Payments from a subscription
When a donor has subscribed to a subscription (automatic recurring direct debit), each due date creates a child payment in Unisoft. These payments appear in the payments list alongside one-time payments, but with limited behavior and actions. This page explains how to identify and manage them.
Parent / child hierarchy
| Level | Unisoft module | Life cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Parent subscription | Recurring payments | Created once, can be active / paused / canceled |
| Child payments | Payments module (this page) | Created automatically at each due date |
The child payments appear in the payments list like the others, but with a link to the parent subscription.
Identify a payment from a subscription
In the list
Three visual clues:
| Clue | Display |
|---|---|
| Subscription icon | A small pictogram of cycle or recurrence next to the payment method |
| Source | "Software" (the direct debit is triggered automatically) |
| Platform | Stripe, GoCardless, PayGreen… per the subscription contract |
In the detail panel
Parent subscription section (visible only for these payments):
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Subscription | Name + clickable link to the parent subscription profile |
| Monthly installment number | E.g. "3rd direct debit out of 12" |
| Subscription creation date | Initial subscription date |
| Subscription status | Active, Paused, Canceled |
Filter to isolate subscription payments
- 1
Open the filters
Payments list → Filters button.
- 2
Check From a subscription = Yes
The Subscriptions filter isolates child payments.
- 3
Read the statistics
The KPIs give you the actual recurring monthly volume.
To do the reverse — exclude recurring payments to analyze one-time — check From a subscription = No.
Navigate to the parent subscription
From the detail panel of a child payment, click on the link in the Parent subscription section. You arrive on the subscription profile, where you see:
- The complete history of due dates (already debited and upcoming)
- The recorded payment method (card, SEPA mandate)
- The current status (active, paused, canceled)
- The global actions (pause, cancellation, card update)
See View subscription details and View subscription payments.
Limited actions on a child payment
Unlike a one-time payment, a child payment has restricted actions:
| Action | Available? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| View detail | Yes | Always |
| Change contact | No | The contact is that of the parent subscription |
| Change reason | No | The reason is defined by the parent subscription |
| Attribute to pledges | Per context | Possible if the subscription honors a pledge |
| Modify tax receipt | Yes (limited) | The receipt can be adjusted independently |
| Resend tax receipt | Yes | Always |
| Refund | Yes (Stripe) | Specific procedure — see below |
| Delete | No | Impossible — it's a real payment, managed by the platform |
Refund a child payment
The procedure is identical to a one-time payment — see Refund a payment — with an additional option:
| Additional option | Effect |
|---|---|
| Pause the parent subscription | Prevents the next due date from being debited |
| Cancel the parent subscription | Definitively stops the cycle |
You choose according to the context (one-time incident vs total termination).
Special cases
Direct debit failure
If the donor's card is expired or the account is insufficiently funded, the due date fails. No child payment is created. Instead:
- The status of the parent subscription becomes "Direct debit failure"
- An email notification is sent to the admin (and to the donor, depending on settings)
- The admin can send a card update link to the donor
See Manage direct debit failures.
Multi-reason subscription
A subscription can be multi-reason: 50 €/month allocated as 30 € for a pledge + 20 € for the cash register. Each child payment inherits this allocation, visible in the detail panel.
See Multi-reason subscription.
Tax receipts: one per payment or one annual?
According to the settings of the subscription and the organization:
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Receipt at each due date | A tax receipt generated and sent at each child payment |
| Annual cumulative receipt | A single receipt at the end of the year for the total amount debited |
See Tax receipts for subscriptions.
Retroactive cancellation of a subscription
If the subscription is canceled after several months of direct debit, the child payments already collected remain in the Payments module — the cancellation only affects future due dates. To also cancel past payments, you must refund them one by one.
Go further
- View payment details
- Refund a payment
- Filter my payments — isolate children
- Recurring payments module — management of parent subscriptions
- View subscription payments