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Configure Installments

Give your clients the option to pay in post-dated installments.

Samantha Postlethwaite avatar
Written by Samantha Postlethwaite
Updated over a week ago

Installments are payment plans offered to clients when they select an eligible activity, membership, multipass or merchandise item in your store. Clients are invoiced once and are permitted to pay in predetermined, postdated payments.

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How it Works

5. FAQ
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1. Create an Installment

An item can be linked to one installment configuration (i.e., plan) at a time, but that plan can contain multiple payment options. Suppose you're selling an activity and want to give your clients the option to pay in 2, 3, or 6 installments. In this case, you would create one installment configuration that contains 3 options. Upon selecting an eligible item, clients will see all 3 options appear and can pick the option they prefer.

In the Accounting and finance>Installments subtab:

  • Click + New installment configuration and name the plan for easy identification. Clients cannot see this name.


🔧 Configure your Option(s)

Start by configuring Option 1 of your installment plan.  If you wish to include several options in the plan, click the 'Add' button to add an Option 2 (so on and so forth), Remember to configure each option. Add or Remove options as needed.

  • Show this option as the default price: Instead of showing an offer's full price, you can show what the price will be per installment payment (e.g. If an activity costs 500$ and the installment plan is 5 payments of 100$, the price will be displayed as 100$, including details of the installment option).

  • By default, there's a minimum 10-day delay between the purchase date and the 1st future installment, which helps avoid charging a client twice in a short period of time. Simply put, if the purchase is made on March 3rd, the 1st future installment cannot be processed before March 13th. You can disable this delay by clicking the option to 'allow a future installment within 10 days following the date of purchase'.

👉 If you don't check the box allowing the 1st future installment to be within 10 days, we strongly recommend you refer to this article to learn how the 10-day delay impacts how/when the 1st future installment is processed.

📆 Initial and Future Installments

The Initial installment is a payment ($ or %) made at checkout or at a later date. It can also be a 0$ amount. It musn't be confused with the 1st future installment. 

  • Select whether the client's credit card or eCheck will be automatically charged at checkout or on a fixed date. If the fixed date has passed at the time of purchase, the client pays immediately at checkout. 

Future installments are every other post-dated payment in the plan.

  • No future payment: Select if your Initial installment is the only payment allowed. This option is usually selected when the initial installment is the full amount paid on a fixed date. 

  • Maximum number:  Provide the number of future payments allowed in addition to the initial installment. This means that if you were to specify the maximum number as 3, the client will pay the initial installment in addition to 3 future installments, for a total of 4 payments.
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    ▪️ Regular Intervals: Future payments take place on the same day at weekly or monthly intervals and can be limited using a start and/or end date. If you select regular intervals as of the date of purchase, the 1st future installment cannot take place before a full interval has elapsed after the purchase date.
                                                                   OR
    ▪️ Fixed date(s): Provide a date for each future payment. If the 10-day delay is disabled, then your installments will occur as planned.

🔴 Whether you choose future installments at regular intervals or fixed dates, the 10-day delay can impact when the 1st future installment occurs. Click here to learn how.

✏️ Add/Remove Eligible Offers or Modify an Installment 

Link your installment(s) to activities, memberships, merchandise and/or Multipasses. An offer can be linked to one active installment plan at a time. Installments are not eligible on drop-ins. Here are some other important things to consider:

  • Add eligible offers to an installment plan at any time.

  • You cannot remove eligible offers from an installment plan once it's been used by a client. If something needs to be removed, you must archive the installment plan, create a new one, and link it to all your eligible offers.

     

  • You cannot add nor remove installment options once the plan has been used by a client. If you must, archive the existing installment plan and create a new one with the updated options.

  • Archiving an installment plan does not cancel any planned payments a client may have. Those will be processed as expected.  The installment configuration is simply unavailable for clients moving forward.

     

  • Don't forget to Save!




2. Use the Simulation

The Simulation table on the right shows you what to expect from each installment option, as it is configured. Use the simulation to ensure everything works as intended!

  • Enter the purchase date and price of an item to see how your installment option will behave. You can change these values at any time. Hit Refresh once you do.

     

As you complete your initial installment field and/or future installment field(s), hit the Refresh button to ensure the Simulation captures all the data.  


