I'm told most coworking spaces use PayPal as a means of collecting payments from members. We've had enough problems with payments not going through properly that we've begun looking at other options, including Stripe, gettng a merchant account, and others. Glen (my husband and partner in this coworking adventure we've embarked on) has spent possibly over 100 hours analyzing the situation. I keep thinking that this can't be that hard, so I'm wondering:
1) What do you use for recurring payments for membership dues? 2) Do you have it integrated into an online signup on your website so that payments are set up automatically upon sign up? 3) Have you standardized so that payments from all members are due the same day of the month? 4) Do you prorate for partial months when someone signs up mid-month and if so, do you handle that manually or does your payment software/plug-in handle it?
Good timing as we are in the middle of changing things up here at Office
Nomads. We have our own merchant services account and on top of that we
use Authorize.net for reoccurring billing. We are currently looking into
switching to USA ePay because it's cheaper and because it has better online
tools and integration APIs. I'm working on getting the system hooked into
Nadine, the system we use to track activity. It's not going to be fully
automated as we like members to talk with us when changing their
memberships. But in the new system they can update their billing profile
online, or on the iPad at the front desk, and we'll take it from there.
As for billing date, the day you sign up for a membership is the day we
bill each month. This has the advantage of not having to prorate anything.
It also spreads the billing load throughout the month so we don't have one
crazy billing day or week where everything needs to get done. We do get a
good number of questions from members about when their billing day is, and
how many days they have left this month and these can be answered online by
logging into Nadine. We also show this information on the iPad at the
front desk we use for checkin.
> I'm told most coworking spaces use PayPal as a means of collecting
> payments from members. We've had enough problems with payments not going
> through properly that we've begun looking at other options, including
> Stripe, gettng a merchant account, and others. Glen (my husband and partner
> in this coworking adventure we've embarked on) has spent possibly over 100
> hours analyzing the situation. I keep thinking that this can't be that
> hard, so I'm wondering:
> 1) What do you use for recurring payments for membership dues?
> 2) Do you have it integrated into an online signup on your website so that
> payments are set up automatically upon sign up?
> 3) Have you standardized so that payments from all members are due the
> same day of the month?
> 4) Do you prorate for partial months when someone signs up mid-month and
> if so, do you handle that manually or does your payment software/plug-in
> handle it?
We're in the paypal camp so not much help there, but like Jacob said, when someone signs up, that's when billing starts. The only exception is our corporate members. We like to send the invoices just once, so no matter when they sign up billing starts the first of the following month. Obvious exceptions would be if someone signed up on the 2nd or 3rd LOL. But that's never happened, so new corporate members usually get 1-2 weeks "free"
On Monday, November 12, 2012 at 12:06 PM, Jacob Sayles wrote:
> Good timing as we are in the middle of changing things up here at Office Nomads. We have our own merchant services account and on top of that we use Authorize.net (http://Authorize.net) for reoccurring billing. We are currently looking into switching to USA ePay because it's cheaper and because it has better online tools and integration APIs. I'm working on getting the system hooked into Nadine, the system we use to track activity. It's not going to be fully automated as we like members to talk with us when changing their memberships. But in the new system they can update their billing profile online, or on the iPad at the front desk, and we'll take it from there.
> As for billing date, the day you sign up for a membership is the day we bill each month. This has the advantage of not having to prorate anything. It also spreads the billing load throughout the month so we don't have one crazy billing day or week where everything needs to get done. We do get a good number of questions from members about when their billing day is, and how many days they have left this month and these can be answered online by logging into Nadine. We also show this information on the iPad at the front desk we use for checkin.
> On Sat, Nov 10, 2012 at 6:47 AM, Julia Ferguson <ju...@coworkfrederick.com (mailto:ju...@coworkfrederick.com)> wrote:
> > I'm told most coworking spaces use PayPal as a means of collecting payments from members. We've had enough problems with payments not going through properly that we've begun looking at other options, including Stripe, gettng a merchant account, and others. Glen (my husband and partner in this coworking adventure we've embarked on) has spent possibly over 100 hours analyzing the situation. I keep thinking that this can't be that hard, so I'm wondering:
> > 1) What do you use for recurring payments for membership dues?
> > 2) Do you have it integrated into an online signup on your website so that payments are set up automatically upon sign up?
> > 3) Have you standardized so that payments from all members are due the same day of the month?
> > 4) Do you prorate for partial months when someone signs up mid-month and if so, do you handle that manually or does your payment software/plug-in handle it?
I'm in charged of the payments here in The Biz Dojo may be my experience over here could be helpful for you.
