The Recurring Payments module provides an automatic recurring billing service that makes the process of cyclical invoicing, membership renewals, and recurring donation payments convenient for both you and your members.

Learn how to configure subscription based (auto renewing) memberships using the recurring payments feature below!

1. Requirements

Recurring payments are currently available through Stripe. Since every payment processor functions differently and thus has different integration/ API documentation, this process will look different from processor to proessor. 

If your organization is married to another payment processor, feel free to work with local developers and submit a pull request for a new integration, or contact us for paid support requests.

2. Settings & Configuration

A. Enable the Recurring Payments Module

Navigate to your Full Site Settings via your Admin toolbar: Apps -> Admin -> Full Settings. Scroll down to Recurring Payments and click on the blue hyperlink, then set the module "Enabled" setting to "True" and click "Update Settings".

B. Update Your Membership Settings to Turn on Auto-Renew

You can once again access the Full Settings list and scroll down to "Memberships" and click on the very first settings link "Allow Auto Renew". Set this to "True" as well.

Other Optional Settings:

1. Discounts: Did you know as site administrators you can set up discounts for folks who opt in to auto renew their memberships?

In Membership settings, navigate to the "Discount Amount for Auto Renewal", and put in a currency value to be discounted for all members who opt in to a subscription-based membership.

2. Branding Image: Add your own brand image on the Stripe payment form. 

This is done in your Global Settings, under the setting "Stripe Data Image URL"

C. Create Your Membership Strategy

Now is the time to create your membership tiers and your application. Address important points such as when they renew (at what frequency), do they renew all at once on the same date, or all a year (or timeframe) from when they individually apply? 

Note: Individuals under a Corporate Membership are not included in this feature, as they are treated as part of a Corporate Membership.

While you have several join and renewal options when setting up your Membership Types, it is important to note that the Renewal options (such as "Renewal Requires Approval", which requires admin approval for renewing members) will essentially be overridden if Auto-renew is turned on and a successful payment is made by the member.

Learn more about setting up Individual Membership Types.

3. The User Experience

Once you have configured all of your membership types, and set up your Membership Application, your members will be able to subscribe to a membership that auto-renews, and the credit card they provide upon registering will become their default payment method.

They will receive a welcome email to log into their account, and on their profile not only will they be able to access their membership details, but will also be able to manage their recurring payment details as well as view past transactions. 

A. Update credit card on file

Note: Tendenci does not store credit card information. This is stored on your payment processor platform.

B. Cancel Recurring Payments Subscription

Cancel a recurring payment by checking the box next to the account and selecting "Cancel Auto Renew".

C. View Past Transactions

Members will also be able to view their recurring payment based membership by clicking on the "Membership Auto Renew" link via their user profile.

Here, members will see tabs where they can access associated invoices, past transaction information, as well as update their payment method.

Note: Members will not be able to access past transactions until they have undergone at least one renewal period.

4. Site Notifications

Like any other modules, automated notices are paramount to an efficient and streamlined workflow. The email notice templates can be accessed via your site's theme editor and pulled down to edit, or left as is (default). 

Events that trigger notifications in this module are oulined below:

A. Transactions

1. Who receives a notice?

Both site membership administrators and subscribers (in this case, members) will receive this at the time of the first (and any subsequent) renewal, which is based on the timeframe specified in the membership type.

2. What does it say/do?

Logic is set up such that if payment fails, the customer (and admin) is notified of the reason based on code that is returned from Stripe. In this case, the member is not renewed automatically, but they can access and pay their invoice online to avoid further lapse in membership if still within their renewal window.

B. No Payment Method is set up

Sometimes recurring payment accounts may be created manually by site administrators as oppsoed to when the first payment is made by an applicant via the membership application (which then becomes the default payment method).

1. Who receives a notice?

In this case, if a credit card is not put on file, both the member/user as well as site administrator are notified.

2 What does it say/do?

It lets admin and the customer know a payment method has not been set up, and has a button link to set this up.

C. If an account is disabled

Only site administrators are notified and can use the link to view the diabled account.

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