Introduction:
Recurring plans automate billing for ongoing memberships, subscriptions, and challenges, helping ensure accurate, timely payments. This article explains the key fields when attaching Recurring Plans to members, as well as common use cases.
What does "Plan Begins" mean?
Answer:
The plan start date — the date a member’s access to your gym and sessions begins.
What is the "First Plan Payment Due"?
Answer:
The date the member’s first payment is scheduled. This can be different from the plan start date.
Important: The second payment follows the plan’s charge interval starting from the plan start date.
Example: Plan begins 8/1, charges every 28 days. The first billing date can be 7/30; the second billing date will be 8/29.
What is a Signup Fee?
Answer:
A one-time fee charged at sign up. This fee will not be charged again if the plan auto-renews.
What is Auto Renewal?
Answer:
Determines whether the plan will automatically restart when it reaches the end of the plan length set in the membership plan settings.
What types of discounts are available?
Answer:
Percentage: Discount = percentage × plan total (e.g., 20% of $100 = $20).
Fixed Amount: Discount = flat dollar amount off the plan (e.g., $25 off $125).
How long does a discount apply?
Answer:
Choose whether the discount applies to all invoices for the plan or only the next invoice (first payment).
What is the Salesperson field for?
Answer:
(Optional) The staff member who attached the plan to the member — useful for reporting or tracking sales incentives.
How can I set up ongoing memberships with recurring plans?
Answer:
Recurring plans are ideal for ongoing memberships or subscriptions that continue until canceled or the plan length is met. You can set up billing at several intervals:
-
Every X number of days:
$99 every 7 days
$149 every 14 days
-
Best Practice:
Bill every 28 days (4 weeks) for maximum profitability:
13 billing cycles per year instead of 12
$1,300 annual revenue on a $100 plan (vs. $1,200 with monthly billing)
Same principle applies to 7-day or 14-day billing.
Tip: If switching from monthly to 28-day billing, contact your coach for guidance.
First of the Month Billing: Charges occur on the 1st of each month. If the plan doesn’t begin on the 1st, the first charge will be prorated.
Monthly Billing (Calendar Day): Charges occur on the same calendar day each month.
How can we setup challenge memberships to bill weekly?
Answer:
-
Setup example:
Name indicating weekly billing
Membership Type: Challenge
Turn Auto-Renew Off
Billing Type: Recurring
Set Plan length to length of challenge
Amount charged = weekly payment amount
Set charging interval to every 7 days
Can recurring plans be used for retail subscriptions?
Answer:
Yes. For example, a retail item like a supplement can be set up as a recurring plan that charges every X days or monthly.
Are recurring plans useful for annual memberships?
Answer:
Yes. Recurring plans can track and bill annual memberships if the plan is set to auto renew and the plan length is set to one year.
Additional information:
What are best practices to keep in mind when setting up Membership Plans?