Charging Presale Deposits
Overview
During a Membership Presale, a Club can charge a one-time deposit at purchase instead of the full Membership price. The system credits the deposit toward the Customer's first subscription charge when the presale ends (Club's open date). The Club collects a smaller commitment upfront and keeps recurring billing aligned with the opening date. A Club can also schedule the first package or Credits grant to land before the presale end date.
Presale deposits require the membership_presale_deposit feature flag. PodPlay Admins configure this in the Membership editor.
When to use a Deposit
Use a deposit when the Club wants Customers to pay a smaller amount today to secure the Membership, pay the remainder of the first billing period when the presale ends, then continue at the full rate.
Leave the deposit at 0 to keep the standard presale behavior, where the Customer pays the full Membership price at signup and recurring charges begin after the presale ends.
How the billing works
With a deposit above zero
At Membership purchase the Customer pays the deposit, plus any initiation fee, rather than the full Membership rate. At the Presale end date, the Customer is charged the full rate minus the deposit already paid. Every billing period after that charges the full rate.
Monthly example, a $100 per month Membership with a $25 deposit:
Signup during Presale charges $25.
Presale end (Club's open date) charges $75, meaning $100 minus the $25 deposit credit.
Each month after charges $100.
Yearly example, a $1,000 per year Membership with a $200 deposit:
Signup during Presale charges $200.
Presale end (Club's open date) charges $800, meaning $1,000 minus the $200 deposit credit.
One year later charges $1,000.
With the deposit set to zero
The Customer pays the full Membership price at signup. Recurring capture is deferred until after the presale ends, then follows the normal monthly or yearly schedule. Monthly benefits are granted on the normal schedule after the presale ends, and no deposit credit applies.
Configuring the Deposit
The deposit fields appear in the Membership drawer once Pre-sales is enabled for that Membership.
Open Memberships in the Dashboard.
Open the Membership to edit.
Find the Pre-sales section in the Membership drawer.
Turn Pre-sales on if it is off.
Set the Pre-sales End Date to the last day of the presale period.
Then set the deposit and grant fields.
A deposit above 0 shows helper text below the field with the deposit charge and the ongoing rates, for example $25 Deposit Charge, then $100/mo and $1,000/yr.
Click Update to save the Membership.
Presale Deposit (Monthly)
One-time amount charged at signup when a Customer chooses monthly billing during presale. Set to 0 for no deposit.
Presale Deposit (Yearly)
One-time amount charged at signup when a Customer chooses yearly billing during presale. Set to 0 for no deposit.
Grant Days Before Presale End
How many days before the presale end date monthly subscribers receive their first package or Credits. Set to 0 to grant on the presale end date.
Scheduling an early Package grant
A Membership that includes a Package Template for monthly benefits can grant the first Package before the Club opens.
Set Grant Days Before Presale End to the number of days before the presale ends, for example
7.Confirm the Package Template is assigned in the Membership Benefits section.
With grant days configured, the helper text on the Package Template field reads [N] days before presale ends, first package is provided. Customers who sign up during the Presale receive their first Package on that earlier date, and recurring monthly grants continue on the normal schedule after that.
What Customers see
On the Membership page during a Presale with a deposit configured, the deposit amount is the primary price, for example $25 Deposit Charge, and the full recurring rate appears as secondary text, for example $100/mo or $1,000/yr.
The checkout confirmation screen states the deposit due today, that the deposit will be credited toward the first regular charge at Presale end, and the ongoing recurring amount after that. In their Profile, the Customer can see when the first regular charge occurs and the net amount after the deposit credit.
Reviewing a Customer's Deposit status
Open the Customer's Profile in the Dashboard.
Open the Membership drawer.
When the Membership is in Presale and a Deposit was configured, an alert states the Presale end date, that the Customer paid a one-time Deposit at signup, and that the Deposit will be credited toward the first regular charge on the Presale end date.
When no Deposit was configured, the alert states that the Customer will not be charged again until the Presale period ends.
Tips
A Deposit must be less than the full monthly or yearly Membership price.
Deposits apply to monthly and yearly Presale signups only, not to six-month plans.
Initiation fees, when configured, are still charged separately at purchase.
Set both the monthly and yearly Deposit amounts when the Membership offers both billing options.
State the Deposit schedule in Presale marketing so Customers know what they pay today against what they pay at opening.
Work with the Customer Success team when changing Presale dates close to the Club's opening.
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