Built-in Membership Billing Emails

When you use Benecaster’s built-in membership, the plugin sends twelve automated billing emails on your behalf. Six have an on/off switch; the other six — Price Change Notice, Price Change Cancelled, Billing Change Scheduled, Plan Change Scheduled, Move to Free Plan Scheduled and Billing Address Needed for Tax — always send, because each tells a subscriber something about their own charges that they are owed. You can change what any of the twelve say two ways: with the Email Editor add-on, which lets you edit subject lines and body copy from the admin without touching code, or with the same PHP override system as your other emails.

These emails are only sent to subscribers managed through Benecaster’s built-in membership. On a show that uses MemberPress, WooCommerce Subscriptions, Paid Memberships Pro or Restrict Content Pro, Benecaster sends none of them, Payment Failed and Subscription Cancelled included: that plugin’s own billing emails are the only ones your subscribers get.

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The Billing Emails

Payment Receipt

When it sends: After every successful payment — the initial subscription and every renewal.

The receipt includes the amount paid, the subscriber’s plan, an invoice number, their next renewal date, a View invoice button for Stripe’s hosted invoice page and a Download PDF link.

Under What this payment covers: it lists each item on the invoice with its price: the plan, and each buy-up the subscriber holds, each described the way Stripe’s invoice describes it. Every item is listed, however many the invoice has; if Stripe cannot be asked for them all, the list ends with “This payment also covers more items, included in the amount paid. Your invoice lists them all.” The receipt is sent either way. When tax was charged, it adds the figures that make up the total:

• Tax added on top of your prices: Subtotal, Tax and Total.
• Tax included in your prices: Total, and the tax it includes as Includes tax.

Every figure comes from Stripe’s invoice for that payment. Stripe’s invoice, linked from the email, is the subscriber’s tax receipt. See Setting Up Sales Tax and VAT for collecting tax.

Amounts are written as the currency code followed by the amount at that currency’s own precision: USD 9.00, JPY 1,500 (no decimals for a zero-decimal currency), KWD 5.250 (three places for a three-decimal one).

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Renewal Reminder

When it sends: A configurable number of days before the subscriber’s billing period ends (default 7 days, adjustable to 1–30 days per show).

Includes the amount the subscriber can expect to be charged. It is shown as Amount:, formatted the same way as the Payment Receipt (e.g. “USD 12.00”). Where it comes from depends on the Calculate tax automatically setting at Benecaster → Settings → Payments:

• Calculate tax automatically off: the amount is a prediction from Benecaster’s own stored prices: the subscriber’s tier price for their billing period, plus the price of each buy-up they hold.
• Calculate tax automatically on: the amount is Stripe’s own figure for the upcoming invoice, tax included. When tax is added on top, the email also shows Subtotal: and Tax: above it; when tax is included in your prices, it shows Includes tax: below it.
• Calculate tax automatically on, but Stripe can’t be reached when the reminder goes out: the email falls back to the stored-price prediction and labels it Amount before tax:, so the subscriber isn’t told a figure that leaves the tax out.

If a price is edited between the reminder going out and the renewal, the two can disagree. Stripe’s invoice, not this email, is the source of truth for what is actually charged.

The reminder is skipped automatically for:

• Subscribers who have already cancelled (the period is ending by design)
• Subscribers with a payment failure in progress (the payment-failed email handles their situation)

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Payment Failed

When it sends: Once when a payment fails — not on every retry attempt. Stripe typically retries a failed payment up to four times over roughly three weeks. This email sends when the first attempt fails; it does not repeat while Stripe keeps retrying.

The email reassures subscribers that their feed access continues while Stripe retries. The subscription is internally marked as overdue but the subscriber can still download episodes. If all retries are exhausted, access ends whether Stripe cancels the subscription or marks it as unpaid, and the subscriber receives the Subscription Cancelled email at that point.

Subscribers can update their payment method at any time during the retry window by visiting their account page. The email’s Update payment method button takes them there.

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Billing Address Needed for Tax

When it sends: When Stripe Tax can no longer work out the tax for a subscriber’s billing address. Stripe still charges their renewal, without tax, and keeps doing so until the address is fixed. The email goes out once when this happens, not again at each untaxed renewal. It only applies on a show that collects tax.

