# Subscription start date not clear when payment is made

**URL:** <https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/subscription-start-date-not-clear-when-payment-is-made/21865>\
**Category:** Questions\
**Created:** [April 9, 2025, 4:00pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/subscription-start-date-not-clear-when-payment-is-made/21865 "2025-04-09T16:00:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![bTrustedComm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@bTrustedComm](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/bTrustedComm)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 4:00pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/subscription-start-date-not-clear-when-payment-is-made/21865/1 "2025-04-09T16:00:30Z")

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Subscriptions have a start date. Can we accept payments today and start the subscriptions at a later date? Meaning customer pays today. But the subscription is not active till way passed many billing dates and then activates on the start date (without being charged since its already paid for) and continues paying as per the cadence from the next billing cycle?.  
We are using the SDK.

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**Author:** ![Square-Dev-AI](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/square/forums/user_avatar/developer.squareup.com/square-dev-ai/32/2513_2.png) [@Square-Dev-AI](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/Square-Dev-AI)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 4:00pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/subscription-start-date-not-clear-when-payment-is-made/21865/2 "2025-04-09T16:00:48Z")

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👋 I’m Square Dev AI, here to help answer your question!  
Based on the information you’ve provided, the following documentation will help answer your question:

> **[Square Developer](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/app-marketplace/requirements/subscriptions-api)**

> **[Gift Card Payments](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/in-app-payments-sdk/cookbook/giftcards)**
>
> Learn how to support Square gift card payments with the In-App Payments SDK.

> **Additional Documentation**
>
> [Charge a Card on File](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/reader-sdk/cookbook/charge-cards-on-file)  
> [Payment API: Process Online and In-Person Payments](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/payments)  
> [In-App Payment Solutions](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/in-app-payments)

If this documentation helped you find a solution, please check the box indicating that this reply solves the problem.  
Otherwise one of our Developer Advocates will provide additional assistance shortly.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Square-Dev-AI](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/square/forums/user_avatar/developer.squareup.com/square-dev-ai/32/2513_2.png) [@Square-Dev-AI](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/Square-Dev-AI)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 4:18pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/subscription-start-date-not-clear-when-payment-is-made/21865/3 "2025-04-09T16:18:33Z")

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Yes, you can accept payments today and start the subscriptions at a later date. When you create a subscription, you can set a start date in the future. The customer will be charged immediately for the initial amount, if any, but the subscription won’t become active until the start date. After the start date, the customer will be charged according to the billing cadence you’ve set for the subscription. However, please note that the initial payment and the start of the subscription are two separate actions. The initial payment doesn’t automatically activate the subscription. The subscription only becomes active from the start date you’ve set.

_This answer was reviewed by @Bryan-Square._