We have a normal bank account and a paypal to give to our residents some payment options. We use Xero to track every money in and out of the office, this has become a very important tool to us to keep our payments update. We have a electronic sign up on our website, people can fill up the form and i will received the information so then i process the membership. We do prorate the usage so if a person starts at the middle of the month then we just charged that.
We thought the best way to manage your cash flow is having an standard payment date so you can set you payment to be done on 1 first of each month and agree with your suppliers to be paid probably around 15th of each month, so that give you a bit of time to organize your payments and program your expenses.
We do accept cards payments but most of our residents just make an electronic transfer that we check in the system (xero). You can check the software in xero.com
On Sunday, 11 November 2012 03:47:55 UTC+13, Julia Ferguson wrote:
> I'm told most coworking spaces use PayPal as a means of collecting > payments from members. We've had enough problems with payments not going > through properly that we've begun looking at other options, including > Stripe, gettng a merchant account, and others. Glen (my husband and partner > in this coworking adventure we've embarked on) has spent possibly over 100 > hours analyzing the situation. I keep thinking that this can't be that > hard, so I'm wondering:
> 1) What do you use for recurring payments for membership dues? > 2) Do you have it integrated into an online signup on your website so that > payments are set up automatically upon sign up? > 3) Have you standardized so that payments from all members are due the > same day of the month? > 4) Do you prorate for partial months when someone signs up mid-month and > if so, do you handle that manually or does your payment software/plug-in > handle it?
I agree that billing dates should be any day of the month. In my opinion, having the 1st of the month is merely to "keep things simple" [because this custom predates technology to be able to easily bill and track renewal dates]. By using any day of the month, you also manage your cash flow so you don't have to "wait" until just the 1st of the month for revenue. And yes, of course like Jacob says, this spreads out your billing work in smaller chunks.
Jerome
______________
BLANKSPACES
"work FOR yourself, not BY yourself"
www.blankspaces.com 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.330.9505 (office)
On Nov 12, 2012, at 11:06 AM, Jacob Sayles <ja...@officenomads.com> wrote:
> Good timing as we are in the middle of changing things up here at Office Nomads. We have our own merchant services account and on top of that we use Authorize.net for reoccurring billing. We are currently looking into switching to USA ePay because it's cheaper and because it has better online tools and integration APIs. I'm working on getting the system hooked into Nadine, the system we use to track activity. It's not going to be fully automated as we like members to talk with us when changing their memberships. But in the new system they can update their billing profile online, or on the iPad at the front desk, and we'll take it from there.
> As for billing date, the day you sign up for a membership is the day we bill each month. This has the advantage of not having to prorate anything. It also spreads the billing load throughout the month so we don't have one crazy billing day or week where everything needs to get done. We do get a good number of questions from members about when their billing day is, and how many days they have left this month and these can be answered online by logging into Nadine. We also show this information on the iPad at the front desk we use for checkin.
> On Sat, Nov 10, 2012 at 6:47 AM, Julia Ferguson <ju...@coworkfrederick.com> wrote:
> I'm told most coworking spaces use PayPal as a means of collecting payments from members. We've had enough problems with payments not going through properly that we've begun looking at other options, including Stripe, gettng a merchant account, and others. Glen (my husband and partner in this coworking adventure we've embarked on) has spent possibly over 100 hours analyzing the situation. I keep thinking that this can't be that hard, so I'm wondering:
> 1) What do you use for recurring payments for membership dues? > 2) Do you have it integrated into an online signup on your website so that payments are set up automatically upon sign up?
> 3) Have you standardized so that payments from all members are due the same day of the month?
> 4) Do you prorate for partial months when someone signs up mid-month and if so, do you handle that manually or does your payment software/plug-in handle it?
Interesting ... We want invoicing and payments to be 100% automated so there is no crazy day of invoicing for us, only the system we set up. Billing and pulling payments on the 1st of the month seemed better for the member because it would be easier for him/her to remember when we'll be pulling money from them and also easier for us to take inventory to make sure all payments we were supposed to receive were actually receieved (something we find we have to do on a regular basis). It concentrates the task so that we don't have to remember to check at various points throughout the month. Admittedly, I'm coming from years of having rental property where I prorate rent for the first partial month and then require rent payments by the 3rd of each month (for the same reasons stated above and because that is a clear standard). That's also consistent with how so many other bills are handled in our lives (electric company, phone company, and others).
I hope to see more replies on how others are doing things so we can further assess this.
