Troubleshooting Framework for PayPal Standard Subscriptions

This documentation is for shops still using the legacy PayPal Standard payment gateway with WooCommerce Subscriptions, specifically subscriptions created without reference transactions enabled on the connected PayPal account. We call these PayPal Standard subscriptions throughout this doc.

In contrast, if Reference Transactions are enabled when a subscription is created using PayPal Standard, the resulting subscription is powered by Action Scheduler right on your WooCommerce site. For issues with Reference Transaction subscriptions please refer to our Troubleshooting Framework for WooCommerce Subscriptions for help with this more common type of subscription.

Still choosing a subscription gateway? If you are considering which payment gateway to use with WooCommerce Subscriptions, PayPal Standard is not recommended due to significant limitations (even when reference transactions are enabled). We instead recommend checking out WooPayments, PayPal Payments, and reading our list of subscription-compatible gateways.

PayPal Standard allows a site to use WooCommerce Subscriptions with or without reference transactions enabled. This means a site using only PayPal Standard may have a mix of subscription types, some using Reference Transactions and others using PayPal Standard billing – each following their own rules. Here is how you can identify which is being used for a particular subscription:

• Legacy PayPal Standard subscriptions can be identified by an I- prefix in the PayPal Subscription ID.
• Reference Transaction subscriptions can be identified by the B- prefix in the PayPal Subscription ID.

This process mirrors our Troubleshooting Framework for WooCommerce Subscriptions but tailored to PayPal Standard subscriptions:

1. Understand the Anatomy of a PayPal Standard Subscription – Identify PayPal Standard subscriptions and review how your specific subscription is structured and configured.
2. Determine What Should Happen – Establish the expected behavior based on your setup including the expected events in a PayPal Standard subscription initial order and renewal.
3. Create a Timeline – Document what actually occurred to identify where things went wrong.

Once you’ve diagnosed and/or resolved the issue, or if you are still having trouble we have further troubleshooting docs specific to PayPal Standard subscriptions which may help:

• Check our Why aren’t Subscriptions Cancelled or Suspended at PayPal page to troubleshoot mismatches between a subscription’s status in WooCommerce and in PayPal.
• Read about PayPal Standard Subscriptions IPN Issues to understand and troubleshoot payment notification and confirmation problems.

PayPal Standard subscriptions use gateway-controlled billing, which is significantly different than the more flexible Action Scheduler-powered subscriptions which are created for virtually all other payment gateways. This means that when troubleshooting PayPal Standard subscriptions, you can ignore most of what you know about how WooCommerce Subscriptions works with other gateways.

The PayPal Standard subscription’s billing schedule and timeline are all controlled from the PayPal side. This means there are some critical differences between a PayPal Standard subscription and an Action Scheduler-controlled, tokenized subscription.

1. PayPal Subscription ID beginning with I-
2. Billing schedule box locked to editing
3. Subscription line items, tax, total area locked to editing

Subscription notes for initial purchase follow this pattern:

Subscription notes for renewals follow this pattern:

The Parent Order should be completed via PDT and/or IPN. Renewal Order payments will always be completed via IPN.

Here are the basics of how PayPal Standard works with WooCommerce Subscriptions. This process is quite technical, and it helps to have a decent grounding in how both WooCommerce Subscriptions and PayPal Standard generally work:

1. When a PayPal Standard subscription is initially purchased:
   1. The initial (parent) order and subscription are created in WooCommerce
   2. Payment confirmation for the initial order is returned via either IPN (Instant Payment Notification) or PDT (Payment Data Transfer)
   3. Confirmation of the billing agreement (the subscription on the PayPal side) is returned only via IPN
2. When PayPal processes a renewal payment for the subscription, PayPal sends an IPN confirmation to the site (renewals are always IPN, never PDT)
3. When Subscriptions receives an IPN confirmation from PayPal, it:
   1. Checks for a matching subscription (via Subscription ID)
   2. Checks for a paid Parent Order, previous renewal order, or null (no prior order indicated)
   3. If it finds an unpaid Parent Order, it marks it paid
   4. If it finds a paid Parent Order, previous renewal order, or null / no prior order, it assumes this payment confirmation is for a new renewal order
   5. This triggers the creation of a subscription renewal order, which is then marked as paid
   6. The displayed Next Payment Date for the subscription is recalculated accordingly

Notice that we don’t mention the Action Scheduler at all since it isn’t involved in PayPal Standard subscriptions. PayPal is entirely controlling the schedule and communicating renewals to the site via IPN confirmations.

Note: Other third party payment gateways may be designed to control the billing schedule for a subscription remotely like PayPal Standard can. Developers do this via their own integration coded into the gateway itself, not into the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin code. If you need help with a different gateway which controls the billing schedule for a subscription this way, reach out to your payment gateway plugin’s developer for support.

When troubleshooting, it is helpful to make a timeline of what happened and compare it to what’s expected. This will often either 1) give you the answer or 2) give you a hint on where to look next for what went wrong.

Gather information from multiple sources to build a complete picture:

Subscription Notes
Every significant event in a subscription’s lifecycle is recorded in the subscription notes. These notes include timestamps and detailed descriptions of what occurred.

Order Notes
Each related order (parent order and renewal orders) has its own set of notes. These provide additional context about payment processing and order status changes.

Server Error Logs
Fatal errors or other technical issues may appear in your server’s error logs. Check your hosting provider’s error logs during the timeframe of the issue.

WooCommerce Logs
Check WooCommerce > Status > Logs for subscription-related logs, payment gateway logs, and other relevant information.

PayPal Logs
Both transaction history and IPN history are helpful to catch additional details that may not have made it back to your site.

Note: With PayPal Standard, you do not need to check Action Scheduler to construct your timeline.

Create a chronological record that includes:

Essential Timeline Elements

• Exact timestamps for each event
• Clear description of what happened
• Relevant subscription and order IDs
• Customer information (when relevant)
• Any error messages or unusual behavior

Timeline Format
Use a simple format that’s easy to follow. For PayPal Standard subscriptions, note where each event was logged helps you note where PayPal events do or don’t correspond with information on your site.

PayPal Standard timelines are significantly more complex than a standard subscription renewal timeline. You can refer to this sample timeline to help know what to expect.

This is just a sample. Since the series of events may vary slightly based on factors such as PayPal’s processing and site configuration, the best way to get an accurate expected timeline for your own site is to create a test PayPal Standard subscription of your own! Nothing beats direct testing on your site.

Note about timing: IPN is not an instantaneous payment method. Therefore, you may see a significant delay (5-7 minutes) between creation of the Parent Order and payment confirmation coming back via IPN. Merchants should not use plugins or custom code to auto-complete subscription orders to compensate for this delay.

The creation of the renewal order, on the other hand, will appear to be instantaneous because the IPN is what initiates the order creation process. It may or may not be at the same time of day as the Parent Order.

Once your timeline is constructed, you can compare it to an expected timeline to see where things are breaking down. We have consolidated these instructions on our main Subscriptions troubleshooting framework:

• Analyzing your timeline
• Next Steps After Timeline Analysis
• Troubleshooting Subscriptions with Payment Gateway-Controlled Billing and our additional troubleshooting pages specific to PayPal Standard:
  • Why aren’t Subscriptions Cancelled or Suspended at PayPal
  • PayPal Standard Subscriptions IPN Issues
• When to seek additional help

This systematic approach to PayPal Standard subscription troubleshooting will help you understand this unique subscription type, diagnose most common issues, and provide valuable information if you need to contact our support team or a developer.