give someone a membership as a gift, we recommend:
A gift voucher for a specific amount, which the client redeems when buying a one-time membership.
Manually adding a one-time membership to the client from the admin.
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