Member-Initiated Pause

Members can pause their own membership — freezing both billing and access until they resume — when you turn on the Allow members to pause their membership setting for your makerspace. The setting is off by default, so existing makerspaces are unaffected until an Account Owner switches it on.

When the toggle is off, members don’t see a pause button on their membership page. They have to contact your makerspace and ask an admin to freeze the membership for them, exactly as before. When the toggle is on, members see a Pause button next to Change Tier and Manage Payment and can pause themselves at any time.

Tip

This setting only affects whether members can initiate a pause. The admin Freeze action on a user profile is always available regardless of this toggle. See Membership Tiers — Granting Memberships for the admin path.

For Account Owners — Turning It On or Off

Only Account Owners can change this setting.

1. Open Settings → General Settings.
2. Scroll to the Membership & Signup card.
3. Find Allow members to pause their membership and toggle it on or off.
4. Click Save Changes at the top of the page.

The change takes effect immediately for every active member at your makerspace. There is no notification or email sent to members when you flip the toggle — if you want them to know the option is now available, announce it through your usual channels.

What Happens When You Turn It Off Later

Turning the toggle off only hides the Pause button from members who are currently active. Members who paused before you turned the setting off can still resume from their own membership page — the resume action is always available so nobody can get stranded in a paused state by a configuration change. New pauses are blocked until the toggle is turned back on.

For Members — Pausing and Resuming

When your makerspace has the setting turned on, you’ll see a Pause button on your Membership page alongside the Change Tier and Manage Payment buttons.

Pausing

1. Open the Membership page from your sidebar.
2. On your active membership card, click Pause.
3. Confirm when prompted.

Once you pause:

• Billing is suspended. You won’t be charged for your next renewal cycle while the pause is in place.
• Access is frozen. Any access privileges your tier grants (member-only resources, advance booking windows, discounts) are turned off until you resume.
• All active add-ons are paused too. If your tier includes optional add-on subscriptions, they pause alongside the membership and resume together.

Resuming

1. Open the Membership page.
2. On your paused membership card, click Resume.
3. Confirm when prompted.

Billing resumes on your next regular cycle and your access is restored immediately. You can resume even if your makerspace has since turned the Allow members to pause setting off — once you’ve paused, the resume action remains available so you’re never stuck.

Want to leave instead of pause?

Pausing keeps your membership record alive so you can resume later without re-signing-up. If you want to leave entirely, use Cancel from the same membership card instead of Pause. Cancellation policy is set by your makerspace — check with them about effective dates and refunds.

Common Questions

Can I pause partway through a billing cycle?

You can click Pause at any time. Whether you receive any pro-rated credit for the unused portion of the current cycle depends on your payment provider’s billing settings, which are configured by your makerspace. If you have questions about pro-ration, ask your makerspace admin.

How long can I stay paused?

There’s no time limit enforced by MakerVera. You can stay paused as long as you like and resume whenever you’re ready. Your makerspace may have its own policy — check with them if you’re planning a long pause.

Will I lose my tier or benefits when I resume?

No. Pausing freezes your membership in place; it doesn’t cancel it. When you resume, you’re back on the same tier with the same benefits and the same billing interval. If your makerspace has changed tier benefits in the meantime, you’ll be on the updated benefits like every other member on that tier.

What if my makerspace turns the setting off while I’m paused?

You can still resume. Resume is always available for already-paused memberships regardless of the current setting. Only starting a new pause is blocked when the setting is off.

Why doesn’t my makerspace allow member pauses?

Each makerspace decides whether to enable this. Some prefer to handle pauses through staff so they can verify the reason or apply makerspace-specific policies. If you’d like to pause but don’t see the option, contact your makerspace directly — an admin can freeze the membership for you from your user profile.

Related Guides

• Joining a Membership — How members sign up in the first place.
• Membership Tiers — How admins grant, freeze, unfreeze, and cancel memberships from a user profile.