Monthly, one-time payments

Discussion in 'Payments processing' started by jackgordon, Feb 12, 2010.

  1. jackgordon

    jackgordon aMember Pro Customer

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2009
    Messages:
    269
    Here is what I am trying to accomplish...

    I have a service that costs my clients one of five preset rates based on their level of usage during the prior month. So the amount they will be charged can vary from month to month.

    I manage access to my service through aMember, but most of my clients prefer to be invoiced and pay the old fashioned way (i.e. check by mail). While not ideal, that system is manageable. I just set them up for lifetime access, and deactivate any clients that leave (or stop paying).

    However, there are a few who allow me to charge their card automatically. I have been doing it manually, but I recently had an idea on how this might work in aMember. Problem is, I can't quite get it to work.

    For simplicity, let's say I charge $100, $200, $300, $400 or $500/month based on their level of usage. What I am doing is this:

    I have set up five new products in aMember, each corresponding to one of the above price points. They are recurring products, set to recur one time, and set to be active for one day. These products are not visible on either the signup page or the member page. Only I can see them.

    When I am ready to bill one of these clients for their level of service (let's say they owe $300), I subscribe the client to to the $300 product, make it live and active now, and set it to expire tonight.

    The theory is that when the cron sees the product expiring tonight, it should process the card on record to keep the subscription going. The problem is, it doesn't.

    Does the system look at the single recur setting, assume it has already happened, and not process again? If I set it to recur two times, would it then process one "additional" time, or does this not address the real problem I am having?

    I realize this is a bit complicated, but it would be really helpful if I can get it to work. Does anyone have any ideas?
  2. jackgordon

    jackgordon aMember Pro Customer

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2009
    Messages:
    269
    ok, I set it to recur 2 times, and this time it did charge. If it does not try again, problem solved.

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