Recurring Billing: An Overview

Recurring billing lets you charge members an ongoing amount on a repeating schedule for as long as they stay enrolled. It is built for tuition, club dues, monthly training, lessons, and any program that continues indefinitely rather than ending on a set date. This article explains what recurring billing does, how it compares to a payment plan, and what to know before you set it up.

Recurring billing replaces the workaround of building a payment plan with dozens of installments, or asking members to re-register every month.

• What recurring billing is
• Recurring billing or a payment plan?
• How it works
• What you configure
• Offer more than one plan
• What members see
• Before you turn it on
• What is not available

What recurring billing is

A recurring billing program charges each member a set amount on a repeating cycle. There is no grand total and no fixed number of payments. Billing continues until you end it, the plan's end date is reached, or the member is removed from the program.

This is different from an Installment Payment Plan, which splits one known total into a set number of payments, and from Pay in Full, which collects everything at registration.

Recurring billing or a payment plan?

Both let members pay over time, but they solve different problems. A program uses one model or the other, never both.

What each model is built for

Use recurring billing for programming that continues indefinitely: a monthly membership, an open gym, a training academy, a class members stay enrolled in month after month. You are charging the same amount every cycle until the member leaves or you end the plan.

Use an Installment Payment Plan when a member owes a specific total and you want to spread it out. A club team season costs $5,000, and you let families pay it across several months. The total is known at registration, and every installment adds up to it.

Side-by-side comparison

Choose recurring billing when

• Members join at any point and stay enrolled for as long as they want.
• You charge the same amount every month or twice a month.
• You do not know, and do not need to know, what a member will pay in total.
• You want to decide what a member who joins mid-cycle pays that first time — a prorated amount, a full cycle up front, or nothing — rather than issuing back charges or editing invoices by hand.

Choose an installment payment plan when

• The program has a defined cost that every member owes.
• Installment amounts need to vary (example: $100 one month, $50 the next).
• The program has a defined season or end date.

How it works

1. You turn on recurring billing for the program and create one or more billing plans.
2. A member registers and chooses a plan.
3. The member saves a payment method. This is required, and their registration is not complete without it.
4. Charges run automatically on the schedule you configured, for as long as the member stays enrolled.

Each charge is generated on the member's invoice three days before it runs, which gives you a window to review it, adjust it, or record a payment made offline. Members get a reminder three days before a charge and again the day before.

What you configure

Each billing plan has its own settings, so a single program can offer members more than one option.

• Amount — what the member is charged each cycle.
• Cadence — monthly, or twice monthly on the 1st and 15th.
• When do charges run — either Anniversary of the registration date, where each member is charged on their own registration date every cycle, or A fixed day for everyone, where everyone on the plan is charged on the same day each cycle.
• When does billing begin — either At registration, where billing starts as soon as someone registers, or On or after the program start date, where billing does not begin until the program has started.
• What is due at registration — a separate setting that controls the member's very first payment: Nothing, The first cycle, or a Prorated amount. See below.
• End date — optional. Leave it empty for programming that runs indefinitely.
• Who it is for — free agents or team players.
• Public or private — private plans are how you offer a discounted or negotiated rate.

The charge day is worth thinking through, because it changes how your month looks. A fixed day for everyone puts the whole plan on one schedule, so your charges land together and you reconcile once a cycle. Anniversary of the registration date gives each member their own billing day, so someone who registers on the 13th is charged on the 13th every cycle. That spreads your income across the month rather than landing it all at once.

What is due at registration

Separately from when billing begins, this setting controls the member's very first payment. It answers one question: when someone registers in the middle of a cycle, what do they pay today? Proration is not automatic — you pick one of three options on the plan.

• Nothing — the member pays nothing at registration. Their first charge is the first regularly scheduled one.
• The first cycle — the member prepays their first scheduled charge, so it behaves like a deposit. Because that payment covers the next scheduled charge, they are not charged again until the cycle after it.
• Prorated amount — the member is charged for the remainder of the current cycle at registration, then the full amount on every billing date going forward.

On a plan that charges $325 on the 1st of the month, a member who registers on September 18th would pay:

• Nothing — $0 today, then $325 on October 1st.
• The first cycle — $325 today, which covers their October 1st charge. Nothing runs on October 1st, then $325 on November 1st.
• Prorated amount — a partial amount today covering September 18th through the end of September, then $325 on October 1st.