The email asks the subscriber to check their billing address and tells them nothing about their subscription or their access changes. Its Update your billing address button goes to their account page, where the Billing section has a Billing address form. Once Stripe can place the address, tax is added again from their next renewal. Nothing is charged for the renewals that went without it.

It always sends, with no toggle: it is about the subscriber’s own charges, like the receipt. You also see an admin notice naming each subscriber whose payments aren’t being taxed. See When Stripe Cannot Place a Subscriber.

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Cancellation Confirmation

When it sends: Immediately when a subscriber requests cancellation through their account page — before the billing period ends.

The email confirms that the request was received, states the exact date access ends, and includes a link to resume the subscription in case the subscriber changes their mind. This is not the same as the Subscription Cancelled email — this one fires at the moment of the request, while the subscriber still has access.

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Subscription Cancelled

When it sends: When the subscription reaches a terminal cancelled state — either because the subscriber’s billing period ended after requesting cancellation, or because all Stripe payment retries were exhausted.

This is different from a cancellation request. When a subscriber cancels through their account page, Benecaster schedules the cancellation for the end of their billing period. The Subscription Cancelled email sends when the period ends and Stripe confirms the subscription is closed.

What it says depends on what the subscriber keeps:

• Most subscribers are told their private feed will stop working shortly.
• A subscriber who bought episodes outright keeps their private feed, with the episodes they bought and your public episodes. Their email says so, tells them the episodes that came with their plan will stop arriving, and shows Plan ended: instead of Access ended:.
• A subscriber who still holds another active plan on the show gets no email, because their feed carries on unchanged.

A cancelled subscription is marked cancelled, not erased. The record stays so you keep the subscriber’s billing history, and so that someone who cancelled can be told apart from someone who never subscribed at all — which matters if they come back.

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Price Change Notice

When it sends: As soon as you save a tier or buy-up price change with Move selected — it goes out to every existing subscriber the change applies to, before anything about their billing actually changes. This email is the notice, so there is no toggle for it.

The email states the tier or buy-up affected, the current and new price, and when the new price takes effect. That last part is a single sentence that changes with how many days of notice you configured:

• 0 days: the change applies at your next renewal, on {date}
• 1 day: 1 day’s notice
• 2 or more days: n days’ notice … your first renewal at the new price is on {date}

A renewal that falls inside the notice window is still charged at the old price — the wording reflects that, so a subscriber is never told the new price applies sooner than it actually will.

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Price Change Reminder

When it sends: An optional follow-up, a configurable number of days before the subscriber’s first renewal at the new price. On by default — the Price change reminder switch under Subscriber Billing Emails turns it off per show. How many days before the change it goes out isn’t a standing setting; it’s chosen each time you make a price change, in the same dialog where you pick Move or Keep and set the notice period (fewer days than the notice period itself, so the reminder always arrives after the notice).

Content mirrors the notice: the tier or buy-up, the current and new price, and the same timing sentence, so a subscriber who reads only the reminder still gets the full picture.

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Price Change Cancelled

When it sends: If you cancel a pending price change before its notice period ends. Like the notice, this one always sends — a subscriber who was told about a change is entitled to be told it isn’t happening after all.

The email confirms the change was cancelled and that the subscriber’s price is not changing.

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Billing Change Scheduled

When it sends: As soon as a subscriber schedules a self-service switch to another billing period of their tier (monthly to annual, or any other cadence you sell it at) from their account page. Like the price-change notice, this one always sends — it’s the subscriber’s own confirmation, so there is no toggle for it.

The email states the billing period they’re switching from and to, the price they’ll pay from the switch date, and the date it starts — their next renewal. Nothing is charged the day they schedule it. If the new billing period already has a price change scheduled that lands after the switch, this email is also the subscriber’s notice of that change: it states the later price and when it first applies.

Plan Change Scheduled

When it sends: As soon as a subscriber schedules a move down to another of your tiers, or to one at the same price, from their account page. It always sends, with no toggle, for the same reason as Billing Change Scheduled: it describes their own next charge.

It says which plan they’re moving from and to, and on what date (“Your membership will move from Platinum to Gold on 1 October, when your current billing period ends.”), that nothing is charged today, the price they’ll pay from then, and that they keep everything their current plan includes until that date. It also tells them they can cancel the change from their account page and that their podcast feed address stays the same. If the new tier has a price change scheduled that lands after the move, it states the later price and when it first applies.

