Wasting $297K on Manual Subscriptions? Close & Reopen in Odoo 18

SaaS company has 1,247 subscription customers. Customer #487 calls: "Cancel my subscription." Support rep manually changes subscription status in database. Forgets to stop auto-billing. Customer charged $147 next month. Dispute. Refund. Chargeback fee: $25. Customer #723: "I paused service 3 months ago, want to restart." Support searches database. No record of paused subscription (rep deleted it instead of closing). Creates new subscription. Loses historical data (original start date, lifetime revenue, payment history). Customer #892 cancels due to billing issue. Issue resolved 2 weeks later. Customer wants to restart. Support: "Create new account." Customer: "But I lose my settings, preferences, history?" Support: "Yes, sorry." Customer switches to competitor. Lost customer = $1,764 lifetime value. Happens 47 times yearly. Manual subscription management = 847 hours yearly (finding records, updating databases, handling disputes). Annual cost: $127K support time + $87K billing disputes + $82,908 lost customers (47 × $1,764) = $296,908 subscription chaos.

Odoo 18 Subscriptions fixes this: Close subscription = one-click (customer or admin). Select close reason (Contract ended, Customer request, Billing issue, Service pause). Auto-stops billing (no manual database edits). Preserves all data (history, settings, revenue tracking). Reopen subscription = one-click (restores everything). Customer self-service (customer portal lets them close/reopen). No new subscription needed (same record, continuous history). Close reasons tracked (analytics: why customers leave). Here's how to close and reopen subscriptions in Odoo 18 so you stop losing $297K annually to manual subscription chaos.

What Subscription Close/Reopen Does

Flexible subscription lifecycle: Close subscription (stop billing, preserve data) → Select reason (analytics) → Customer can reopen (restore service instantly) → No data loss, no new account needed.

Step 1: Enable Subscription Closing

1. Go to Subscriptions → Configuration → Recurring Plans
2. Select existing recurring plan or create new
3. In Self-Service section, enable Closable option
4. This allows:
   • Customers to close subscriptions via customer portal
   • Admins to close subscriptions from backend
   • Billing to auto-stop when closed
5. Save recurring plan

Step 2: Create Close Reasons

1. Go to Subscriptions → Configuration → Close Reasons
2. Click New
3. Configure close reason:
   • Reason: Name of close reason
     • "Contract Ended"
     • "Customer Request"
     • "Billing Issue"
     • "Service Pause (Temporary)"
     • "Price Too High"
     • "Switching to Competitor"
     • "Technical Issues"
   • Message: Optional message shown to customer
     • "Sorry to see you go! We'd love to have you back."
     • "Your account is paused. Reactivate anytime from your portal."
   • Button Text: Call-to-action button text (e.g., "Reactivate Now")
   • Button Link: URL for CTA (e.g., customer portal reopen link)
4. Save close reason
5. Repeat to create multiple close reasons (for analytics)

Example Close Reasons

Step 3: Close a Subscription (Admin)

1. Go to Subscriptions → Subscriptions
2. Select subscription to close (or create new for testing)
3. Subscription must be in one of these stages:
   • In Progress
   • Waiting Customer Payment
4. Click Close button (top of form)
5. Popup appears:
   • Select Reason from dropdown (created in Step 2)
   • Optionally add internal notes
6. Click Submit
7. Subscription status changes to Closed
8. Effects:
   • Billing auto-stopped (no future invoices)
   • Subscription appears in "Closed" stage
   • All historical data preserved (orders, invoices, payments)
   • Close reason tracked (for analytics)

Step 4: Close a Subscription (Customer Self-Service)

1. Customer logs into Customer Portal
2. Goes to My Account → Subscriptions
3. Selects active subscription
4. Clicks Close Subscription button
5. Selects close reason from dropdown
6. Confirms closure
7. Subscription immediately closed (billing stopped)
8. Customer sees confirmation message (configured in close reason)

Step 5: Reopen a Closed Subscription

1. Go to Subscriptions → Subscriptions
2. Filter to show Closed subscriptions
3. Select closed subscription to reopen
4. Click Reopen button
5. Subscription status changes back to In Progress
6. Effects:
   • Billing resumes (next invoice generated on schedule)
   • All settings, preferences, history preserved
   • No new subscription created (same record continues)
   • Customer portal access restored
   • Original start date maintained (lifetime value tracking accurate)

Step 6: Customer Self-Service Reopen

1. Customer receives email with reopen link (from close reason config)
2. Or customer logs into portal → Closed Subscriptions
3. Clicks Reactivate or Reopen
4. Subscription instantly reactivated
5. Customer continues service (no setup, no data loss)

Subscription Lifecycle States

Why Close Reasons Matter

Close reasons provide critical business intelligence:

• Churn Analytics: Track why customers leave
  • "Price Too High" = 37% of closures → Consider pricing adjustment
  • "Technical Issues" = 12% → Improve product quality
  • "Service Pause" = 23% → High reopen rate (win-back opportunity)
• Win-Back Campaigns: Target closed subscriptions by reason
  • "Price Too High" → Send discount offer
  • "Service Pause" → Remind after 30 days
• Product Improvements: Fix issues causing churn
• Revenue Recovery: Reopen rate tracked per reason

Real-World Use Cases

Temporary Service Pause

1. Customer going on vacation (3 months)
2. Closes subscription with reason "Service Pause"
3. No charges for 3 months
4. Returns from vacation → Reopens subscription
5. All settings, history preserved
6. Customer happy (didn't pay for unused service)

Billing Issue Resolution

1. Credit card declined (expired)
2. Customer closes subscription (reason: "Billing Issue")
3. Customer updates payment method
4. Reopens subscription within 5 minutes
5. Service continues (no interruption)

Win-Back Campaign

1. Customer closes (reason: "Price Too High")
2. Marketing runs campaign after 30 days: "20% discount for returning customers"
3. Customer clicks reopen link from email
4. Subscription reactivated with discount applied
5. Revenue recovered

Real-World Impact

FAQs