How to Activate, Suspend, and End a Season (Season Lifecycle)

Last updated July 6, 2026 · Admins and office staff

Every season moves through a simple lifecycle: Planned → Active → (Suspended) → Ended. The status controls what the system will do with the season — most importantly, program visits can only be generated while the season is Active. This guide explains what each status means and how to move a season between them. To create a season in the first place, see Set Up Seasons and Programs.

Before you start

  • A season already created under Work > Seasons.
  • Know that status changes are made with buttons on the Season Summary page — the status field on the Edit Season form is intentionally read-only.
  • Ending a season is permanent. An Ended season can never be reactivated, so don’t end one until the year’s work is truly wrapped up.

What each status means

Status Badge What it means for your work
Planned Blue Setup mode. You can link jobs and programs, but program visit generation is skipped (you’ll see “Season … is not active — visit generation skipped”). New seasons start here by default.
Active Green The season is running. Program-round visit generation works, and the Renewal Wizard’s “generate visits” option works when this is the target season.
Suspended Amber Paused. New program visit generation is blocked, but visits already on the schedule stay there. Use this for a mid-season stop (e.g., drought restrictions).
Ended Gray Closed out. No new visit generation, and the status can never be changed again. Ended seasons feed the renewal lists for next year.

Steps

Open the season

  1. Go to Work > Seasons and click the season’s row (or its View button) to open the Season Summary.
  2. The available lifecycle buttons appear in the Quick Actions card on the right. Which buttons you see depends on the current status.

Activate a season (Planned → Active)

  1. On the Season Summary of a Planned season, click Activate Season in Quick Actions.
  2. The page reloads and the status badge changes to Active. You can now generate visits for programs linked to this season.

Tip: The Seasons list shows a reminder banner when any Planned season has reached its start date (“N season(s) have reached their start date — review and activate”). The system never activates a season for you — activation is always your decision.

Suspend a season (Active → Suspended)

  1. On the Season Summary of an Active season, click Suspend Season.
  2. A prompt asks for an optional pause reason — type one for your records or leave it blank, then confirm.
  3. The status changes to Suspended. New program visit generation stops; existing scheduled visits are untouched.

Resume a suspended season (Suspended → Active)

  1. On the Season Summary of a Suspended season, click Resume Season.
  2. The season returns to Active and the stored pause reason is cleared.

End a season (Active or Suspended → Ended)

  1. On the Season Summary, click End Season. The button is available while the season is Active or Suspended.
  2. The status changes to Ended — permanently.

Automatic ending (auto-end)

You don’t have to remember to end every season by hand. An overnight process automatically ends any Active season whose end date has passed. Note what it does not do:

  • It never activates a Planned season (you get the banner nudge instead).
  • It doesn’t touch Suspended seasons — end those manually when you’re done with them.

What happens next

After each button click the page reloads and the new status badge shows on the Season Summary and the Seasons list. Once a season is Ended, its jobs and programs become candidates on the Financials > Renewals lists so you can roll them into next year — see Renewal Reminders and the Renewal Wizard.

Tips & best practices

  • Keep new seasons Planned until crews actually start. Do your setup (programs, rounds, job links) in Planned, then activate right before you generate visits — this is the workflow the setup guide recommends.
  • Suspend instead of End for temporary stops. Suspended seasons can be resumed; Ended seasons cannot.
  • Verify the new year before ending the old one. During annual rollover, end the old season only after next year’s season, programs, and jobs are confirmed — see Roll Seasons and Programs into a New Year.

Troubleshooting

  • “A season in ‘Planned’ status cannot be ended” (or similar) — the lifecycle enforces allowed moves. Planned seasons can only be activated; Active seasons can be suspended or ended; Suspended seasons can be resumed or ended.
  • “Ended seasons cannot be reopened” — by design. If you ended a season by mistake, create a new season with the same dates and re-link the work.
  • “The season could not be activated — its status may have changed. Refresh and try again.” — someone (or the overnight auto-end) changed the season’s status while your page was open. Refresh and check the current status.
  • I can’t change the status on the Edit Season form — intentional. The status field there is read-only; use the Activate / Suspend / Resume / End buttons on the Season Summary.
  • The season ended by itself overnight — the auto-end process ends Active seasons past their end date. If work is still running, either extend the season’s end date before it passes, or create a new season (Ended seasons can’t be reopened).
  • “Cannot delete: This season has N jobs, N programs…” — the Delete Season button is blocked while jobs, programs, or storm events still reference the season. Reassign or delete those first; this guard protects your history.
  • No visits are generated even though jobs are linked — check the status: visit generation only runs for Active seasons. See Manage Program Rounds.

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