This is not the Tier Change email. A scheduled plan move sends two emails, by design: this one when the subscriber asks, and Tier Change when the move actually happens at their renewal. Tier Change follows the show’s Tier Change switch; this one doesn’t.

An upgrade doesn’t send this email. It is charged the day the subscriber asks and takes effect as soon as the payment goes through, so there is nothing scheduled to tell them about. What confirms it is Tier Change, sent when the payment succeeds, and the Payment Receipt for the part-period charge — each only if its switch is on. With both switched off, the subscriber gets no email from Benecaster about an upgrade.

Move to Free Plan Scheduled

When it sends: As soon as a subscriber chooses your free plan from the Free Plan section of their account page. It always sends, with no toggle: it’s the record that their payments are ending on a stated date.

It says which plan they’re moving from and to, and on what date (“Your membership will move from Gold to Free on 1 October, when your current billing period ends.”), that nothing is charged today, and that they keep everything their current plan includes until then. It tells them that afterwards they stay a member on the free plan, with the same account and the same podcast feed address, and that any extras they pay for end on that date too. It closes by telling them they can cancel the change from their account page any time before it takes effect. It deliberately quotes no price.

This is not a cancellation email. The subscriber isn’t leaving, so Subscription Cancelled and Cancellation Confirmation are not sent for this move. When it lands at their renewal, Tier Change follows, if the show’s Tier Change switch is on.

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Configuring Email Settings per Show

Each of the six switchable emails has its own on/off toggle in Benecaster → Shows → [Your Show] → Subscription → Subscriber Billing Emails. All six are enabled by default. Price Change Notice, Price Change Cancelled, Billing Change Scheduled, Plan Change Scheduled, Move to Free Plan Scheduled and Billing Address Needed for Tax have no toggle. They always send.

This section only appears while the show’s membership plugin is Built-in Membership — switch to MemberPress, WooCommerce Subscriptions, Paid Memberships Pro, Restrict Content Pro, or no plugin at all, and it’s hidden, since those payment processors send their own billing emails. Your saved toggle values are kept either way and come back if you switch to Built-in Membership again later.

The renewal reminder toggle also shows a Days before renewal field (1–30, default 7), greyed out when the toggle is off. The price change reminder toggle has no equivalent days field here — it’s just on/off. How many days before the new charge the reminder goes out is chosen per price change, in the price-change dialog itself (the same screen where you pick Move or Keep and set the notice period), not as a standing per-show default.

Disabling a switchable email type suppresses it for all subscribers on that show. If you use a third-party email platform to manage billing communications, disable the relevant Benecaster emails to avoid duplicates.

None of these emails carries an unsubscribe link. They are about the subscriber’s own money and access, so a subscriber who has opted out of your announcements still receives them.

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Default Email Content

The samples below show what subscribers receive with the out-of-the-box templates. Every email opens with your show’s name (and logo, if you have set one) in the header. Placeholder values (amounts, dates, plan names) are illustrative — the real emails populate from your show and the subscriber’s account, and a line with nothing to show is left out.

Every subject names the show. With a show called My Podcast:

A part with nothing to fill is left out cleanly: a receipt for a $0 payment is Your My Podcast receipt.

Payment Receipt — default copy

Subject: Your My Podcast receipt — USD 15.40

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Thanks for your payment

We’ve received your payment for your subscription to My Podcast. Your access continues uninterrupted.

Amount paid: USD 15.40 · Plan: Gold · Invoice: INV-0042 · Next renewal: 1 March 2027

What this payment covers:

Gold	USD 9.00
Transcripts	USD 5.00
Subtotal	USD 14.00
Tax	USD 1.40
Total	USD 15.40

[View invoice] [Download PDF]

Manage your subscription, payment method, or billing history from your account page.

The Subtotal, Tax and Total lines appear only when tax was charged. When tax is included in your prices, they are replaced by Total and Includes tax.

Renewal Reminder — default copy

Subject: Your My Podcast subscription renews in 7 days

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Your subscription renews soon

Your subscription to My Podcast will automatically renew in 7 days.

