The quick answer
Open the subscription and click Actions > Suspend. On Subscription Change Order - Suspend, verify Effective Date, Requester and Modification Type, check Apply on the Active line, and confirm New Status shows Suspended. Click Save. To resume, open the same subscription and click Actions > Reactivate, check Apply on the Suspended line so New Status shows Active, and save again. After each save, read the line Status, the header Status and Subscription Revision.
The screenshots come from a walkthrough recording built from reference footage of SuiteBilling, not from a live account, and the names in them (people, customer and company) are fictional example data. This guide wasn't checked against a live SuiteBilling account. Your forms may show extra fields or different defaults, especially on newer releases or with custom forms.
Before you start
In this example, Maple Harbor Services has subscription SUBS000412, Managed Support Annual. It's Active on a 1 Year term from 02/01/2026 to 01/31/2027. It has three lines: Support Onboarding Setup (Closed), Managed Support Recurring (Active, quantity 6) and Support Ticket Overage (Not Included). The goal is to pause the recurring line without ending the subscription, then resume it.
You need SuiteBilling enabled, access to the subscription, and a role that can create subscription change orders. The role also has to be able to pick a valid Requester. Status decides what's possible. Only an eligible Active (or Pending Activation) line can be suspended, and only a Suspended line can be reactivated. Before you save, look at the Subscription Change Orders subtab for existing or future-dated change orders on the same line, because they can block or conflict with a new one. Some accounts also limit a line to one change order of a given type per date. Usage lines can depend on a related line, so check dependent lines before you suspend one.
Suspending isn't terminating. A Suspend change order pauses a line, and a Reactivate change order resumes it. Ending a subscription is a separate Terminate change order, which this guide doesn't cover.
01. Read the subscription before you change it
Open SUBS000412, for example from the Subscriptions list under Transactions > Subscriptions > Create Subscriptions > List. Status is Active and Subscription Revision is 1, so no change order has been saved yet. End Date is 01/31/2027.
Scroll down to the Lines subtab. Managed Support Recurring is Active. Support Onboarding Setup is Closed and Support Ticket Overage is Not Included, so only the recurring line can be suspended.
02. Start a Suspend change order
Click Actions, then Suspend. In the recording the menu also lists Reactivate, Renew, Terminate and New. Which change orders your account offers depends on the subscription's status and lines, your features and your role, so you may see fewer.
Subscription Change Order - Suspend opens. Number says To Be Generated and Action says Suspend. Verify Effective Date, which is 10/07/2026 here, and Requester, which is the signed-in user here. Both are required, and their defaults can differ by account, form and release. Modification Type is Ignored. Add a Memo if your process needs one.
Open Modification Type. It offers New or Churn, Upsell or Downsell and Ignored. This field classifies the change for subscription and recurring-revenue analytics. It doesn't decide whether the change order works. The recording keeps Ignored, so pick whatever your reporting policy says.
03. Apply it to the line
On Lines, check Apply for Managed Support Recurring. New Status fills in with Suspended. Leave the Closed and Not Included lines unchecked. In this example they can't be selected.
04. Save and check the suspended state
Click Save. NetSuite returns to SUBS000412 with a green confirmation that the change order saved. The wording can vary by release. Status is now Suspended and Subscription Revision is 2. The revision numbers are this example's history, not a fixed sequence.
Check the header and each line separately. The header shows Suspended here only because Managed Support Recurring was the only line included in the subscription. The other two lines were Closed and Not Included. If a subscription has other Active lines, don't assume the header changes the same way.
Scroll to Lines. Managed Support Recurring is Suspended. The other two lines are unchanged.
05. Reactivate the line
When service resumes, open the subscription that holds the suspended line, click Actions, then Reactivate.
Subscription Change Order - Reactivate opens with the same values: Effective Date 10/07/2026, the signed-in user as Requester, and Modification Type Ignored. Verify them again. Action says Reactivate. Nothing is checked yet.
On Lines, check Apply for the Suspended line. New Status fills in with Active. If a line shows Active and you can't select it, stop and recheck its status. A change order being available in the menu doesn't make every line eligible.
Click Save. Here, Status returns to Active and Subscription Revision is now 3.
06. Compare the two states
Scroll to Lines. Managed Support Recurring is Active again, and its End Date is still 01/31/2027. In this fixed-term example, reactivating restored the line without extending its term. Extending a term is a renewal, which is a separate change order.
Check the result
- The line went Active, then Suspended, then Active.
- Subscription Revision went 1, 2, 3, one step per saved change order.
- The header Status went Active, Suspended, Active. The Suspended header comes from the only included line being suspended.
- Support Onboarding Setup stayed Closed and Support Ticket Overage stayed Not Included.
- The line's End Date is still 01/31/2027.
In the recording both change orders kept the default Effective Date, 10/07/2026, so neither was dated in the future and each took effect immediately. A change order takes effect on its Effective Date, so a later date behaves differently, and whether you can suspend and reactivate on the same day depends on your release.
The recording doesn't open the Subscription Change Orders subtab, the related charges, or a bill run, so it doesn't show what the customer was billed. Saving a change order isn't an invoice, and the subscription status alone doesn't tell you the amount. After you save, open the Subscription Change Orders subtab to confirm both change orders are listed, review the resulting charges and their dates and statuses where your role can see them, and check the billing account's next bill run before you tell a customer what will be invoiced or credited.
Common questions
Which subscription lines can I suspend or reactivate?
A line can be suspended when its status is Active or Pending Activation, and reactivated only when it's Suspended. In the example, Managed Support Recurring was the one Active line, so it was the only one you could suspend. A usage line can depend on a related line, so check for one before you suspend it.
Why can't I select Apply on my Reactivate change order?
Apply is only available for lines the change order can act on, and a Reactivate change order can act on Suspended lines. A line that's Active, Closed or Not Included won't let you check it. If the line you expected is greyed out, go back to the subscription and check its status and any dated change orders on it. What shows up can vary with your features, role and release.
Is suspending a subscription line the same as terminating it?
No. A Suspend change order pauses a line, and a Reactivate change order resumes it, as in this example. Terminate is its own change order that ends the line, and this guide doesn't demonstrate it.
Does reactivating a subscription line extend its end date?
Not in this example. Managed Support Recurring ended 01/31/2027 before the suspension and still ended 01/31/2027 after the reactivation. To extend a term you'd use a renewal, which is a separate change order.
What does Modification Type do on a suspend or reactivate change order?
It classifies the change for subscription and recurring-revenue analytics. The choices are New or Churn, Upsell or Downsell and Ignored, and the example kept Ignored. It doesn't decide whether the suspend or reactivate works. How it feeds your reports depends on the analytics set up in your account.
Does a saved reactivation prove billing is correct?
No. A saved change order shows that the line status and Subscription Revision changed, and the recording stops there. It doesn't open the related charges or a bill run. Check the Subscription Change Orders subtab, the charges and the billing account's next bill run before you tell a customer what they'll be invoiced.
How does Effective Date affect a suspend or reactivate?
A change order takes effect on its Effective Date. Both change orders in the example kept the default date, so neither was dated in the future. A different date can change when the status changes and how charges are handled, and same-day suspend and reactivate behavior depends on your release, so test a date other than the default before you rely on it.