Subscription mechanics + vacation mode

The verified-service subscription lifecycle, payment renewals, and how to pause without losing momentum.

Managing the lifecycle of your verified status

This guide covers the moving parts of your verified-service subscription — paying, renewing, recovering from a missed payment, and pausing the profile when life happens.

If you've read the verified-seller subscription guide, most of this will feel familiar. The mechanics are identical; the buttons are in slightly different places.

The subscription model in 30 seconds

• Verified status is a monthly subscription.
• Set on the Pricing Hub; currently in the range of 15-30k UGX / month for services.
• Renewal date = same calendar day each month from your first subscription.
• Auto-renew on by default; can be turned off.
• Failed payments go to past_due (7 days grace, then badge goes away).
• Locked price if you stay continuously subscribed and the fee goes up later.
• Cancel by turning auto-renew off; status ends at next renewal.

Where to manage it

Service Hub → Edit → Verification. Shows:

• Current status (active / past_due / expired).
• Next renewal date.
• Subscription cost (your current rate).
• Auto-renew toggle.
• Saved payment method.
• Payment history.

States and transitions

Active

Your normal state. Verified, contact CTA on, directory placement on, showcase live.

Past_due

A renewal payment failed. Most common causes:

• Your wallet was empty AND your saved payment method failed.
• Your MoMo number was deactivated.
• Your card expired.
• Pesapal had a temporary outage on the charge attempt.

What happens during past_due:

You get push notifications + emails on days 1, 3, and 7 of past_due, reminding you to re-pay.

Expired

Back to unverified. All your data (profile, videos, showcase, reviews) stays — it just isn't publicly visible to non-direct-link traffic.

Coming back to verified requires re-subscribing. If grandfathering broke (you skipped past day 30), you pay the current rate, not your old locked rate.

Paying for the month

The flow is straightforward:

1. Edit → Verification → Pay this month (during past_due) or Subscribe (after expiry).
2. Pick payment method (wallet, MoMo, card).
3. Tap Pay.

Within minutes, status flips back to active. The badge returns, the contact CTA reactivates, you're back in the directory.

Payment priority during auto-renew

If your wallet has 30,000 UGX and the subscription is 25,000:

• Wallet drops to 5,000.
• Subscription paid.
• Saved payment method not used.

If your wallet has 10,000 and the subscription is 25,000:

• Wallet drops to 0.
• Saved payment method (MoMo / card) charged the remaining 15,000.
• If the saved method fails, the whole charge rolls back. Wallet refunded. Subscription goes past_due.

Price-locked grandfathering

If KampalaSnap raises the verification fee for new providers, existing subscribers keep paying the old price as long as they stay continuously subscribed.

The lock is automatic — you don't have to do anything. The price you paid on month 1 is the price you keep paying for as long as you don't skip a month.

Skipping a month breaks the lock. If you let the subscription expire and come back, you pay current rates.

This is a strong reason to keep auto-renew on if you plan to stay verified long-term.

You can see your locked price (if any) on Edit → Verification → Locked price.

How to cancel

Two paths:

Soft cancel — turn off auto-renew

Edit → Verification → Auto-renew off. Your subscription stays active until the current month ends, then expires. No more charges.

This is the right move if you might come back later. Your profile + data persist; you can subscribe again any time.

Hard cancel — close the service profile

Edit → Close service profile. The profile is taken down. Stop paying immediately.

You can reopen later if you change your mind. But during the closed period, your search visibility is zero.

For most "I'm pausing for a few months" cases, soft cancel + auto- renew off is cleaner than closing the profile.

Vacation mode

If you're stepping away for a stretch (holiday, sick, busy with another job, slow season), vacation mode pauses your profile without canceling the subscription.

How to pause

Edit → Pause profile → pick duration (1-30 days) → optionally add a reason.

What happens:

• Your profile shows a "On break — back on [date]" banner.
• The contact CTA is disabled during pause (buyers can't message you).
• Your profile stays in the directory but with the "On break" pill.
• Existing WhatsApp chats continue normally.
• Your subscription keeps running and charging on its renewal date.

