Creating a subscription: types, switching, cancelling and direct debit

You create a subscription in the back office under Subscriptions > Offering. A member takes it out in the front office and pays the first instalment straight away with iDEAL. After that, the amount is collected automatically every month by SEPA direct debit on your own Mollie account. Subscriptions are part of Premium.

What do I need before I offer a subscription? #

Premium and a connected Mollie account with iDEAL and SEPA direct debit switched on. The first payment goes through iDEAL; with it the member gives the mandate for the monthly direct debit. If iDEAL or SEPA direct debit is not yet on at Mollie, a member cannot take out the subscription. How to connect Mollie is explained in Setting up your environment.

Which types can I set? #

Two, which you choose under Renewal:

• "Automatically renewing: continues until the student cancels": the subscription runs until the member cancels, with the notice period you set.
• "Fixed term: stops automatically after the term": the subscription stops automatically after the duration: 1, 2, 3 or 6 months, or 1, 2 or 3 years. The member cannot cancel earlier.

For an automatically renewing subscription, the duration does not determine when it stops; the cancellation does.

Which options do I set per subscription? #

The form has four tabs:

• Price: the monthly price, up to € 99. For a higher amount, contact Baila.
• Terms: duration, notice period (1 month to 3 years), renewal and "Swapping allowed".
• Access: how often per week the subscription may be used and how many courses someone may follow at the same time. You choose "Unlimited" or a fixed number of at least 1. The subscription gives access to all activities where you switch on "With a subscription" under "How can someone take part?".
• Publication: whether the subscription appears on the subscriptions page, from and until when it can be taken out, and whether new subscriptions may still start.

A subscription has no class pass credits. If you want to sell single classes, use a class pass under Class credits. That is part of Payments and Premium.

How do the start date and the first payment work? #

When taking out the subscription, the member chooses a start date, from today up to one month ahead. The member pays the first instalment straight away, even if the start date is later. After that the direct debit falls on the day of the start date every month. In a shorter month that is the last day of the month. If the first payment fails or the member cancels it, the subscription does not start and nothing is collected.

Can I charge an administration fee? #

Yes, under System > Registration settings. Switch on "Charge administration fee", enter the amount and switch on "On the first payment of a subscription". The fee is then added to the first payment, shown separately. This happens with every new subscription, even if the member had a subscription before. When switching to another subscription, it is not charged again by default. The registration settings appear in the back office as soon as Payments is active. More about administration fees at registration is in Online registration and your offering on your own website.

Can members upgrade or downgrade themselves? #

Yes, if you allow it. There are two switches, both on by default:

• For the whole school: "Allow upgrading and downgrading" under Subscriptions > Settings.
• Per subscription: "Swapping allowed". If it is off, a member cannot switch away from it or to it. That is useful for a promotional rate.

On each subscription you set under Upgrades and Downgrades which subscriptions a member can switch to. A member switches themselves in "My subscription", from one week after the start date. The new subscription starts immediately and the old one stops.

With "Settle the price difference on an upgrade" (on by default), the unused part of the current month is deducted from the next payment of the new subscription. If it is off, the member pays the new price without a discount. As a school you can also change a subscription from the back office.

How does a member cancel? #

A member cancels themselves in "My subscription" in the front office and sees the end date before confirming. The subscription runs until the next monthly date of the start date, plus the notice period. An example: start date 15 January, notice period 1 month and cancellation on 3 March. The subscription then ends on 15 April and the last direct debit is the one of 15 March. Giving a reason is allowed, but not required.

After cancelling, automatic sign-ups for courses stop immediately. Bookings after the end date are cancelled.

There are two exceptions. A member cannot cancel a fixed-term subscription early. And in a paused month a member cannot cancel themselves; from the following month it is possible again. As a school you can always end a subscription immediately from the back office. Instalments not yet collected then lapse.

Can members pause? #

Yes, if you switch on "Allow pausing by members" under Subscriptions > Settings; it is off by default. A member then pauses a future month themselves, at most two per twelve months. Nothing is collected in that month. As a school you can always add pauses from the back office. Read how it works in Pause a subscription.

When is a member notified of the direct debit? #

A set number of days in advance, by email with the amount and the date. You set the number of days under Subscriptions > Settings at "Announce direct debit (days in advance)": between 3 and 14, 7 by default. Never more is collected than was announced. Because of a weekend or public holiday, the debit can fall a few days later.

What happens when a direct debit fails? #

The member automatically receives an email that the payment failed, with a button to change the payment method, and your team receives a notification. In addition:

• The subscription stays active.
• The chargeback costs are recorded according to your setting.
• There is no automatic new collection attempt for the failed instalment. Next month's direct debit goes ahead as normal.
• You collect the missed instalment yourself, for example with a payment request via Payments > One-off payments > "Create payment request".

Registering a new payment method costs the member a one-off € 1.00. That amount is not refunded and not offset against a later instalment.

If the member's mandate is already invalid before the collection date, nothing is sent to the bank. The member receives an email to update the payment method and Baila retries the direct debit every day until the mandate is valid again.

What happens with a chargeback? #

A chargeback is a payment that the bank reverses at the member's request. The subscription is then put on hold automatically: no new direct debits start and planned direct debits lapse. The member receives an email that the subscription has been paused temporarily. Your team receives a notification, with the number of classes the member is still booked for. Those bookings are not cancelled automatically. Under Subscriptions, Reversals appears as long as there is something to review. After contact with the member, you switch the subscription back on in the back office.

How do I pass on chargeback costs? #

Under Subscriptions > Settings at "Pass on chargeback costs". You choose "The actual costs" (default), "A fixed amount" or "Do not pass on". Below that you enter a default amount per chargeback and optionally a maximum. If you leave the default amount empty, the case is recorded without an amount and you fill it in per case. Baila does not collect the amount itself: you collect it as an outstanding amount or with a payment request. Also include passing on these costs in your own terms.

Which plan includes this? #

Subscriptions with automatic direct debit, switching and pausing are part of Premium. You can charge administration fees from Payments. For new environments Baila retains € 0.25 per direct debit, on top of Mollie's costs. You switch to Premium by emailing [email protected]. The amounts are on the Pricing page.