How to offer payment plans for coaching, courses and communities

On WithMe, you offer a payment plan by adding it as a price option on a coaching product, course or community. The client pays a set number of instalments, from 2 to 24, and gets access from the first payment. At checkout they agree not to cancel during the plan, and that their access is revoked if a payment fails.

WithMe is $25 per month billed annually (UK £25), with a 14-day trial and 0% WithMe commission. Stripe and PayPal fees still apply. More than 8,000 creators use it.

Which products can have a payment plan?

• Coaching Calls: a plan as the second price, next to the full price, paid weekly or monthly.
• 1:1 Coaching: a plan next to the one-time fee, with its own amount per payment, paid weekly or monthly.
• Courses: a plan on either of the course's two prices, charged on the billing interval you choose.
• Communities: a plan on the community price, charged on the billing interval you choose.

How does a payment plan work for the buyer?

• The buyer sees the plan next to the pay-in-full price and chooses one.
• Before paying, they tick to agree to the payment plan terms: the amount, the number of payments and the total, that they may not cancel during the term, and that access is revoked if any payment fails.
• They get access straight away, after the first payment.
• Stripe charges the next instalments automatically on the interval, to the same card.
• The money goes into your own Stripe account. WithMe takes 0% commission. Stripe fees apply to each instalment.

What happens when the plan ends?

• Coaching Calls: the client keeps lifetime access once the plan finishes.
• 1:1 Coaching: the client keeps the access time you set for the one-time fee.
• Courses: once the last payment is made, the client has access for the access duration you set, which can be Lifetime.
• Communities: the access duration you set is the client's total access counted from purchase. Set it longer than the payment period, or leave it as Lifetime, so access continues after the final payment.

If you change the plan later, for example its length or what it grants, buyers who already bought keep the terms they agreed to. The change applies to new buyers.

What happens if an instalment fails?

Every buyer agrees at checkout that if any payment fails, access is revoked immediately. On a course or a coaching call, the buyer's access, and anything included with it, is removed when Stripe reports the failed payment. On a community, membership ends.

This protects you from clients who stop paying part way through, but it is strict. Tell clients up front, in your sales page and welcome email, so a declined card does not come as a surprise.

How should you price the plan against paying in full?

Most creators make the plan cost a little more in total than paying in full. You wait longer for the money, you pay Stripe's fee on each instalment, and some plans are never finished. A small premium also gives buyers a reason to pay in full.

An example, not a rule: a £600 coaching programme could be £600 in full, or 3 monthly payments of £220, which is £660 in total. The editor shows Total customer pays as you set it up, so you can see the difference.

Keep the plan short enough to end around when the coaching ends. A plan that runs long after the last session is harder to collect.

What are the pros and cons of payment plans?

Pros:

• More clients can afford a higher-priced programme.
• The client commits to the full term, which keeps them engaged.
• You can charge a little more in total for the convenience.

Cons:

• You are paid over months, not up front.
• A failed card means lost access for the client and an awkward follow-up for you.
• More payments mean more transaction fees than one charge.

Is there another way to let clients pay over time?

Yes. Checkout runs on Stripe, so you can turn on Klarna in your Stripe account where Stripe offers it. The buyer then splits the cost with Klarna, and you are paid through Stripe as for any other sale. Klarna sets its own terms and Stripe charges its own fee for it.

How do you set up a payment plan on WithMe?

1. Open the product: a Coaching Call, a 1:1 Coaching product, a course or a community.
2. Set the pay-in-full price first.
3. Coaching Call or 1:1 Coaching: turn on Payment plan, then enter the Amount per payment and choose the Number of payments and the Payment interval, weekly or monthly.
4. Course or community: choose Recurring, set the billing interval, turn on Payment plan and choose the Number of payments. On a course, use Add second price or payment plan option to show the plan next to a single payment.
5. Check Total customer pays and the access the plan gives when it ends.
6. Save. The Payment Plan Terms & Conditions are linked in the editor, and buyers agree to the plan terms at checkout.

What is not included?

There is no setting to give a grace period or to keep access after a failed instalment. There are no deposits followed by a different balance amount: each instalment is the same.

How much does WithMe cost?

WithMe is $25 per month billed annually (UK £25), with a 14-day trial and 0% WithMe commission. Stripe and PayPal fees still apply. Free migration of up to 10 GB of your courses and members comes with the yearly plan. One plan covers courses, memberships, community, coaching, webinars and digital products.

Payment plan questions

Start your 14-day trial at https://www.withme.so/become-a-creator.

Related reading

• Start your 14-day trial
• Payment plans and affiliate programmes for creators
• How to take coaching bookings without Calendly
• How to run a 1:1 coaching programme
• How much to charge for online coaching
• How to price an online course
• Sell in several currencies and handle VAT
• Video lesson: create a paid community
• How to sell coaching online
• Order bumps, promo codes and bundles for creators