Managing Subscriptions & Recurring Charges

Podium Recurring Charges Implementation Guide & FAQ

Podium Recurring Charges - Jan 2023 - Watch Video

In Payment Settings, check the ‘Card on file & recurring charges’ checkbox
This will allow your team members to set up recurring charges
Note that you must enable team members to save Cards on File too, as recurring charges are done through Cards on File

When setting up a charge, select ‘One-Time’ to open the ‘Payment Schedule’.
Select ‘Recurring Charge’ and the desired frequency and duration - i.e., can determine if the Recurring Charge will be Ongoing, or if there will be an end date with a set number of installments
Select ‘Done’ and continue the Charge flow, as normal
When it comes time to select the Charge Type, you’ll either need to select the existing Card on File for the customer, or use Manual Entry to enter the new card information, and then save as the Card on File.
- Please note that, as of now, a card cannot be saved as a Card on File via a card reader transaction.

In ‘Contacts’, save a new Card on File to the customer’s contact. Check the ‘Save & Replace Card on File’ box on the bottom.
The new Card on File will be charged for all future recurring charges to that Contact

In the Outstanding Balances table, select the 3 dots on the far right of whatever Recurring Charge flow you would like to cancel
Select ‘Cancel Recurring Charge’
Input reason for canceling the recurring charge and then select ‘Cancel recurring charge’

Currently, you can set up a Recurring Request flow; and customers can select ‘Set up Auto-Pay’ when filling out the text-to-pay invoice. These recurring requests can be managed in the same Outstanding Balances table. In these instances, Auto-Pay can be turned off at any time by the customer, and they will continue to receive a Text-to-Pay request on a recurring basis.
In the Recurring Charge flow (described above), the Card on File is automatically charged on a recurring basis and customers must text you to cancel the Recurring Charge.

Must enable Cards on File in Payment Settings
Must do so in the ‘Charge’ payment flow. Cannot yet instigate a recurring charge flow via text-to-pay request.
Must save Card on File via Manual Entry OR the Contact must have an existing Card on File with your business (from a prior Manual Entry or text-to-pay payment). As of now, Cards on File cannot be saved via Card Reader transactions.
Contact must have a phone number saved. As of now, cannot save Card on File or set up recurring charge on email-only contacts

If the customer already has a Card on File saved, the first charge will cost the same as a Text-to-Pay payment.
If the customer does not yet have a Card on File saved with you, then the first charge will cost the same as a Manual Entry payment and subsequent charges will cost the same as Text-to-Pay payment.
See here for more detail on current rates.

The customer cannot directly delete or change their Card on File IF it is attached to a recurring charge. They must text you and ask you to do so on your end (see instructions above).

The customer will be charged for the first time at the time you set up the recurring charge; and THEN the next charge will occur in the increment you select on the Payment Schedule page. For example:
- If it is Monday and you set up a recurring charge that will run weekly on Mondays, the customer will be charged today and then again the following Monday.
- If it is Monday, July 5th and you set up a recurring charge that will run weekly on TUESDAYS, then the customer will be charged today and then will not be charged again until a week following the next Tuesday - e.g., on Tuesday, July 13th.