How to add a payment plan to a customer's account – Support

To let a family pay a balance they already owe in installments, open their Account Overview and click Add Payment Plan under Payment Plans. Set the schedule, enter the family's card (or choose Check/Cash) and click Add; a card plan then charges each payment automatically on its date.

Applies to: Admins with the Add Payment Plan permission · Enhanced, Elite and Enterprise plans · Customer accounts with a balance owed

Where: Customers > Account Management > Search > (customer) > Account Overview > Payment Plans > Add Payment Plan

Before you start

The account needs a balance. A plan spreads out money the family already owes, and its total can't be more than the account balance. If the balance is $0, first register the participant with Place Order, or add the amount owed as a Misc - Debit (see Related articles).
Card plans need Payrix. Recurring Credit Card is offered only when your organization takes cards through Payrix. Otherwise the only Plan Type is Check/Cash.
Your payment gateway must allow recurring payments, and your admin role needs the Payment Plan and Add Payment Plan permissions, which come with the Enhanced, Elite and Enterprise plans. If the button is missing or grayed out, see If it doesn't work, below.
Have the card details ready. For a card plan you enter the family's card yourself, so get the details from the family first. Adding the plan doesn't charge the card; the first charge is on the First Payment date.

Add the payment plan

Go to Customers > Account Management > Search, find the customer and click the name to open Account Overview.
Scroll down to Payment Plans and click Add Payment Plan.
In Frequency, choose Weekly or Monthly. It starts at Weekly, so check it before you go on.
In Plan Type, choose Recurring Credit Card to charge a card automatically, or Check/Cash to schedule payments that you collect and record yourself.
In Total Amount, enter the amount to spread out. It can't be more than the account balance.
In First Payment, choose the date of the first payment. It must be tomorrow or later.
In How Many Payments, choose from 2 to 52. Frequency Amount then shows each payment: the total divided evenly, with any rounding difference added to the last payment.
Optional: in Link to Enrollment, choose the enrollment the plan pays for. The list shows the account's enrollments that still have an amount owed, with the order date and member. A linked plan's total can't be more than that enrollment's amount owed.
For a card plan, check Billing Information, which is filled in from the account's primary parent, and change it to match the card. Then enter the card under Credit Card Information.
Click Add.

What you'll see: "Payment Plan Added." and you're back on Account Overview. The plan is listed under Payment Plans with its Payment Plan Type, Total Amount and, for a card plan, the last four digits of the card. Expand it to see each payment's Scheduled Payment Date, Payment Amount and Status. Monthly payments fall on the same day each month as the first payment; weekly payments are seven days apart.

What happens next

Card plans charge the card on each scheduled date, and the family gets an order confirmation email for each payment. If your organization passes card processing fees to families, the fee is added to each charge.
Check/Cash plans are never charged automatically. When the family pays, expand the plan and click the Apply Payment icon (a credit card) on that payment. Checkout opens with the payment in the cart, so you can record how they paid.
Reminders: about five days before each scheduled payment, the family gets a reminder email, for either plan type, as long as the account still has a balance.
Automatic stops: a payment is never more than the account's remaining balance. Before each charge, the plan cancels itself if the balance is $0 or less, or if its linked enrollment has been canceled or paid in full.

Failed card payments, retries and the emails families get are covered in Payment Plan FAQs.

Change or stop the plan later

Change a payment's date, or skip one payment: expand the plan and click the Edit Payment Plan icon (pencil) on the payment. It's available on failed payments and on pending payments scheduled after today. You can change the Scheduled Payment Date or click Cancel Payment, but not the amount.
Change the card: click (change) next to the card. It shows on card plans that still have a pending payment, and needs the Edit Payment Plan permission.
Stop the plan: click the red X (Cancel Payment Plan) and confirm. Payments already made aren't refunded, and the unpaid amount stays on the account.
Change the number or size of the payments: cancel the plan, then add a new one for the remaining balance.

If it doesn't work

There's no Payment Plans section on Account Overview. Your admin role doesn't have the Payment Plan permission, or your organization's plan doesn't include payment plans (they come with Enhanced, Elite and Enterprise).
Add Payment Plan is grayed out. The account balance is $0, your payment gateway isn't set up for recurring payments, or your role doesn't have the Add Payment Plan permission. Add the charge first (Place Order or a Misc - Debit) so there's a balance. For the gateway, contact TeamSideline Support; for the permission, ask an admin who manages users.
Recurring Credit Card isn't in the Plan Type list. Your organization's card gateway isn't Payrix, so only Check/Cash plans are available.
"Total Amount of $X cannot be greater than account balance of $Y." Lower the Total Amount, or add the missing charge to the account first.
"Total Amount of $X cannot be greater than the enrollment amount owed of $Y." The linked enrollment owes less than the total. Lower the total, or leave Link to Enrollment blank so the plan covers the account balance.
"Total Amount field is required.", "First Payment selection is required." or "How Many Payments selection is required." Fill in the field named in the message.
"A zip code is required." The billing Zip Code must be 5 to 9 digits. On a Check/Cash plan the billing fields are hidden and the zip comes from the account's primary parent, so correct the zip on that parent's record and open Add Payment Plan again.
"Credit Card Type selection is invalid." Your organization doesn't accept that card brand. Use a different card.
You can't choose today as the First Payment date. The first payment must be tomorrow or later. To collect a payment today, take it with Add Balance Payment on the Place Order tab first, then add a plan for the rest.

Good to know

One plan can cover several enrollments. Leave Link to Enrollment blank and the plan pays down the account balance, for example two siblings' fees in one plan. A family who registers each child online with a payment plan gets a separate plan for each enrollment.
Linking an enrollment applies each payment to that enrollment, and the plan stops itself when the enrollment is canceled or paid in full.
An account can have more than one plan. Each new plan is checked against the whole balance, not against what other plans already cover, so make sure the plans together don't add up to more than the family owes.
Place Order doesn't offer payment plans. Families choose a plan themselves only when they register online for an offering that has one.
Families see their plan, and can change the card for upcoming payments, under My Account > Payment Plans.

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