Auto-payments allow you to process Direct Debit payments for your eligible members without them having to take any action. They are perfect for renewing members on fixed-date membership packages.
In order to be eligible, the following criteria must be met:
- The member must have a valid Direct Debit mandate with the provider
- The member must have an email address
- The member must be in the active or pending status
- The member must be imported from another package
- The payment method (in full or installments) the member paid with on the original package is an option on the new renewal package
- The package must not be hidden or archived
How to set up an auto-payment on a fixed-date membership package
1. Duplicate the membership package you want to renew and import members from it, or create a new package and import your members from an existing package.
2. Select 'Edit package' and amend the package title and make sure it is set to public or direct link. Ensure all your package information is correct and select 'Save'.
3. Select your members from the member table and then select the more options button and then the 'Payment' button. This will open the 2 step payment request overlay.
4. If you have selected multiple members from the membership table the recipients' box will show who is eligible for an 'auto-payment'. If no selected members are eligible you will be notified and can continue to step 2 to process a normal payment request.
If you don't want to set up an auto-payment use the auto-payment toggle to turn the feature off and move to step 2 to process standard payment requests.
With auto-payments enabled, customise the email and select 'Send & Continue'. This will send the member an email notification that a payment has been set up for the new membership.
The payment date will be the start of the new membership or 30 days in the future if there are less than 30 days until the membership starts.
The member will also receive a reminder email 7 days before the payment date. If they wish to cancel their auto-payment, the member has up till the day before the end of their active membership to cancel.
If the above information is correct, select 'Send & continue'. You will then see this confirmation message.
5. Any members who are not eligible for an 'auto-payment' will be moved to step 2 and will be included in the recipients' list to receive a standard payment request. If auto-payments were disabled in step 1 then all members selected will be included here.
Selecting 'Send' will send the payment request, or 'Cancel' will close the interface without the email being sent.
How to cancel auto-renewals:
If a member has received an auto-payment notification they will be able to cancel it by selecting the cancel button in the notification email, or from the 'Your Memberships' page within their account section of your website.
An admin can also cancel the auto-renewal on the member's behalf, by selecting the cancel button in the member's membership allocation page.
An auto-payment can be cancelled at any time before the payment is processed on the payment.
Who is included in auto-payments
The Auto-pay column in the membership table displays who is eligible for an auto-payment or if they have one set up, the date the payment will be processed.
This information is also displayed on the membership allocation page.
Any comments?
If you have any thoughts or comments on this article, please contact us at support@clubspark.co.uk