You can charge a signup fee separately from a membership's first payment, and bill every member on the same day of the month. When a member joins between billing days, NextKick prorates the first charge automatically.
Down Payment is the initial payment. It's the part of the membership price paid up front.
Signup fee is a one-time fee charged with the first payment. It isn't charged on renewals or recurring payments.
Fixed billing day is the day of the month recurring payments run, such as the 1st or 15th.
These settings apply to new sign-ups only. Existing members keep their current billing day and amounts.
Set up the membership
Go to Settings → Membership Plans and create a plan, or open an existing one to edit it.
In Billing Information, set the Payment Type to Autopay.
Enter the Down Payment, Auto payment amount, Tax rate, Auto payment frequency, and Number of installments as usual.
Check Charge on a fixed day every month, then choose the Billing day, for example Day 1 of each month.
Under Signup Fee, enter the Signup fee and its Tax rate.
Save the plan.
Tips
If you only want to charge the prorated amount at sign-up, set the Down Payment to $0.
A fixed billing day is only available for monthly billing. If you choose a weekly frequency, the option is turned off.
You can use a signup fee without a fixed billing day, and the other way around.
Rename the signup fee: If you call it something else, like Joining Fee, rename it in your payment settings. The new name appears on forms, invoices, and agreements.
How the first charge is calculated
The first charge covers three things: the down payment, a prorated amount for the days until the first billing day, and the signup fee, each with its own tax.
The prorated amount is the auto payment amount × the number of days from the start date to the day before the first billing day ÷ the number of days in that billing cycle.
Example: A plan with a $10 down payment, $30 monthly autopay (5% tax), a $20 signup fee (10% tax), and a billing day of the 1st. A member starts on October 12.
Line | Amount |
Down Payment | $10.00 |
Prorated (Oct 12 – Oct 31, 20 of 31 days) | $19.35 |
Tax (5%) | $1.47 |
Signup fee | $20.00 |
Signup fee tax (10%) | $2.00 |
Due at sign-up | $52.82 |
After that, the member pays $31.50 ($30 + tax) on the 1st of every month, starting November 1. Any convenience fee your school charges is added on top.
When the start date is the billing day: There's no prorated amount. The member pays the down payment and signup fee at sign-up, and regular autopay starts on that billing day. If they sign up on the billing day itself, the first regular payment is charged right away with the rest.
Online forms and the kiosk
When a family picks the membership and a start date, the form calculates the first billing date and shows what they'll pay now and what they'll pay each month after. The payment summary lists the down payment, prorated amount, signup fee, and tax on separate lines.
Adding a membership manually
When you add a membership with a fixed billing day to a member, NextKick fills in the first autopay date and the prorated amount for you.
You can still change them. If you change the prorated amount yourself, it stays as you set it unless you change the amount, billing frequency, or first autopay date.
The day of the first autopay date becomes the member's billing day from then on.
A plan with a $0 full payment and a signup fee can be charged by card or ACH. Only the signup fee is charged.
Invoices and agreements
The first invoice shows the down payment, prorated amount, and signup fee as separate lines, each with its tax. The membership agreement members sign shows the same amounts, so what they sign matches what they're charged. Refund reports also list these lines separately.
After a pause or renewal
The fixed billing day is set when the membership is first purchased. If the membership is later paused and resumed, auto-renewed, or its next payment date is changed, billing follows the new date.
FAQ
Will this change what my current members pay? No. The signup fee and fixed billing day only apply to new sign-ups.
Is the signup fee charged again when a membership renews? No. It's charged once, with the first payment.
Can I use a fixed billing day with weekly billing? No. Fixed billing days are for monthly billing only.
Can I bill on the last day of the month? Yes. Choose Last day of each month as the Billing day. If a member's billing day is the 29th, 30th or 31st, months without that day are charged on the last day of the month.