On Monday, November 12, 2012 11:50:58 PM UTC-5, Jerome wrote: > I agree that billing dates should be any day of the month. In my opinion, > having the 1st of the month is merely to "keep things simple" [because this > custom predates technology to be able to easily bill and track renewal > dates]. By using any day of the month, you also manage your cash flow so > you don't have to "wait" until just the 1st of the month for revenue. And > yes, of course like Jacob says, this spreads out your billing work in > smaller chunks.
> Jerome > ______________ > BLANKSPACES > "work FOR yourself, not BY yourself"
> www.blankspaces.com > 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 > 323.330.9505 (office)
> On Nov 12, 2012, at 11:06 AM, Jacob Sayles <ja...@officenomads.com<javascript:>> > wrote:
> Good timing as we are in the middle of changing things up here at Office > Nomads. We have our own merchant services account and on top of that we > use Authorize.net for reoccurring billing. We are currently looking into > switching to USA ePay because it's cheaper and because it has better online > tools and integration APIs. I'm working on getting the system hooked into > Nadine, the system we use to track activity. It's not going to be fully > automated as we like members to talk with us when changing their > memberships. But in the new system they can update their billing profile > online, or on the iPad at the front desk, and we'll take it from there.
> As for billing date, the day you sign up for a membership is the day we > bill each month. This has the advantage of not having to prorate anything. > It also spreads the billing load throughout the month so we don't have one > crazy billing day or week where everything needs to get done. We do get a > good number of questions from members about when their billing day is, and > how many days they have left this month and these can be answered online by > logging into Nadine. We also show this information on the iPad at the > front desk we use for checkin.
> On Sat, Nov 10, 2012 at 6:47 AM, Julia Ferguson <ju...@coworkfrederick.com<javascript:> > > wrote:
>> I'm told most coworking spaces use PayPal as a means of collecting >> payments from members. We've had enough problems with payments not going >> through properly that we've begun looking at other options, including >> Stripe, gettng a merchant account, and others. Glen (my husband and partner >> in this coworking adventure we've embarked on) has spent possibly over 100 >> hours analyzing the situation. I keep thinking that this can't be that >> hard, so I'm wondering:
>> 1) What do you use for recurring payments for membership dues? >> 2) Do you have it integrated into an online signup on your website so >> that payments are set up automatically upon sign up? >> 3) Have you standardized so that payments from all members are due the >> same day of the month? >> 4) Do you prorate for partial months when someone signs up mid-month and >> if so, do you handle that manually or does your payment software/plug-in >> handle it?
+1 on Jerome about the cash-flow issues, and that's the biggest pro I've come up with for doing a floating-start-date.
I'd follow that up with not needing to do pro-rating, which can get confusing quickly.
To answer your questions specifically:
> 1) What do you use for recurring payments for membership dues?
We use Zoho Invoice for this currently.
The biggest plus to this is that it integrates with multiple payment providers and does automated recurring invoices + reminders.
The advantage to our coworkers is that it gives them flexibility for when they pay, as they manage their own cash-flow.
The biggest downside to this is that it doesn't store a CC on file, and invoices can be left out to dry and we end up having to chase people once in a while. It's a vast minority of our total invoices that end up outstanding (a fraction of a % total revenue), but that's an artifact of our members more than the system.
Most people don't pay on time because they forget, not because they meant to stiff us.
> 2) Do you have it integrated into an online signup on your website so that payments are set up automatically upon sign up?
We do not do this because we want to temper the transaction of joining our community with a human interaction. The signup process is in person, and goes through a our team to make sure that human contact is made a priority during the signup process.
This increases our retention rates FAR more than it decreases our signup rates.
> 3) Have you standardized so that payments from all members are due the same day of the month?
We do a mid-month billing cycle now, but are looking to do away with it very soon.
> 4) Do you prorate for partial months when someone signs up mid-month and if so, do you handle that manually or does your payment software/plug-in handle it?
We do this, and we do it manually, and it sucks :)
On Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at 8:13 AM, Julia Ferguson wrote:
> Interesting ... We want invoicing and payments to be 100% automated so there is no crazy day of invoicing for us, only the system we set up. Billing and pulling payments on the 1st of the month seemed better for the member because it would be easier for him/her to remember when we'll be pulling money from them and also easier for us to take inventory to make sure all payments we were supposed to receive were actually receieved (something we find we have to do on a regular basis). It concentrates the task so that we don't have to remember to check at various points throughout the month. Admittedly, I'm coming from years of having rental property where I prorate rent for the first partial month and then require rent payments by the 3rd of each month (for the same reasons stated above and because that is a clear standard). That's also consistent with how so many other bills are handled in our lives (electric company, phone company, and others).
> I hope to see more replies on how others are doing things so we can further assess this.