3. How to Predict the 1st Future Installment

When using the simulation (or in real life) you may notice the date of the 1st future installment is later than you expected. Below are scenarios to help you predict the 1st future installment, based on how you configure your installments.

📌 Fixed Dates

There is 1 requirement that must be met before the 1st future installment can occur:

  1. At least 10 days must separate the purchase date and the 1st future installment. (This requirement can be disabled by 'Allowing the first installment to be provided within 10 days following the date of purchase').

What to expect with fixed dates

A client makes a purchase on Friday, Oct 1st. Several fixed dates are foreseen, with the 1st future installment set to occur on Friday, Oct 8th.

  • We must ensure a minimum of 10 days: Oct 8th is less than 10 days from the purchase date, so the 1st installment cannot occur and must be skipped.

  • Since the 1st installment has been skipped, the amount foreseen on that day is divided and added equally among the remaining installments.

  • By disabling the 10-day rule, the 1st future installment will pass on Friday, Oct 8th.

Click here for more scenarios involving fixed dates. Please note that if you disable the 10-day rule, the 1st future installment will occur on the exact date you planned.

📅 Regular Intervals on a Specific Day

If the weekly/monthly intervals occur on a specific day, one requirement must be met before the 1st future installment can occur:

  1. At least 10 days must separate the purchase date and the 1st future installment (this can be disabled by selecting the option to allow the 1st future installment to be provided within 10 days of the purchase).

What to expect with weekly intervals on a specific day

A client makes a purchase on Thursday, Sep 30th. Installments are planned for Fridays, at weekly intervals. The 1st future installment will pass on Friday, Oct 15th.

  • We must ensure a minimum of 10 days: The first Friday to occur is Oct 1st, but this is less than 10 days from the purchase date. The next available Friday is Oct 8th, but this still doesn't respect the 10-day rule. The next available date that falls on a Friday is Oct 15th.

  • By disabling the 10-day rule, the 1st future installment will pass on Friday, Oct 1st.

What to expect with monthly intervals on a specific day

A client makes a purchase on Friday, Oct 25th. Installments are planned for the 2nd of each month, at 1-month intervals. The 1st future installment will occur on Thursday, Dec 2nd.

  • We must ensure a minimum of 10 days: The 10-day rule would not be respected if the 1st future installment were to occur on Nov 2nd. In that case, the next available date would fall on Dec 2nd, which respects the 10-day requirement.

  • By disabling the 10-day rule, the 1st future installment would be on Nov 2nd.

📅 Regular Intervals on the Date of Purchase

If the weekly/monthly intervals occur as of the date of purchase, two requirements must be met before the 1st future installment can occur:

  1. First, a full interval must pass between the purchase date and the 1st future installment.

  2. Second, at least 10 days must separate the purchase date and the 1st future installment (this can be disabled by selecting the option to allow the 1st future installment to be provided within 10 days of the purchase).

What to expect with weekly intervals on the date of purchase

A client makes a purchase on Wednesday, Oct 6th. Installments are planned for weekly intervals, on the date of purchase. The 1st future installment will pass on Wednesday, Oct 20th.

  • A full interval must pass between the purchase date and the 1st future installment: Wednesday, Oct 13th, is one week later. So as of now, the 1st future installment isn't before Wednesday, Oct 13th.

  • Next, we must ensure a minimum of 10 days: Oct 13th is less than 10 days from the purchase date. The next available date that falls on a Wednesday is Oct 20th.

  • By disabling the 10-day rule, the 1st future installment will pass on Wednesday, Oct 13th.

What to expect with monthly intervals on the date of purchase

A client makes a purchase on Friday, Oct 15th. Installments are planned at 1-month intervals, on the date of purchase. This means the 1st future installment will occur on Monday, Nov 15th.

  • A full interval must pass between the purchase date and the 1st future installment: Nov 15th is one month later. Thus, the 1st future installment will take place on Nov 15th.

  • The minimum 10-day requirement has been met.

  • By disabling the 10-day rule, the 1st future installment will still be on Nov 15th.


4. What Clients can Expect

A 'Show Installments' banner appears underneath the price of an eligible offer.  

