Billing options

A billing option is a way to pay for a plan: Growth · Monthly at US$ 25, Growth · Annual at US$ 228. When someone pays, the option becomes a subscription, which renews on its own every period until it's canceled.

The plan says what the person gets; the billing option says how much and how they pay.

#Inside a plan

A billing option only exists inside a plan — never on its own:

• Creating a subscription option requires naming the plan. Without a plan, the creation is refused: "Every billing option must be in a plan. Choose the plan."
• Saving can never leave the option without a plan: removing it from its last plan is refused, with its name in the message.
• Buying outside a plan doesn't exist: checkout refuses an option that isn't in any plan — "This billing option is not in any plan and is not for sale." The same option, once it joins a plan, is for sale again.

In the Monetization › Options list, an option left without a plan shows the No plan badge ("No plan: not for sale") and the hint "To sell it, pick this option's plan under Plans › Edit plan." Pick the plan when editing the plan or in the option's Plans tab, and the badge goes away.

#What it's for

Having more than one option on the same plan is what makes the pricing page show the Monthly | Annual toggle and the annual savings.

#How it works

#Intervals

The interval can't change after creation ("Cannot be changed after the billing option is created"). To change it, create another option.

To charge every three or six months with a commitment, use Monthly with a 3- or 6-month contract length: billing stays monthly, and the minimum term is guaranteed.

#Free trial

Free Trial? gives 1 to 30 days before the first charge. With card enabled, Require Card for Trial? asks for the card upfront: at the end of the trial, the first charge goes to it.

The trial starts with no charge at all. When it ends, the subscription is charged like a renewal: on a card, automatically; with PIX or boleto, the charge arrives by e-mail before the trial ends and follows the Renewal schedule. Each person gets one trial per plan, across every billing option of the plan, by e-mail and by card: whoever already used it pays from day one, even after canceling. Coupons don't apply during the trial, which is already free.

Good to know: during the trial, the person doesn't yet count as a subscriber for Subscribers spaces or for the plans in an access list.

#Cancellation

Allow Cancellation (default Yes) lets subscribers cancel on their own. With No, only the staff can cancel, and the subscriber sees "This plan does not allow cancellation. Please contact the community." When a subscriber cancels, access continues until the end of the paid period, with no new charges.

#Payment methods and fee

Tick Credit Card, PIX and/or Boleto. On monthly, each month is a new charge with the chosen method; on card, the renewal is automatic on the saved card. See Renewal.

Who Pays the Fees? decides whether the platform fee (6.99% + US$ 1.00 per charge) comes out of the community's amount (Organization) or is added to the price (Buyer). The form opens with Buyer.

#Installments and interest

On annual in installments, the year can be split into up to 12 card installments. Installments carry Memberfy's installment interest, a total percentage of the amount:

Who pays the installment interest? decides whether it is added to the installments (Buyer, the default) or comes out of the community's amount (Organization). The platform fee is calculated on the amount without interest and doesn't change with installments. Examples in Annual in installments.

#Status

Draft, Active or Inactive. Only Active options appear on the pricing page. Deactivating doesn't cancel existing subscribers.

A new option starts as Draft, and you can create and edit it before the Business Information is approved. Setting it to Active requires approval.

#Who can

Owner and admin create and edit. Finance views.

#The life cycle of a subscription

Everyone who pays for an option gets a subscription, which goes through these states:

These are the names shown in the Options section and on the member's Billing page. See Renewal.

#Step by step: create a billing option

Role: owner or admin.

1. Open Monetization › Options and click Create billing option.
2. General: the Billing option name (e.g. Growth · Monthly; the buyer sees this name), the short and full descriptions, and the images. Put what sets the option apart in the description ("No minimum term", "12-month contract").
3. Payment & Pricing:
   1. Price *: the amount of each charge (on annual in installments, the price of the year).
   2. Billing Interval *: Monthly, Annual in installments, Weekly or Daily.
   3. On monthly, Contract length: No contract, 3, 6, 12 months or Other length (1 to 36).
   4. On annual in installments, Card installments: up to 12×.
   5. Free Trial? and Require Card for Trial?, if you want a trial.
   6. Payment Methods.
   7. Who Pays the Fees?
   8. Allow Cancellation.
4. Plans: choose the plan the option belongs to. For a subscription option, the plan is required — without it, the creation is refused.
5. Advanced and SEO: post-purchase, benefits, and how the option appears in search engines.
6. Click Create. With the Business Information approved, choosing Active on creation already publishes the option; without it, the option is saved as a Draft and the form shows the way to the Business Information.

#Examples with numbers

The platform fee is 6.99% + US$ 1.00 per charge, the same with any method.

With Who Pays the Fees? = Buyer, Student · Monthly would cost the buyer US$ 15 + US$ 2.05 = US$ 17.05 a month, and the community would receive US$ 15.

#Copy the billing option link

Role: owner or admin.

In Monetization › Options, in the option's actions menu:

• Copy link copies https://<community address>/pricing/<plan>/<option>: the pricing page with the plan and the option already chosen. Use it, for example, to promote annual only.
• View Page opens the same address.

The option and its plan must be active: if not, the item is disabled with "Activate the option and the plan to share it".

#Changing an option that already has subscribers

• Name, description, images, payment methods: change them freely.
• Price: the new price applies to people who subscribe afterward; existing subscribers stay at their subscription's amount. To make it clear, create a new option and deactivate the old one.
• Interval: doesn't change. Create another option.
• Plan: removing the option from its last plan is refused — the option must be in a plan to be for sale. Move it to another plan instead of leaving it loose.
• Delete: the screen warns that "All active subscriptions will be canceled". Prefer Inactive.

#Common errors and how to fix them

#Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between the option and the plan? The plan is the tier (Growth); the option is the way to pay (Monthly, Annual). A plan has one or more options.

Can I have one monthly option with a contract and another without on the same plan? Yes, and it's a good way to offer a discount to people who commit: Resident · Monthly US$ 300 and Resident · 12 months US$ 270 a month.

Does the free trial apply to everyone? Once per person in each plan, in any of its billing options. Whoever already had the trial (same e-mail or same card) pays from day one.

Does charging weekly or daily make sense? For short passes (an immersion week, a coworking day). For everything else, monthly or annual.

Where do I see who subscribes to each option? In the Subscribers column of the list, and in the sales on the Dashboard panel.

The Subscribers column. In Monetization › Subscriptions, each billing option's Subscribers column counts the subscriptions in force: active, in trial, past due and paused.

#In the API

A billing option is a product of the subscription type: POST /api/products with type: "SUBSCRIPTION", price, billingInterval (MONTHLY, YEARLY, WEEKLY, DAILY), trialDays, requiresCardForTrial, allowCancellation, commitmentMonths, maxInstallments, allowedPaymentMethods and feePayer. subscriptionGroupIds (the option's plan) is required for a subscription with no prerequisite: without it, creation answers 400, and so does a PUT that would leave the option outside every plan. See Products.

#Related

• Plans
• Contract length
• Annual in installments
• Renewal