# Payment schedules and retries

> Start a payment schedule from a membership plan, follow and change it on the Schedules tab, and set how Prevarro retries a charge that fails.

*This article is being updated.*

A payment schedule collects a customer's payments cycle by cycle, for example a member's dues. You'll find them in **Payments**, on the **Schedules** tab. Most start from a membership plan, for a member. You can also set up a custom arrangement for any customer, such as a deposit and instalments, with **New payment schedule** at the top of **Payments**.

A schedule follows its plan. If the plan has a front end, such as an upfront offer or joining fee, that's charged once at signup. Its continuity price is then billed every cycle. Plans are set up in **Members** - see **Members and plans**.

## Start a schedule from a plan

You can start one here, or from the member's record with **Add membership plan** (see **Members' dues: setting up, pausing and credit**). Here you need a role that can manage payment schedules and see members.

1. Open **Payments**, go to **Schedules** and select **Start from a membership plan**.
2. Under **Start from**, pick the plan. Only active plans with a price are listed. If the plan has more than one billing option, choose one under **Billing**.
3. Under **Member**, pick the member. If they belong to an organisation, choose under **Bill to** whether to bill the person or the organisation.
4. Set the date it **Starts**. It can't be before today.
5. To charge a different price, enter a **Price override** and a **Reason for the override**. The override replaces the plan's price on every phase, the joining and front-end phases included.
6. Under **Collection**, choose how the money comes in:
   - **Charge a method automatically** - each cycle charges the method on file and issues a paid tax invoice.
   - **Invoice each cycle** - each cycle issues a tax invoice on the customer's payment terms for them to pay. Leave **Terms** on **Party default** to use the customer's own terms, or pick terms and a **Basis**.
7. For automatic charging, pick the method under **How to collect**. **Start without a method on file** is ticked for you when there's none on file, and you can tick it yourself otherwise: the schedule is created, the customer is emailed a secure link to add a method, and nothing is charged until one is on file.
8. Check the figures in the **Per-cycle preview**, then select the button at the bottom. It reads **Create payment schedule**, **Create - invoices each cycle** or **Create & send setup link**, to match your choices.

With **Charge a method automatically**, if the plan needs a payment method before its free trial starts and the member has none on file, the form shows **A card comes first** and the button reads **Send a card link**. The member is emailed a link to add a card, and the membership starts once it's on file.

## The schedules list

Each row shows the **Customer**, the schedule's name and where it came from, the amount **Per cycle**, the **Method** or invoice terms, the **Status** and the **Next charge**. Filter by status, search, or sort with the controls above the list.

A schedule's status is one of **Scheduled**, **Trial**, **Active**, **Past due**, **Paused**, **Completed** or **Cancelled**. A trial that ended without a card shows **Trial ended**.

Instead of a date, **Next charge** can read **Paused**, **Resumes** with a date, **Paused from** with a date, or **Awaiting method** when the schedule is waiting for a payment method.

Select a row to open the schedule. It shows its **Phases**, with the **CURRENT** one marked, its **Details**, its **Payment history** and a **Timeline** of what's happened to it. **Source** links to the member's record if your role can see members.

## Pause, resume and cancel

You can take these actions from a schedule's menu in the list, or from the buttons at the bottom of an open schedule, if your role can manage payment schedules.

- **Pause** stops charges until you resume. Depending on the schedule, it pauses now or at its next charge, and the message tells you which. Until a pause starts, **Withdraw pause** keeps the schedule collecting as normal.
- **Resume** opens **Resume this payment schedule?**. Leave **Resume from** on today and select **Resume**, or pick a later date and select **Set resume date**. The dialog says when collection restarts. A resume date you've set can be removed with **Withdraw resume date**.
- **Cancel payment schedule** stops further charges. Past payments and their tax invoices aren't changed. For a membership, the cancel takes effect now and the membership stays open in **Members**, so end it there if the member is leaving. For a custom arrangement, choose **Now**, **At the end of the current period** or **On a date**.
- **Write off** shows on an open schedule if your role can write off debts. Tick the unpaid invoices to write off and select **Write off**. This stops collection and cancels the schedule. For a membership, the membership ends in **Members** as written off.

## Change the payment method

Select **Change…** under **Method** on an open schedule, or **Change method…** from its menu in the list. In **Change payment method**, pick another method the customer has on file and select **Save**. To have the customer add a new one, select **Send update link**. Prevarro sends them a secure link by email and text, to whichever of those their record has.

A schedule that sends invoices has no method to change.

## When a charge fails

When a charge on a schedule fails, the schedule shows **Past due**, which **Retry** it's on and when the next one is. An open schedule shows **Payment failed - outstanding since** with the date.

Prevarro retries the charge on its own, following your retry settings below. To try again straight away, select **Retry now**. When all the retries are used, an open schedule shows **Retries finished**.

To find out why a charge failed and what to do, select **Why?** beside it. See **Why did a payment fail?**.

## Set how failed charges are retried

You need a role that manages Payments settings.

1. Open **Payments**, choose **Settings**, then the **Receipts & retries** tab.
2. On the **Failed payments & retries** card, choose:
   - **Retry attempts** - how many times to retry. Each option shows roughly how many days the retries run over.
   - **Spacing** - **Smart - clustered around paydays**, or **Fixed - every 3 days**.
   - **Email the customer each attempt** - a notice with a secure link to fix their payment method. Turn on **SMS as well** to text them too.
   - **Remind customers before their card expires** - an email and a text 30 and 7 days before the card a schedule charges expires, with a link to update it.
   - **After the final attempt** - **Flag for review**, **Hold the membership** or **End the membership**.

Each change saves straight away. These settings apply to schedules that charge a method automatically. A schedule that sends invoices isn't retried this way.