The calculation runs on its own for every registration, on any date, for as long as the plan is open. A member registering in February is handled the same way as one registering in September, without anyone going in to edit the plan.

Offer more than one plan

A program can have several billing plans running side by side, and the member picks one during registration. This is how you offer tiered pricing: different levels at different monthly amounts, all within the same program.

• Membership tiers, such as a gold plan and a silver plan at different monthly prices.
• Access levels, such as one day a week through five days a week, each priced for what it includes.
• An individual plan and a family plan.
• A monthly plan and a twice monthly plan, so members choose the cadence that suits them.
• Two charge days, such as the 1st and the 15th. A plan holds one charge day, so offering both means creating two plans — one set to the 1st and one set to the 15th. Both appear at registration and the member picks the one that suits their household.

Every plan carries its own amount, cadence, charge day, and end date, so your tiers do not have to share a schedule. You can also mix public and private plans in the same program, which is how you offer a scholarship or negotiated rate alongside your standard tiers.

Members see each plan's name when they choose, so plan names are member-facing copy. Name your tiers the way you want a parent to read them, such as "Gold", "Silver", or "Three Days a Week".

What members see

Members choose a plan during registration, where each plan shows its name, price, and cadence. Once they select one, they see what they are charged today and when their next charge lands. They are never shown a lifetime total, because there isn't one.

In their member portal, members can see their next charge date, their amount, and the payment method on file, and they can update that payment method themselves.

Before you turn it on

Three things are worth knowing before you commit a program to recurring billing.

A program offers recurring billing or the standard model, not both. If a program uses recurring billing, Pay in Full and Installment Payment Plans are not available on it.

A plan is locked once members are on it. You can close, cancel, or delete a plan, but you cannot change its price, cadence, or end date. Closing a plan removes it from new registrations without affecting anyone already enrolled on it. To change pricing, create a new plan at the new amount and close the old one. Members already enrolled keep the price they signed up for.

If a program is set to recurring billing and no plan has been created yet, registration is blocked and members cannot register until you create one.

What is not available

A few things you may be used to on other programs work differently here.

• Discount codes are not supported. Use a private plan at the lower price instead.
• Recurring billing plans are available to free agents and team players. Staff can register into the program but are never billed.

Frequently Asked Questions

My program runs for a set number of months. Which should I use?

Either can work, and the deciding factor is usually when members join. If everyone registers before the program starts and owes the same total, use an installment payment plan. If members join throughout and you only want to charge them from their join date forward, use recurring billing and set an end date on the plan.

What is a member charged when they join in the middle of a cycle?

Whatever you chose for What is due at registration on that plan. A prorated amount covers the rest of the current cycle, the first cycle option prepays their next scheduled charge, and nothing means their first charge is the next regularly scheduled one. The calculation runs automatically for every registration, whatever date it lands on.

Can members choose to be billed on the 1st or the 15th?

Yes, by creating two plans — one with a charge day of the 1st and one with a charge day of the 15th. Both appear at registration and the member picks one. They can carry the same price, or you can split a monthly amount across a twice monthly cadence instead.

Can I charge different prices for different membership levels?

Yes. Create a plan for each level at its own monthly price, and members choose the one they want during registration. A gold plan and a silver plan in the same program is a normal setup.

Can I move an existing program onto recurring billing?

Not once it has registrations. Create a new program set up for recurring billing and register members into it. If you are moving an established membership, contact us before you begin — there is a recommended sequence for stopping the old plans and moving members across.

Does recurring billing change how I set a standard registration price?

It replaces it on that program. A recurring billing program offers billing plans only, so pay-in-full pricing is not available alongside it.

Should charges run on a fixed day or on the registration anniversary?

A fixed day is the more common choice, because every charge on the plan runs on the same date and you reconcile once a cycle. Choose the registration anniversary when you would rather your income arrive steadily through the month, or when members joining on their own schedule matters more than everyone sharing one billing date.

What happens when a member leaves?

Removing a member from the program stops their future charges, and you are prompted to cancel their recurring invoice at the same time. Charges that have already been generated are handled separately.

Do members have to store a card?

Yes. A saved payment method is required to complete registration in a recurring billing program, including when nothing is due that day.

Can I still take a check or cash?

Yes. You can turn off auto-pay for an individual member and record their payments as they come in. Their charges are still generated on schedule.