Payment plans

What a payment plan is

A payment plan is a set of dates. A family on a plan agrees to have a share of its term balance paid by each date, and pays through the same Payments page it would use anyway. The plan does not change what the family owes. It changes when the money is expected, and it keeps a family that is paying on time from being treated as overdue.

That second part is the practical difference. Normally a family with any unpaid balance can't enroll in another class or sign up for an event until it is cleared. A family that is keeping up with its plan can.

Turning payment plans on

The option needs the Plus plan and a connected Stripe account, the same as online payments. Turning it on doesn't offer families anything yet. They see a plan only after you add one to a term, which is the next step.

Setting up the plans for a term

Once the option is on, Billing shows a Payment plans card for the term you are viewing. Click Add a plan, give it a name families will recognize, and pick one of two kinds.

Set payments splits the balance across dates you choose. Pick how many payments, from 2 to 12 (the balance is split evenly), and set each date. For monthly payments, set the first date and use Fill in the rest monthly. You can change the percentages if you want a larger first payment, as long as they add up to 100.

Pay as you go has a single deadline. Families pay any amount, any time, and nothing is late until that date. It suits a co-op that just wants everything settled by, say, the middle of the term.

You can offer more than one plan, and you can stop offering a plan at any time. Editing or withdrawing a plan never changes the dates for a family already on it. Plans are set up per term, so next term starts with none until you add them.

What families see

A family with a balance of $50 or more sees a Pay over time card on its Payments page, listing each plan you offer with the actual dates and amounts. Choosing one takes a single confirmation, which spells out the terms: the dates, no interest or fees, and what happens if a payment is late.

After that, the card shows the schedule with each payment marked paid, due today, past due, or upcoming. The Pay button fills in the amount that is due, though a family can always type a larger one and pay ahead. Money paid early counts toward the next payments in order.

Families get an email three days before each payment, another on the day, and up to two more if it is missed (three and ten days after). A payment that has already been covered doesn't send a reminder.

Choosing a plan when enrolling

When a family checks out from the class cart, it can choose Pay in full now or one of your plans. Paying in full works as it always has. Choosing a plan enrolls the students right away, adds the cost to the family's account without charging a card, and takes the family to its new schedule.

A family enrolling in a single class sees the same choice. Under the pay buttons it gets a See payment plans link, which puts the class in its cart and opens the cart page with your plans listed. Nothing is charged until the family finishes checking out.

A family already on a plan for the term sees Add this to my plan instead. The new class joins the same plan rather than starting a second one.

When a payment is late

A payment is late the day after its date, not on it. From then until the family catches up, it is blocked from enrolling in classes and signing up for events, and the message it sees names the late amount rather than the whole balance. Paying that amount clears the block immediately. A bank payment counts as soon as the family authorizes it; if it later bounces, the amount becomes late again.

Nothing else happens automatically. Students are not removed from classes, no fee is added, and the plan is not cancelled. On Billing, open the family's ledger to see the plan and how much is past due.

When the balance changes

The amounts on a plan are worked out from the family's ledger each time they are shown, so they keep up with changes on their own. A credit or a refund makes the remaining payments smaller. A new charge, such as a class added mid-term, is spread across the plan in the same proportions. If some of the dates have already passed, the share that belonged to them is due right away.

Putting one family on a plan

To set a plan up yourself, open the family's ledger on Billing and use Put on this plan. You can pick any of the term's plans, including one you have stopped offering to everyone else, and the $50 minimum doesn't apply. End plan in the same place cancels it: payments already made are untouched, and the family's whole balance is simply due again.

Common questions

Is there interest, or a late fee? No. A plan only sets dates. The family pays exactly what it would have paid at once.

Can a family be on two plans? One per term. Everything the family owes for that term is covered by it.

Does a plan cover an old balance from a previous term? No. A plan only relaxes the term it belongs to. Money owed from another term, or an unpaid event fee, still blocks enrolling until it is paid.

What if we turn payment plans off? Families stop being offered new plans. Anyone already on one keeps it, so nobody is suddenly overdue.

Can families choose a plan in the mobile app? Not yet. A plan is chosen on the website. Enrolling and event signups in the app already respect it.