> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.flexwash.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Manual Status Changes

> Important information about manually changing membership statuses and how it affects reports.

## Overview

FlexWash allows administrators to manually change a membership's status (e.g., from Pending to Active, or to Frozen/Cancelled). While this provides flexibility for handling special situations, there are important implications you should be aware of.

## Impact on Reports

<Warning>
  Customers whose membership status is manually changed to Active (without going through the normal billing process) will **not appear in membership reports or the dashboard**.
</Warning>

This is because membership reports and analytics are based on successful billing orders. When a customer signs up and their payment is processed successfully, they are automatically moved to Active status and a billing order is created. This billing order is what makes them appear in your reports.

### What This Means

* **Manual Pending to Active**: If you manually change a customer from Pending to Active without a successful charge, they will have an active membership but won't show up in:
  * New Memberships reports
  * Membership Analytics dashboard
  * Revenue calculations

* **Normal Sign-ups**: Customers who go through the standard sign-up flow with successful payment will appear in all reports as expected.

## When to Use Manual Status Changes

Manual status changes are appropriate for:

* **Freezing memberships** - When a customer requests a temporary pause (see [Freeze a Membership](/memberships/freeze-memberships))
* **Correcting data issues** - When there's a system error that needs manual intervention
* **Special arrangements** - Comp memberships or other special cases where billing doesn't apply

## Best Practices

<Info>
  If you need a customer to appear in your reports, ensure they go through the standard billing process rather than manually changing their status.
</Info>

1. **For new sign-ups**: Always use the normal sign-up flow to ensure proper billing and reporting
2. **For status corrections**: Contact support if you need to correct a membership status while maintaining accurate reporting
3. **Document exceptions**: Keep internal records of any manually-changed memberships for reconciliation purposes