> On Monday, November 12, 2012 11:50:58 PM UTC-5, Jerome wrote:
> > I agree that billing dates should be any day of the month. In my opinion, having the 1st of the month is merely to "keep things simple" [because this custom predates technology to be able to easily bill and track renewal dates]. By using any day of the month, you also manage your cash flow so you don't have to "wait" until just the 1st of the month for revenue. And yes, of course like Jacob says, this spreads out your billing work in smaller chunks.
> > Jerome
> > ______________
> > BLANKSPACES
> > "work FOR yourself, not BY yourself"
> > www.blankspaces.com (http://www.blankspaces.com)
> > 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036
> > 323.330.9505 (office) > > On Nov 12, 2012, at 11:06 AM, Jacob Sayles <ja...@officenomads.com (javascript:)> wrote:
> > > Good timing as we are in the middle of changing things up here at Office Nomads. We have our own merchant services account and on top of that we use Authorize.net (http://Authorize.net) for reoccurring billing. We are currently looking into switching to USA ePay because it's cheaper and because it has better online tools and integration APIs. I'm working on getting the system hooked into Nadine, the system we use to track activity. It's not going to be fully automated as we like members to talk with us when changing their memberships. But in the new system they can update their billing profile online, or on the iPad at the front desk, and we'll take it from there.
> > > As for billing date, the day you sign up for a membership is the day we bill each month. This has the advantage of not having to prorate anything. It also spreads the billing load throughout the month so we don't have one crazy billing day or week where everything needs to get done. We do get a good number of questions from members about when their billing day is, and how many days they have left this month and these can be answered online by logging into Nadine. We also show this information on the iPad at the front desk we use for checkin.
> > > On Sat, Nov 10, 2012 at 6:47 AM, Julia Ferguson <ju...@coworkfrederick.com (javascript:)> wrote:
> > > > I'm told most coworking spaces use PayPal as a means of collecting payments from members. We've had enough problems with payments not going through properly that we've begun looking at other options, including Stripe, gettng a merchant account, and others. Glen (my husband and partner in this coworking adventure we've embarked on) has spent possibly over 100 hours analyzing the situation. I keep thinking that this can't be that hard, so I'm wondering:
> > > > 1) What do you use for recurring payments for membership dues?
> > > > 2) Do you have it integrated into an online signup on your website so that payments are set up automatically upon sign up?
> > > > 3) Have you standardized so that payments from all members are due the same day of the month?
> > > > 4) Do you prorate for partial months when someone signs up mid-month and if so, do you handle that manually or does your payment software/plug-in handle it?
We're just starting up and we're looking at a startup here in the UK called https://gocardless.com/ who offer to get round the issue we have here whereby it's quite hard to get a bank to let you have a direct debit facility- in effect they act as a master direct debit holder, and you can sign up with gocardless and offer direct debit payments to members (they also have insanely low rates for doing this)
Our solution looks like it will work with the following process when we open
1. Members complete a direct debit mandate when they join 2. We set up our invoicing system (http://fre.ag/41f67zer - disclosure that's a referral link, if you sign up we both get 10% discount) to recur with the basic membership amount,which is then collected by gocardless every month 3. Any extras members use will be added to Freeagent during the month, and then when the direct debit is collected, it will be for the full amount 4. If members upgrade during the month then we'll work out the difference and make sure it's reflected before the next direct debit is taken 5. Day passes and corporate/outside hire will be handled via invoicing or a card swipe machine at reception
Members will have swipe cards and the building has Mifare sensors on meeting rooms etc, so when we get time/expertise/cash we are planning to evolve into a system where members book resources, and when they use them the cost is automatically added to freeagent via the API. We'll also have a membership software too, so with the 3 elements, membership/access/billing we want to get to a point where it's all automated as much as possible.
Very British way of dealing with money- sort it all out once and then don't talk about it again!
Be interesting to hear of any other ways people have done it
On Saturday, November 10, 2012 2:47:55 PM UTC, Julia Ferguson wrote:
> I'm told most coworking spaces use PayPal as a means of collecting > payments from members. We've had enough problems with payments not going > through properly that we've begun looking at other options, including > Stripe, gettng a merchant account, and others. Glen (my husband and partner > in this coworking adventure we've embarked on) has spent possibly over 100 > hours analyzing the situation. I keep thinking that this can't be that > hard, so I'm wondering:
> 1) What do you use for recurring payments for membership dues? > 2) Do you have it integrated into an online signup on your website so that > payments are set up automatically upon sign up? > 3) Have you standardized so that payments from all members are due the > same day of the month? > 4) Do you prorate for partial months when someone signs up mid-month and > if so, do you handle that manually or does your payment software/plug-in > handle it?
