How to Set Up a Billing Plan (Invoice Installments)

A Billing Plan lets you take a one-time product or item and bill it on a repeating schedule—creating a whole series of linked invoices from one setup, instead of creating and sending a new invoice every time a payment is due.

This is different from a Subscription.

Subscriptions bill daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly, with a set start and end date or ongoing until canceled. A Billing Plan repeats a one-time item at any cadence you choose—every 2 months, twice a year (every 6 months), every 2 weeks—making it the best fit for installment schedules that don't follow a standard subscription interval. Billing Plans also carry lower fees than Subscriptions, so they can be the more affordable way to bill the same total amount.

👣 Step-by-Step: How to Create a Billing Plan

Step 1: Go to Billing

• Click the ⚡ Lightning Bolt (Admin Superpowers)
• Select Billing — Payments, Invoices, Subscriptions
• Click Bill Someone

Step 2: Select Who to Bill

• Choose the child (or multiple children)
• Use search or add filters to quickly narrow down the list
• Click Continue

Step 3: Add Invoice Items & Choose a Collection Method

• Click Add Item and select a product, or add a Custom Item with its own amount and description
• To apply a discount, add a Custom Item with a negative amount (e.g. –$150, Staff discount)—it will be applied to every invoice in the plan
• Under Collection Method, choose Charge Automatically (charges the payer's saved payment method on each billing date) or Send Invoice (sends the payer an invoice to pay each time)

Step 4: Set the Repeat Schedule

• Under Schedule Invoice, select Repeat (next to Charge Now and Schedule) to open the Billing Plan settings
• Start: choose Immediately to bill the first invoice right away, or Specific Date to start on a future date
• Repeat every: set the cadence—a number plus Day, Week, Month, or Year (e.g. every 1 Month, or every 2 Weeks)
• End Date: click Change to set when the plan ends—the field shows the end date and exactly how many invoices the plan will create (e.g. Ends on May 19, 2027 · 10 invoices)
• Review the summary banner—it confirms the number of invoices, the amount, the cadence, and the first and last billing dates
• Check the Invoice Summary for the full plan total, including any service fee or ACH discount
• Click Set up billing plan—the button shows exactly what you're committing to (e.g. Set up billing plan (10 × $650.00))

Sample Billing Plan Settings

• Monthly Tuition Installments (School Year)

  Bill $1,000 tuition monthly from August through May.

  • Start: Specific Date — August 1
  • Repeat every: 1 Month
  • End Date: May 1 the following year → 10 invoices

Add any sibling or staff discounts as negative Custom Items so they apply to every installment.

• Semester Program Fee

  Bill a materials or program fee once per semester.

  • Start: Specific Date — start of the first semester
  • Repeat every: 6 Months
  • End Date: start of the second semester → 2 invoices

• Weekly Summer Camp Billing

  Bill camp fees weekly for an 8-week summer session.

  • Start: Specific Date — first week of camp
  • Repeat every: 1 Week
  • End Date: final week of camp → 8 invoices

• Payment Plan for a Big Expense

  Split a $600 field trip fee into 4 monthly installments of $150.

  • Start: Immediately
  • Repeat every: 1 Month
  • End Date: 3 months after the first invoice → 4 invoices