Renewal date: 1 March 2027 · Plan: Gold · Amount: USD 14.00

No action is needed — your payment method on file will be charged automatically. Want to change your payment method, switch plans, or cancel before renewal?

[Manage subscription]

With Calculate tax automatically on, Subtotal: and Tax: lines appear above the amount when tax is added on top, or an Includes tax: line below it when tax is included in your prices. If Stripe couldn’t be reached, the amount is labelled Amount before tax: instead.

Payment Failed — default copy

Subject: Action needed — My Podcast payment couldn’t go through

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Your payment did not go through

We couldn’t process your latest renewal payment for My Podcast. Don’t worry — your feed access is still active while we retry.

We will automatically retry over the next few weeks. The most common reasons for a failed charge are an expired card, insufficient funds, or a bank security hold. Updating your payment method now is the quickest way to keep your subscription active.

[Update payment method]

If all retries fail, your subscription will be cancelled and you will lose feed access at that point. You will receive a separate email if that happens.

Billing Address Needed for Tax — default copy

Subject: Please check your My Podcast billing address

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Please check your billing address

We could not work out the sales tax for the billing address on your subscription to My Podcast, so your payments are being taken without tax for now.

Nothing about your subscription or your access changes. Please check your billing address so the correct tax can be added from your next renewal.

[Update your billing address]

You will find it in the Billing section of your account page.

Cancellation Confirmation — default copy

Subject: Your My Podcast cancellation is confirmed

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Your cancellation request has been received

We received your request to cancel your subscription to My Podcast. Your subscription will continue until 28 February 2027 — nothing changes until that date.

Plan: Gold · Access ends: 28 February 2027

Changed your mind? You can resume your subscription any time before your access ends — no need to re-enter your payment details.

[Resume subscription]

You will receive a separate confirmation email when your access actually ends. If you did not request this cancellation, please contact the show host to restore your subscription.

Subscription Cancelled — default copy

Subject: Your My Podcast subscription has ended

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Your subscription has been cancelled

Your subscription to My Podcast has been cancelled. Your private feed will stop working shortly.

Plan: Gold · Access ended: 28 February 2027

We are sorry to see you go. Thank you for being a subscriber — if you change your mind, you can resubscribe any time.

[Resubscribe]

Subscription Cancelled, for a subscriber who bought episodes — default copy

Subject: Your My Podcast subscription has ended

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Your subscription has been cancelled

Your subscription to My Podcast has been cancelled. Your private feed keeps working: it still has the episodes you bought, and the show’s public episodes. Episodes that came with your plan will stop arriving.

Plan: Gold · Plan ended: 28 February 2027

We are sorry to see you go. Thank you for being a subscriber — if you change your mind, you can resubscribe any time.

[Resubscribe]

Price Change Notice, Price Change Reminder, Price Change Cancelled, Billing Change Scheduled, Plan Change Scheduled and Move to Free Plan Scheduled follow the same house style as the samples above — a short, plain-language statement of what’s changing and when, with the timing sentence described under Price Change Notice.

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Customizing the Templates

Billing email templates can be overridden using the standard PHP template override system. Copy the template into your theme:

{theme}/benecaster/emails/subscription-receipt.php
{theme}/benecaster/emails/renewal-reminder.php
{theme}/benecaster/emails/payment-failed.php
{theme}/benecaster/emails/cancellation-confirmation.php
{theme}/benecaster/emails/subscription-cancelled.php
{theme}/benecaster/emails/price-change-notice.php
{theme}/benecaster/emails/price-change-reminder.php
{theme}/benecaster/emails/price-change-cancelled.php
{theme}/benecaster/emails/cadence-switch-scheduled.php
{theme}/benecaster/emails/tier-switch-scheduled.php
{theme}/benecaster/emails/free-tier-switch-scheduled.php
{theme}/benecaster/emails/tax-address-needed.php

Each template receives the standard global merge tags plus type-specific variables. See Customizing Email Templates for the full variable reference.

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Email Editor Add-on

When the Email Editor add-on is installed, all twelve billing email types appear in the template manager. You can customize subject lines, preview text, and body content without writing PHP. The add-on also adds a Logs tab showing per-subscriber email history with the option to resend individual emails. It discovers the billing email types automatically through Benecaster’s benecaster_managed_email_types filter — there is nothing to register by hand.