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Collect instalments and configure payment methods in bulk
Collect instalments and configure payment methods in bulk

Learn how to split up large invoices into affordable payments using instalments

Paul avatar
Written by Paul
Updated over a week ago

What are the benefits of offering instalments to your customers?

  1. Make it easier for your customers to pay you. Avoid bill-shock by splitting up larger invoices into more manageable amounts and make sure you do not lose your most cost-sensitive customers.

  2. Strengthen customer relationships. Providing flexible payment options allows you to offer a bespoke service to your customers. All this without the hassle of managing it yourself - membermeister automates everything behind the scenes.

  3. Increase customer lifetime value. By spreading the cost of your services out over time, your customers are likely to be willing to spend more money with you in the long run.

Prerequisites

Collecting an invoice via instalments

Collecting payments in instalments for many invoices in one go is available on the invoice review page. This is the page you will see after performing an invoice run for all your classes.

Note: Read this article to learn how to collect instalments for a single invoice.

Step 1

After you have reviewed all your invoices and are happy they're correct select the Send button. This will open a new dialog where you can customise your email message (to your customer) and also configure your payment options.

Note: This will only send to the selected invoices.

Step 2

Under the Payment methods section you'll notice that both Stripe and GoCardless is enabled (in this demo account). Click the "Configure" link to change the default payment options.

Step 3

The payment methods options are broken into two main sections:

  1. Accept online payment: Select which payment methods you'll accept for these selected invoices. e.g. Card (Stripe) and Direct Debit (GoCardless).

  2. Collect payment (automatic): These options, if selected, will attempt to automatically collect payment from your customers. No action will be required from your customers.

Section 1: Accept online payments

This section relates specifically to customers that do not already have a Direct Debit mandate in place or where you specifically want them to be presented with a 'pay now' button on the invoice, rather than auto-collecting the balance.

  • Enable card payments: Selecting this option will allow your customers to pay you via your Stripe integration either by Credit Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.

  • Enable Direct Debit payments (full): Selecting this option will provide an additional option for your customers to pay their invoice in full via Direct Debit (GoCardless).

  • Enable Direct Debit payments (instalments): Selecting this option will provide an additional option for your customers to pay the invoice in instalments via Direct Debit (GoCardless).

For the last two options, membermeister will prompt your customer for payment, create a new mandate behind the scenes and setup the appropriate payments to settle the invoice.

Section 2: Collect payment (automatic)

This section specifically addresses how you'd like to automatically collect payment from your customer.

The difference is that your customer will be sent an email informing them of the payment options you have configured for automatic collection vs prompting them to pay the invoice.

Important: These options are specific to GoCardless payments (not Stripe). Only our GoCardless integration supports automatic collection via instalments.

Additionally if any of your customers for the selected invoices do not already have a valid mandate in place, then we will not be able to automatically collect payment from them and they will be presented with the payment options from "Section 1" (above).

  • Collect payment in full: Select this option to automatically collect the full amount of each selected invoice (where a customer has a mandate in place).

  • Collect payment in instalments: Select this option to automatically collect payment in instalments for each selected invoice (where a customer has a mandate in place). You then have a few more options for your instalment plans, which include the first payment date, the number of payments to collect and over which time period (week, month or quarter).

Step 4

When you're happy with your payment methods configuration then press the Send and collect payment button.

By pressing this button it will:

  • Move all your invoices from Draft to Open

  • Email all your customers their invoice

  • And automatically collect the appropriate payments (if selected)

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