Standing Orders
If you have members who are, or want to, pay for their membership subscriptions by standing order, you can set up their subscriptions in WebCollect to mirror their payments (or at least mirror what you expect to happen with their payments...).
Step 1: Configure the Payment Method
The payment method you need to configure is Recurring Payment Offline. The payment method is available, both as a Member Payment Method and as an Admin Payment Method:
- Activate Recurring Payment Offline as a Member Payment Method, if you want members to be able to choose this option when placing an order (ie if you want to allow members to select this as an option going forward). Do not activate this as a Member Payment Method if you just want to manage the existing set of standing orders, but don't want to allow members to set up any new standing orders.
- Activate Recurring Payment Offline as an Admin Payment Method, if you want to use the auto-renew functionality to create the subscription renewals automatically, or to be able to place an order on the members behalf
To activate the payment method, click on Edit or add new in the Payment Methods section in the Admin panel. Click on Activate next to the relevant Recurring Payment Offline option. You will then see the following options:
- Surcharge %. If you want to add a % surcharge for members to use this payment method, you can add it here.
- Surcharge amount. A fixed amount added to the total payment made by the member for an order. Input the number in pounds, so a surcharge of £1.50 should be added as 1.5.
Note: The surcharge options will add the configured amount to the order. If you need to apply a SO surcharge per subscription purchased, then you will need to configure a separate subscription product to deal with this.
- Explanatory text. This text will be displayed on the checkout page, checkout success page and in the order confirmation email. The default wording is this: "Pay using a recurring payment method set up offline (eg a direct debit authority)". If you are only offering SO, then you might want to change the wording to something like: "Pay via Standing Order"
- Checkout success text. This is displayed on the checkout success page (after they have completed the order). It is useful for giving members instructions on what to do next (e.g. provide bank details and any other information they need to set up the SO).
Step 2: Set the subscription products to auto-renew
You don't have to set the subscription products, but if you have lots of members paying by standing order, then it is probably advisable to do so. Click here for details on how the auto-renew process works.
Step 3: Place an initial order to get the process rolling
For the system to identify that a particular member's subscription is on standing order, it needs an initial order placed using the payment method Recurring Payment Offline. You can place the order on the member's behalf, and you may want to untick the notify option when doing this, so as not to confuse the member. Update the order status to Payment Received, to create the subscription for the member.
Adjust the end date (if necessary) of the subscription to the end date that you want to start the process from. Note: whatever end date you pick must be aligned with the end date for the subscription product if you have configured a fixed end date. If they are paying monthly, the auto-renew process will happen on the first day of the month (even if their payments are on a different date).
At the end of each period
Then on the end date, the system will auto-renew the subscription, and extend the End Date by one period. The order will automatically update to Payment Received (ie the system assumes that the money is paid). If for some reason, the payment doesn't happen, then you will need to change the order status to Cancelled.
Changing the price of your subscription products
Warning: WebCollect cannot automatically change the amount that your members pay by Standing Order (as that is entirely controlled by the member). If you change the price of the subscription product, WebCollect will assume that this is the new renewal price, and will auto-renew the subscriptions at the new price. You will need to make sure that each member changes their SO to reflect the new price.
Direct Debits (non-GoCardless)
If you already have members paying by direct debit through a provider that is not GoCardless, then you can use the Recurring Payment Offline payment method, as a means of recording the amounts paid. The payment method works the same as Standing Order, ie the system will auto-renew the order and assume that the member has paid.
