Managing Individual Subscriptions

Individual subscriptions are linked to a specific registered user account. Once active, the subscriber can log in and access all subscription-gated content for the duration of their subscription period.

Navigating to Individual Subscriptions

1. Log in as Subscription Manager or Journal Manager
2. Click Subscriptions in the left navigation
3. Click Individual Subscriptions

The individual subscriptions list shows all current, expired, and pending individual subscriptions.

Creating a New Individual Subscription

Prerequisites

• The subscriber must have a registered OJS user account
• At least one individual subscription type must exist (see Subscription Types)

Steps

1. Click Create New Subscription
2. In the Subscriber field, type the user's name or email and select them from the autocomplete list
3. Select a Subscription Type from the dropdown
4. Set the Start Date (defaults to today)
5. Set the End Date — OJS calculates this automatically based on the type's duration, but you can override it
6. Set the Status:
   • Active — subscription is valid and grants access
   • Awaiting Online Payment — subscriber has initiated online payment but it is not yet confirmed
   • Awaiting Manual Payment — invoice has been issued; payment not yet received
   • Expired — subscription has lapsed
7. Optionally add a Note (internal, not visible to subscriber)
8. Optionally check Reminder sent to record that a renewal reminder email was sent
9. Click Save

Setting dates manually

If you are importing historical subscriptions, set both start and end dates explicitly rather than relying on the auto-calculated end date.

Subscription Status Reference

Status	Access Granted?	Description
Active	Yes	Subscription is current and valid
Awaiting Online Payment	No	Online payment initiated but not confirmed
Awaiting Manual Payment	No	Invoice issued; awaiting receipt of payment
Expired	No	Subscription period has ended

When does access start?

Access is granted immediately when the status is set to Active, regardless of the start date. Setting status to Active before the start date will grant early access.

Searching Existing Subscriptions

Use the search bar at the top of the Individual Subscriptions list to filter by:

• Subscriber name or email
• Subscription type
• Status (Active / Expired / Awaiting Payment)
• Date range (start or end date)

To search:

1. Enter criteria in the search fields
2. Click Search
3. Results filter the list below

To return to the full list, click Reset or clear the search fields and search again.

Editing a Subscription

1. Find the subscription in the list
2. Click the arrow to the right of the subscriber's name
3. Select Edit
4. Modify the fields as needed
5. Click Save

Common edits include:

• Changing the status from Awaiting Manual Payment to Active after receiving payment
• Extending the end date for a renewal
• Correcting an incorrect subscription type

Renewing a Subscription

OJS does not have a dedicated one-click renewal button. To renew:

1. Edit the existing subscription
2. Extend the End Date by the renewal period
3. Set Status back to Active if it had expired
4. Click Save

Alternatively, create a new subscription record for the renewal period if you prefer to keep separate historical records.

Renewal reminders

Use the Reminder sent checkbox and the Note field to track when renewal notices were dispatched. Automated reminder emails can be configured under Subscriptions → Subscription Policies.

Cancelling a Subscription

To cancel immediately:

1. Edit the subscription
2. Change the End Date to today's date
3. Change the Status to Expired
4. Click Save

The subscriber loses access immediately after the status is set to Expired.

Deleting a Subscription Record

1. Find the subscription in the list
2. Click the arrow next to the subscriber's name
3. Select Delete
4. Confirm the deletion

Deleting vs expiring

Deletion permanently removes the record. Setting status to Expired preserves the history. Prefer expiring over deleting unless you need to correct a data entry error.

Bulk Import Options

OJS does not provide a native bulk import UI for individual subscriptions. For large imports, options include:

Method	Notes
Manual entry	Practical for small batches (fewer than 20 subscriptions)
Database import	System administrator can insert records directly into the subscriptions table; requires server access
PKP Import/Export plugin	Check the Plugin Gallery for third-party import tools compatible with your OJS version

No native CSV import

As of OJS 3.5, there is no built-in CSV import for individual subscriptions. Check the PKP Community Forum for community-developed import scripts.

Further Reading

• Learning OJS – Subscriptions — PKP documentation on managing individual subscriptions
• PKP Community Forum — Community help for subscription management workflows