[WooCommerce] How Customers Manage Scheduled Orders

Table Of Contents

Customers are able to manage their Scheduled Orders or create new ones from My Account > Scheduled Orders. How the customer views and what actions can be completed will depend on the display option a merchant has selected. You can learn more about these display options and how a customer views their Scheduled Orders here: How Customers View Scheduled Orders. In the examples below the Native UI template is used (because it is the most customizable display option). 

Creating a New Scheduled Order

Creating a Scheduled Order from My Account

Customers can create a Scheduled Order without going through checkout by selecting "Create new Scheduled Order" in My Account > Scheduled Orders.

Once created, it's important that the following are added to the new Scheduled Order:

  • Add product(s)
  • Add a payment method 
  • Add a shipping address 

To learn more about adding these, see Editing Scheduled Orders below. 

Creating a Scheduled Order from Checkout 

A customer can add an Autoship product to the cart in order to create a new Scheduled Order. 

Not every site is the same but in general, a customer can follow these steps in order to create a new Scheduled Order from checkout. 

  1. Visit a product page.
  2. Select the Autoship option (sometimes called "Subscribe and Save").
  3. Select a Frequency.
  4. Select to "Add to Cart".
  5. Complete checkout as a new or existing customer.
  6. Edit and view the new Scheduled Order in My Account > Scheduled Orders.

Editing Scheduled Orders 

Common reasons a customer may need to edit or manage a Scheduled Order are outlined below:

Updating the Next Occurrence Date 

By selecting "Edit Schedule" in My Account > Scheduled Orders (shares the "Cancel Edit Schedule" in the image below), a customer can update the Next Occurrence Date (when the Scheduled Order will process next) for an individual Scheduled Order. 

Changing the Scheduled Order Frequency

By selecting "Edit Schedule" in  My Account > Scheduled Orders, a customer can update the frequency (cadence) their Scheduled Order processes on. For example, they can update the frequency from "Every 1 Month" to "Every 3 Months". 

Changing the frequency will not automatically update the Next Occurrence Date for an individual Scheduled Order, it will only affect subsequent Next Occurrence Dates. If a customer also wants to update the Next Occurrence Date, they can do so as outlined here. 

Changing the Scheduled Order Status 

Customers are able to Pause, Resume (Activate), and Delete Scheduled Orders from My Account > Scheduled Orders. 

If their Scheduled Orders has failed to process, then selecting "Resume" will continue processing the Scheduled Order at the point it failed. For example, if the Scheduled Order fails due to a payment error, then resuming will retry the payment. Customers can alternatively update the Next Occurrence Date to a future date and then "Resume". 

Learn more about managing failed Scheduled Orders as a customer here.

Adding or Removing Products

A customer can add, remove, or change the number of products in their Scheduled Orders in My Account > Scheduled Orders as shown below. 

Pro-tip! Make sure to select "Update Items" after making any changes to products. If this is not selected then changes to items quantities will not be saved. 

Editing Shipping Addresses 

As outlined in this doc, How Can Customers Manage Shipping Addresses, a customer can manage shipping addresses for an individual Scheduled Order in My Account > Scheduled Orders. They can also update shipping addresses for all Scheduled Orders in My Account > Addresses. 

Updating Billing Addresses 

A customer can edit their billing address in My Account > Addresses. However, if your customer needs to update their billing address for their saved payment method then they will also need to complete additional steps. 

For detailed steps on how your customer can update their default billing address, see our help doc here: How Can Customers Update Billing Addresses.

Updating Payment Methods 

Your customer can update their payment method for a Scheduled Order by selecting "Edit Payment Method" in My Account > Scheduled Orders. All saved payment methods from My Account > Payment Methods will be listed in this drop-down. 

If your customer needs to add a new payment method or update their existing payment method, this doc outlines how to do so: How Customers Update their Payment Methods.

Managing Failed Scheduled Orders

When a customer's Scheduled Order fails to process, they will see an error message in My Account > Scheduled Orders. If a merchant has enabled failed order Customer Notifications, the customer will also receive an email regarding the failure as well. 

The customer's Scheduled Order will be placed into a Failed or Paused status and will not be processed until reactivated (resumed) by the customer or the merchant. 

Resolving a Failed Scheduled Order

Scheduled Orders can fail for a variety of reasons and each requires different steps to resolve. A customer can reference the table below for detailed steps on how to resolve the issue. A merchant can reference this help doc for more details on the processing errors listed below. 

Scheduled Order Failure Reason Suggested Next Steps for a Customer
Empty Scheduled Order 
Add a product to the Scheduled Order and then select "Update Items". Once added, resume the Scheduled Order as outlined in the next section. 
No Items to Ship This is an issue on the backend regarding product availability. A customer can either try adding a different product and resuming the Scheduled Order or contact shop support for assistance. 
Payment Errors There are many different kinds of payment failures. In the case that a credit card is expired or there is an AVS (address) mismatch, the customer can add a new credit card with the correct or updated information ( as outlined here). 

If the credit card has insufficient funds or was declined, the customer can retry by selecting "Resume". Or they can add a new payment method as outlined here. 

For all other payment-related errors, the customer may need to reach out to store support.
Other Errors If the error showing on the Scheduled Order is not listed, then shop support should be contacted for further assistance. 
How Can the Customer Reactive their Failed Scheduled Order? 

When the issue is resolved, the customer can reactivate the Scheduled Order by selecting "Resume" in My Account > Scheduled Orders. This will trigger the Scheduled Order to queue to retry processing immediately (if the Next Occurrence Date is the current date or in the past).

If a customer wants to update the Scheduled Order to process at a later date, they should first update the Next Occurrence Date (to a future date) and then "Resume" the order.