Why are subscription timestamps one hour later for Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba?
Problem Statement
Summary
From 1 November 2026, Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba will remain on daylight saving time (DST) year-round instead of switching back to standard time (ST) each fall. If your Chargebee site uses the timezones belonging to any of these provinces, timestamps related to existing subscriptions will be one hour later than you expect, for example a renewal timestamp that showed 30 Nov, 11:59 PM now shows 1 Dec, 12:59 AM.
Your customers are not charged more, and no action is required. Only the displayed time, and when the renewal runs, moves by one hour.
What is changing?
Until now, these three provinces moved their clocks back by one hour every November. From 1 November 2026 they no longer do, so their winter time is now one hour ahead of what it used to be.
| Province | Timezone in Chargebee | Old winter time | New time, all year |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | America/Vancouver | UTC-8 | UTC-7 |
| Alberta | America/Edmonton | UTC-7 | UTC-6 |
| Manitoba | America/Winnipeg | UTC-6 | UTC-5 |
Summer time does not change. Only the winter months, roughly November to mid-March, are different.
What you will notice in your Chargebee site?
In Chargebee, the saved timestamp values do not change. The local time or calendar date mapped from those values can shift by 1 hour for next billing, current term end, trial end, scheduled changes / ramps, advance invoice, advance invoice schedules and contract term end. The Chargebee app, and API or webhook consumers, can show that difference when they convert the UTC timestamp to the site time zone.
Though the timestamps may shift by 1 hour the dates will only change if the original time was close to midnight. For example, a monthly subscription on a site set to Alberta time, set up in October 2026.
| What you expected | What you now see | |
|---|---|---|
| Current term end | 30 Nov 2026, 11:59 PM | 1 Dec 2026, 12:59 AM |
| Next billing date | 1 Dec 2026, 12:00 AM | 1 Dec 2026, 1:00 AM |
| When the renewal invoice is created | At the expected time | One hour later |
What stays the same:
- The amount charged to your customer.
- The billing period and plan.
- All dates outside the winter months.
This one-hour shift will apply to all subscriptions only if all three of these are true:
- Your site uses one of the three timezones above. You can check this under Settings > Configure Chargebee > Business Profile.
- The subscriptions were created before 1 November 2026 and have not yet renewed. This is the date from when Chargebee will start using the new timezone rules, so only those subscriptions will have the 1 hour shift. The shift ends after the first renewal. Subscriptions created after 1 November 2026, or subscriptions that have already renewed, follow the new timezone rules.
- The date / timestamp falls in the winter period. Winter period is considered from 1st Sunday of November to second Sunday of March. So only if the subscription timestamps fall between these dates the one hour shift will be seen.
Why is this happening?
Chargebee saves every subscription date as a single, exact moment in time. It then shows that moment in your site's local time.
Before the update, Chargebee worked out winter dates using the old rule, when clocks went back an hour. So "30 Nov, 11:59 PM" was saved as the moment that matched 11:59 PM under the old winter time. Under the new rules, local time in winter is one hour ahead. The same saved moment is now shown as 1 Dec, 12:59 AM.
Think of it like a meeting booked for 9 AM before a clock change: the meeting is still at the same moment, but the clock on the wall now reads 10 AM.
Chargebee does not rewrite saved subscription dates when timezone rules change. The saved timestamp stays the same. What can change is the local time and calendar date mapped from that timestamp. The Chargebee app, and API or webhook consumers that convert the UTC timestamp to the site time zone, can show that difference. This keeps your existing records exactly as they were created. It is an expected result of the new provincial rules, not a system error.
What is Chargebee is doing?
- From 1 November 2026, Chargebee uses the new timezone rules. So for subscriptions created after 1 November 2026, all the dates & timestamps will follow the new timezone rules
- Existing subscriptions are left as they are. Chargebee does not recalculate dates already saved on existing subscriptions. On these subscriptions, the renewal and its invoice run one hour later than the original schedule. Post renewal these subscriptions will align to the new timezone rules.
Solution
What can you do?
You do not need to do anything. If you would like to change the subscription timestamps to show the exact date and time you expect, you can realign it.
Edit Next Billing Date applies only when the subscription is Active. Trial and future subscriptions do not have a next billing date, so this action does not apply to them.
Using the Chargebee app,
- Open the affected active subscription and click Edit Next Billing Date.
- Set the term end to the date and time you want, for example 30 Nov, 11:59 PM.
- Uncheck Prorate credits, so no extra charge or credit is created.
- Click Save.
If the subscription has scheduled Subscription Ramps, changing the term end moves those ramps to draft, including when Prorate credits is unchecked. You may need to reschedule those ramps. See Subscription Ramps.
Using the API, invoke the change term end endpoint with the new term end and prorate set to false.
If your own systems read dates from Chargebee
If you match subscription dates from the API or webhooks to a calendar day, for example in reports, your CRM or your customer emails, allow for a one-hour difference on affected subscriptions. A term ending at 12:59 AM on the 1st may really mean 11:59 PM on the last day of the previous month.
Frequently asked questions
Will my customers be charged more or twice?
No. The amount and the billing period stay the same. Only the time the renewal runs moves by one hour.
Could a renewal fall on the next calendar day?
Yes. For any billing frequency, a renewal in the last hour of the term can run on the next calendar day. For example, at 12:59 AM on the 1st instead of 11:59 PM on the last day. That can place the invoice in the next day, week, month, or year. If that matters for your reporting or invoices, realign the subscription using the steps above.
Do I need to change my site's timezone?
No. Keep your current timezone. Chargebee applies the new provincial rules to it automatically.
Are new subscriptions created after 1st November 2026 affected?
No. Subscriptions created or renewed after 1 November 2026 use the new rules and show the correct timestamps.
Need help?
Contact support@chargebee.com with your site name and the subscription IDs you have questions about.