How to resume

Edit → Resume profile. The banner disappears. CTA reactivates. You're back live.

Or it auto-resumes on the date you set.

Subscription during pause — does it pay?

Your subscription keeps running. You're paying for verified status during vacation.

For short pauses (a few days to 2 weeks), this is fine — the value of maintaining your directory presence + locked price is more than the prorated cost of the fee.

For long pauses (over a month), reconsider:

• Turn auto-renew off before pausing. Your subscription stays active for the rest of the current month, then expires. You don't keep paying.
• The catch: you lose grandfathering. Coming back costs current prices.

Run the math: locked price × pause months vs current price after a break. For most providers with grandfathering, paying through a 3-month pause is still cheaper than losing the lock.

How long can you pause?

Per pause: 30 days max. After 30 days, you have to either resume or extend (pick a new pause date within 30 days from today).

You can chain extensions if you need to be paused longer total.

Recovering from past_due

If you go past_due:

1. Edit → Verification → Pay now.
2. Pick payment method.
3. Tap Pay this month.

Status flips back to active within minutes. Your renewal date stays the same as before (you don't lose the days you were past_due, but you also don't gain extra days).

If you're past day 7 (badge gone) but still within day 30 (not yet expired), the same flow restores everything.

After day 30, subscription is fully expired. Re-subscribing puts you at current rates.

Re-subscribing after expiry

Edit → Verification → Subscribe → pay.

You get back immediately:

• Verified badge.
• Contact CTA.
• Directory placement.
• Showcase visibility.

What doesn't auto-restore:

• Locked price (if grandfathering broke).
• Promotion campaigns (if you had active ones at expiry — re-buy if needed).

There's no penalty for coming back, just the work of catching up.

Common questions

Can I get a refund within the first 7 days of a fresh subscription?

Yes. Email support@kampalasnap.com with your service name. We refund the month to your wallet within 48 hours, and your status reverts to unverified.

After 7 days, the month is non-refundable.

Can I pause my profile while still appearing in search?

If you pause:

• You stay in search results (your name) and the directory (with the "On break" pill).
• The contact CTA is disabled.
• Showcase + reviews are still visible.

So buyers can find you and see you exist, but can't message you. This is intentional — when you return, your "On break" pill changes to "Available" and the followers who saw it know you're back.

Can I respond to buyers on WhatsApp during pause?

Buyers can't tap your CTA to start a new chat, but existing WhatsApp chats stay open. You can reply to ongoing conversations.

If you want zero contact during pause, set your WhatsApp away message: "On vacation until [date], will reply on return."

What if I'm on vacation but want to take one specific booking?

Pause your profile, but message the specific buyer directly on WhatsApp to coordinate. Vacation mode is for public-facing pause; private conversations are uninterrupted.

Can I see my subscription history?

Yes — Edit → Verification → Payment history shows every subscription charge, the date, the amount, and the payment method. Useful for bookkeeping.

What if I change my payment method during the cycle?

Edit → Verification → Payment method → Change. The next auto-renew uses the new method. Mid-cycle changes don't affect the current month.

Can I gift a verified subscription to a friend's service profile?

Not directly. You can deposit money into your own wallet and pay your own subscription. Each service profile's verification is tied to that profile's account.

Can I downgrade between tiers (if multiple exist)?

Downgrade requests apply at next renewal. You finish the current month at the higher tier; next renewal charges the lower price.

What if my profile is suspended for a penalty issue while I'm subscribed?

Your subscription keeps charging while suspended. The verified status exists but is overridden by the suspension. To recover, the penalty needs to be addressed (see the verified-seller penalty tiers guide — same logic applies to services).

Email support if you believe a suspension was in error.

What's next

• Building your showcase — keep your profile worth the subscription.
• Directory placement + paid promotion — get traffic to the profile.
• The path to verification — if you're considering re-subscribing after a break, this is the background.