Summary
Many organizations offer Memberships that have an introductory price that changes after an initial billing period. For example, Memberships could be offered at a discounted price for the first year, with subsequent years renewing at full price. Similarly, the first month may cost more as an initiation fee, with renewal months at a lower normal rate.
There are a few ways to set this up in Join It, all with their own pros and cons. This article will outline those methods so that you can decide what works best for your organization.
This article makes use of Join It features linked below. It will help to understand these features before continuing.
Method 1: Redirecting to a Hidden Membership Type
This method applies to Memberships that increase or decrease in cost following the initial billing period.
How It Works
Members can sign up for the Displayed Membership type at the introductory price.
When their first billing period is up, the Member will need to manually renew their Membership. When they click renew, they will automatically be taken to the checkout page for the hidden Membership type at the normal price.
Going forward they will be able to renew or auto-renew their Membership at the regular price.
How to set this up
Create a Membership type with the normal cost of Membership. This Membership type should be:
Hidden, so new Members cannot sign up for this directly
Renewable, so that once Members have this type their Membership can continue
Create a second Membership type for new Members with the initial cost of Membership. This Membership type should be:
Displayed, so new members see this option and join up
Non-renewable, so that Members only pay this price for one billing period
Set to redirect to the hidden Membership type from #1 above
Considerations
This method requires no intervention from an organization Admin, as Members are automatically moved to the normal price when they renew for the first time.
Because the introductory Membership type is non-renewable, Members must manually renew after their first billing period. Some organizations may not want to require this manual step from their Members.
Method 2: Manual Transfer of Membership Type
This method applies to Memberships that increase or decrease in cost following the initial billing period.
How It Works
Members can sign up for the Displayed Membership type at the introductory price.
After an organization admin confirms that an initial payment has been made, they manually transfer the Member to the Membership type with the normal price.
Organization admin can start automatic rebilling for the Member.
How to set this up
Same as Method 1 above, except the introductory Membership type does not need to redirect to the normal one.
Considerations
Moving Members over to a new Membership type is a very manual process. Organization admins need to make sure all new Members are transferred, otherwise they will not be able to renew.
This method requires no intervention from Members. They do not need to worry about manually renewing, and can be set up for automatic rebilling by the admin.
Method 3: Processing a Manual Initiation Fee
This method only applies to Membership types that decrease in cost following the initial billing period.
How it Works
Members can sign up and make their first payment at the normal price.
After an organization confirms a new Member has joined, they collect an additional charge for the additional initiation fee.
Members can renew and auto-renew at the normal price in following years.
How to set this up
Create a single Membership type with the normal cost of Membership. This Membership type should be:
Displayed, so new Members see this option and join up
Renewable
Contain messaging indicating that new Members will be charged an additional initiation fee.
Considerations
Collecting the initiation fee is a manual process for Organization admins.
This method requires no intervention or manual steps for users, and auto-rebilling can be initiated from the start of Membership.
An additional charge could cause confusion among Members. Ensure that ample messaging is presented to Members to make them aware of it.
Stripe collects a flat fee for each transaction. Depending on how much is being collected, this could be undesirable.
Related Resources
Here's where you can view our Collection of helpful articles for setting up your Membership types.