Below, a $300 activity has an installment plan with two different payment options.

Select the participant(s) to register, then choose to pay the full amount now or choose an installment option.

  • For this activity, Korektor must pay $100 immediately at checkout, and then make a $100 payment each month, for 2 months.

Clients must pay with an online payment method. All future payments are scheduled on that payment method. Even an admin must enter online payment info when purchasing an item linked to installments. If the client has logged into their personal account at least once, then the online payment method must be saved to the Wallet if not already done. If the client hasn't logged into their personal account, then the admin won't be forced to save the payment method.

  • If a client pays with a credit card or bank account saved to their Wallet, they can update the payment method linked to the installments from their personal account, if ever a change needs to be made.

  • If a client pays at checkout with a different credit card or bank account, they must save it to their Wallet. This is true for admins as well. If you want to pay for an item in installments at checkout, you need to use a saved payment method or save a payment method. However, if the client hasn't logged into their personal account, an admin can't save the payment method.

  • On the scheduled date, credit card and eCheck installments are processed at midnight.

     

👉 Admins with the right permissions can update payment methods, installment amounts and/or dates in the Upcoming payments subtab in the client's account. Clients can only modify saved payment methods (not installment amounts nor dates) in their Wallet.


5. Frequently Asked Questions

1. What permissions do I need to manage installments?

Carefully review which permissions you'll require to accomplish your tasks.

🔑 Under the Clients group:

  • View client accounts: View the list of client accounts and account details.

  • Client billing: View a client's billing page and their transactions.

  • Invoicing: Add a purchase to a client’s account, batch purchase memberships, manage wait lists and cancelling an invoice from the facility calendar.

  • Payment processing: Update and cancel postdated payments as well as mass charge clients' saved credit card information.

🔑 Under the Payments group:

  • Installments: View, create, modify and delete installment configurations.

2. Can admins manually change the date of a planned installment payment?

Admins can edit the payment method details, the date and/or the amount of a client's installment payment in the Upcoming Payments subtab.

Please note that any installment plan with future payments linked to a membership will not stop if the membership is paused.

3. Can an account credit be used to pay for an item linked to installments?

Yes! To make this possible, go to the Accounting and finance>Payments subtab and scroll to the Client balances section to 'Automatically use balance when available'.

This makes it possible for a client's credit balance to be used first, before charging the payment method linked to an upcoming payment.

A client can opt to use their account credit (if any) towards the initial payment at checkout. They must still provide credit card or bank account info if any future installment payments need to be made.


❗ If a client has a credit in their account when it's time to process a future installment, SmartRec automatically uses the credit balance first, then charges the remaining difference to the payment method linked to the installment.

4. Can admins edit an installment option after it's been saved?

You can edit an installment option as long as it hasn't been used by a client. Once it's been used, it can no longer be modified.

In this case, we suggest archiving the installment and creating a new one with the proper configuration.

An archived installment is no longer available in your store. However, if clients have planned payments linked to the archived installment, those payments will still be processed on the planned dates.

5. Can admins create custom installment plans in a client's account?

6. I have installment payments that are supposed to occur every week. Why was a payment delayed by more than a week?

This situation can occur with the 1st future installment, when the installment plan is configured with weekly intervals on the date of purchase. It's important to remember that before the 1st future installment can occur, 2 requirements must be met:

  1. First, a full interval must pass between the purchase date and the 1st future installment. This is required when installments occur at weekly/monthly intervals on the date of purchase.

  2. Second, at least 10 days must separate the purchase date and the 1st future installment (this can be disabled by selecting the option to allow the 1st future installment to be provided within 10 days of the purchase).

Let's assume a client makes a purchase on Friday, Oct 15th. Future installments are set to occur every week, on a Monday. Will the 1st future installment occur on Monday, Oct 18th?

  • A full interval must pass between the purchase date and the 1st future installment: Friday, Oct 22nd is one week later. The next available Monday is on Oct 25th.

  • Next, we must ensure a minimum of 10 days: Monday Oct 25th is 10 days from the purchase date. This means the 1st future installment can go ahead on Monday, Oct 25th.

If this doesn't answer your question, please contact us at support@amilia.com.

* Last updated in April 2024

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