Subscription Renewal Reminder Flow

Setting up a subscription renewal reminder flow helps you keep customers informed before and after each renewal. In Metorik Engage, a flow consists of multiple automations with the same trigger conditions but different delay periods—sending a series of reminders leading up to the renewal, plus follow-up emails after.

This guide shows you how to build a complete renewal reminder flow for WooCommerce Subscriptions, including pre-renewal reminders, payment confirmations, and failed renewal notifications.

How the Flow Works

A subscription renewal reminder flow typically includes:

Pre-renewal emails — Sent 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day before the next payment date
Payment confirmation — Sent after a successful renewal
Failed renewal notification — Sent when a renewal payment fails

Each email in the flow is a separate automation, all using the Subscriptions resource type with filters based on the next renewal date.

Before You Start

Make sure you've completed the Engage setup process and verified your sending domain. You should also be familiar with building an automation.

Setting Up Pre-Renewal Reminders

Pre-renewal emails notify customers that their subscription is about to renew. You'll create separate automations for each timing (e.g., 7 days, 3 days, 1 day before).

Create the automation

Go to Engage → Automations.
Click New Automation and choose From Scratch.
Select Subscriptions as the resource type.
Give it a name like "Renewal Reminder - 7 Days Before".

Define the audience

Set up filters to target subscriptions renewing within a specific timeframe:

Add the filter: Next Payment Date → is in the next → 7 days.
Add the filter: Subscription is considered active → equals → Yes.

This ensures only active subscriptions with a renewal coming up in 7 days receive the email.

The Subscription is considered active filter checks the subscription status at send time using "today" as the reference point. This prevents emails from going to cancelled or expired subscriptions.

Optional: Add product or billing filters

You can refine your audience further:

Subscription Products — Filter by specific subscription products if you want different emails for different products.
Billing Period — Target only monthly or only annual subscribers.
Total Value — Filter by renewal amount to send different messages for high-value subscriptions.
Requires Manual Renewal — Create separate flows for automatic vs. manual renewal subscriptions.

Create your message

Design your email using the Email Builder. Include details like:

The renewal date using the {next_payment_date} variable
The subscription product name
The amount that will be charged
A link to update payment method if needed

Enable multiple sends

In the Extra Settings section at the bottom, make sure Send automation multiple times is checked. This allows the same subscription to receive the email for each renewal cycle.

Without this setting enabled, a subscription would only receive the email once—ever. For renewal reminders, you want the email sent each time the subscription is about to renew.

Learn more in the Send automations multiple times guide.

Activate the automation

Review your automation and click Activate. Choose whether to send to current matches (subscriptions renewing in 7 days right now) or just future matches.

Creating Additional Pre-Renewal Emails

For a complete flow, duplicate your first automation and adjust the timing:

3-day reminder — Change the Next Payment Date filter to "is in the next 3 days" (adjust the name to "Renewal Reminder - 3 Days Before").
1-day reminder — Change the filter to "is in the next 1 day".

Each automation operates independently, so customers receive all emails they qualify for based on their renewal date.

Setting Up Post-Renewal Emails

After the renewal date, you may want to send confirmation emails or handle failed payments.

Payment Confirmation

To send a confirmation after a successful renewal:

Create a new automation with Subscriptions as the resource.
Add the filter: Last Renewal Order Created → is in the past → X days (e.g., "is in the past 1 day").
Add the filter: Subscription Status → equals → Active.
Design a confirmation message thanking them for their renewal.

Alternative approach: You can also create an Orders automation filtered by order type = renewal order. This gives you access to order-specific variables like the order total.

Failed Renewal Notification

When a renewal payment fails, WooCommerce Subscriptions puts the subscription on-hold. You can notify customers to update their payment method:

Create a new automation with Subscriptions as the resource.
Add the filter: Subscription Status → equals → On-hold.
Add the filter: Status Changed Date → is in the past → X days.
Design a message prompting them to update their payment details.

WooCommerce Subscriptions typically retries failed payments after a grace period (often 7 days). Plan your failed renewal notification timing accordingly.

Flow Example Summary

Here's a complete renewal reminder flow structure:

Automation	Trigger Condition	Filters
Reminder - 7 Days	Next payment date is in the next 7 days	Active subscription, optional product/billing filters
Reminder - 3 Days	Next payment date is in the next 3 days	Active subscription, optional product/billing filters
Reminder - 1 Day	Next payment date is in the next 1 day	Active subscription, optional product/billing filters
Payment Confirmation	Last renewal order created in the past 1 day	Active subscription
Failed Renewal	Status changed to on-hold in the past X days	Subscription status = on-hold

What's Next

Learn more about sending subscription emails with Engage
Explore other automation ideas for your first Engage emails
Set up saved segments to reuse your subscription filters across reports and exports

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