Enable Switching from Annual to Monthly Payments

To reduce the burden of annual payments for your members, you have the ability to enable Allow Switching from Annual to Monthly Payments. When this option is enabled, your members will be presented with the option to switch when viewing membership invoices in the MIC, which is the location they are brought to when using the payment link within emailed invoices. Additionally, new applicants will have this option when completing your online application form (v4 Public Modules Only).

• Must be using GrowthZone Pay.
• The Fee Item type must be Item Type = Member Fees and Dues. Bundled fees can include other fee items as long as the bundled fee Item Type = Member Fees and Dues.
• Must have Autopay enabled under Setup > Billing Options & Settings.
• Members must store Credit Card payment profiles. Bank Account profiles are not supported.
• To include the monthly option on the Membership Application (Also see Allow Members to Opt-in the Automatic Recurring Payments During Application Process.):
  • Must be using v4 of the public modules.
  • Must have fee items assigned to packages. Using a fee schedule or a fee for pricing will not permit applicants to choose the monthly option.
  • Accept Credit Card payments must be selected under Setup > Setup Membership Application.
  • The membership application must require that the applicant create a login/password as part of the application.

1. Click Setup in the left-hand navigation panel.
2. Click Billing Options & Settings in the Association Options section.
3. Expand the Credit Card section if needed.

   

4. Click Allow Switching from Annual to Monthly Payments.
5. Click Save.

When Allow Switching from Annual to Monthly Payments is enabled, members will see a Switch to Monthly Billing link when viewing an open invoice in the MIC that has an annual frequency.

If this option is selected, the invoice total will be updated to the monthly amount.

On check-out, the member will be prompted to provide credit card information (or select a stored card) and agree to monthly terms. If voluntary fees are included on the invoice, a member can pay the voluntary amount by entering it on the selection screen. The voluntary amount will be included in your monthly payment. For more information, see Switching from Annual to Monthly Billing for Your Members.

Once the member agrees to Autopay, the system will do the following:

1. Send the charge to GrowthZone pay.
2. Apply the payment to the existing annual invoice.
3. Write off the remainder of the invoice back to the original accounts. Note: Be mindful of members with overdue balances. Switching to Autopay will automatically write off the overdue balance. 
4. Change their recurring billing items to a Monthly frequency.
5. Set the next billing month to the month following the batch month that this invoice was a part of (if paid early or on time). If paid late, then the next payment will not be until the next available autopay date that follows the day they switched. If you wish to make up those “missed” payments, you could send them a separate ‘catch-up’ invoice. Some associations will choose not to worry about the missed payments since now the member is on auto-pay until further notice.

When Allow Switching from Annual to Monthly Payments is enabled, the packages that are offered on your membership application will display the annual price, with an option to select Switch to Monthly.

This option will only be displayed for packages that have been priced with a Fee Item, and only if you have enabled Accept Credit Card under your Membership Application setup. IMPORTANT a bill me option is NOT available when an applicant chooses to switch to monthly.

If the applicant chooses to switch to monthly, on check-out, a note on the check-out screen will be displayed "Switch to monthly requires autopay". The setting Turn on autopay and Securely Save this Card will automatically be selected, and the applicant may not change these settings. After entering credit card information, and submitting, a final agreement page is displayed.

Once the member agrees to auto-pay, the system will do the following:

1. Send the charge to GrowthZone pay.
2. Set their recurring billing items to a Monthly frequency.
3. Create the invoice and payment automatically.
   • If the settings under Setup>Setup Membership Application for “Auto-approve applications paid by Credit Card” and “Auto-create paid invoice or receipt” are enabled, then the system will auto-approve the application and create the invoice & payment automatically.
   • If these settings are not enabled, then the invoice and payment are queued and available to be created under Mbr Payments and Mbr Signups in the Task List as usual.
4. Set the next billing month to the month following the batch month that this invoice was a part of (if paid early or on time). If paid late, then the next payment will not be until the next available autopay date that follows the day they switched. If you wish to make up those “missed” payments, you could send them a separate ‘catch-up’ invoice. Some associations will choose not to worry about the missed payments since now the member is on auto-pay until further notice.