Pay in instalments

Payment in instalments, also known as direct debit, lets members spread a purchase over a period of time instead of paying the full amount at once.
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Each instalment is submitted to your customer’s bank by direct debit on the first of the month. The direct debit stops automatically once the full amount has been paid.
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Activate it in Mollie

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Global settings in Ledenbeheer

You can configure the general settings on this page and override them for individual courses or activities.
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Completing these global settings does not yet enable payment in

instalments. You must also enable it for each activity where you want to offer it.

What is the minimum amount for payment in instalments?

This lets your club offer instalments to members with a higher bill. Leave the field blank if there is no minimum amount.
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Deposit

Should a deposit be charged? If so, how much?
This can be a fixed amount or a percentage of the total. The deposit is the first payment and activates the direct debit. If there is no deposit, the first instalment is charged to activate it.

Over how many months?

What is the maximum number of months over which payments may be spread? For example, if someone registers on 1 September, how many months do they have to pay the full amount?
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You can adjust the payment period for each course.
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Additional settings: Choose how prices appear on your registration pages.
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Account balance

You can choose whether a member’s account balance is used for monthly payments. In other words, you decide whether the money in their account can cover some or all of an instalment.

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Settings for each activity

Deposit

Should a deposit be charged? If so, how much?
This can be a fixed amount or a percentage of the price.

Over how many months

What is the maximum number of months over which payments may be spread?

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When should the first payment start?

When should monthly payments begin? Members can start paying later, for example if they register in June but do not need to start paying until September.
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Full amount must be paid by

Set a final payment date so the system can schedule payments before the activity starts.
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The final payment takes place BEFORE the selected month. If the amount must be paid by June, the last instalment takes place in May.

Example:

For example, someone registers in January for a camp in March. Although the default setting allows three months to pay, you want the full amount paid before the camp starts, just two months later.

Set “Full amount must be paid by” to March. The payments will then be scheduled to meet that deadline.
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Require members to pay in instalments

When you select this option, members see only the monthly price and cannot pay the full amount at once.
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Track payments

Overall view

The table also shows how many months each member still has to pay and whether the amount has been paid in full.

For each entry, you can see the member, the cost note and the direct debit status.
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1. Red cross = inactive​

2. Green tick = active​

You may see three icons in the table:
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1. green tick = instalment paid​

2. puzzle piece = part of an instalment paid (possibly due to rounding)​

3. two yellow arrows = instalment pending with Mollie

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Error log

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The error log lists failed transactions and the reason Mollie provides, such as insufficient funds.

Contact these customers to find a solution. After contacting them, you can mark them in the list to keep track of whom you still need to contact.

Individual view

You can view an individual repayment schedule in that person’s cost note.
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What do members see?

For activities that allow payment in instalments, members see a monthly price alongside the activity price.
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You can change how these prices appear on the registration page: read more.

In the basket, members see the “Payment in instalments” option.
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At checkout, they also see the repayment schedule.
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Frequently asked questions about payment in instalments

What if a member wants to cancel before the course is fully paid for?

If you delete the cost note, the direct debit mandate is removed and the member stops paying in instalments. The club must follow up on the remaining amount.

What if I move a member to a course with a different repayment plan?

The new repayment plan applies. If the deposit for the new course is higher, the difference is charged with the next monthly payment.

What happens when the activity is paid in full?

We automatically cancel the direct debit. The mandate becomes inactive and the cost note is marked as paid.

Do members receive a health insurance certificate when paying in instalments?

They receive it once the full amount has been paid.

Do discounts still apply when members pay in instalments?

Yes. All discounts are calculated as they are on a standard cost note.

Can I charge customers extra for paying in instalments?

No.

What happens if an activity is removed from a cost note?

When you change the cost note, the monthly amount is adjusted too. If a course is removed, the amount is reduced.

What if they later add another course and also want to pay for it in instalments?

If the same family member adds a course, the monthly amount is adjusted to reflect the new total.

Can I see when something goes wrong?

Yes. An exclamation mark appears beside orders with a problem. Click it to see what went wrong.

What if members miss a payment?

Missed payments are collected the following month, so members are charged for both months then.
This only works while the direct debit mandate is valid. If members stop the direct debit through their bank, we cannot collect further payments.

When the mandate is reactivated, the next instalment or the sum of overdue instalments is charged.

Can a member stop the direct debit unilaterally?

Yes. The law allows this, but they must ask their bank to stop the direct debit.
Stopping a direct debit does not legally cancel the purchase. Depending on your terms and conditions, your organisation may still collect the money, but you must contact the customer about the remaining balance.

Can I change the bank account number for a direct debit?

Yes. At the far right of the repayment schedule under Finance > Pay in instalments, select “Cancel mandate”.

After cancelling the mandate, you can resend the cost note to the member. It contains a link to set up a new mandate.

Cancel a mandate

If you manually cancel a mandate under Finance > Pay in instalments, the cost note returns to the expired cost notes. You can resend it so the member can create a new mandate, or send a payment reminder.

Both contain a link to reactivate payment in instalments or pay the full amount at once.

The reminder includes a link to reactivate the direct debit. The amount due equals all overdue instalments.

For example, someone who is three months behind must immediately pay three monthly instalments to reactivate the direct debit.

After that, direct debits resume according to the repayment schedule.

Third failed payment = automatic mandate cancellation

If a customer misses payments in two consecutive months, for any reason, the mandate is cancelled automatically and the cost note returns to the expired cost notes.

How do chargebacks work, and can you prevent them?

A customer can reverse a SEPA direct debit. This is called a reversal or chargeback. They may do so up to eight weeks after collection when there is a valid mandate, and up to 13 months without one. Most banks do not require the customer to give a reason, so it can be hard to find out why a payment was reversed.

When a customer makes a chargeback, we automatically remove that payment from Ledenbeheer so the outstanding balance remains correct.
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More information on the Mollie website: https://help.mollie.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115000796469-What-do-I-need-to-know-about-reversals-of-SEPA-Direct-Debit-transactions

What if there is not enough money in my customer’s bank account?

The amount is charged again the following month, so the customer must pay for both months then.

Are there fees for chargebacks or insufficient funds?

Yes. Mollie charges the following fees:

1. SEPA chargeback: €10 if the direct debit cannot be completed​

2. Insufficient funds in the account: €0.95

You can pass the chargeback fee on to your customer under Settings > Payment methods > Payment in instalments.

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Members then automatically receive a cost note for an unjustified chargeback.

You cannot pass on the insufficient funds fee to the customer.

Why did the direct debit fail?

The Errors tab shows why a direct debit failed.
Mollie also explains the possible reasons on its website: https://help.mollie.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000309865-Why-did-my-SEPA-direct-debit-payment-fail

When is the amount collected from their bank account?

We always submit the direct debit on the first of the month.

Can an account balance be used together with payment in instalments?

Yes. If a member has an account balance, the system first checks whether it can cover the instalment. If it can, the instalment is paid from that balance. Otherwise, the balance is applied and the remainder is collected by direct debit.

The balance can also pay the deposit. However, the member still needs to make a payment to activate the direct debit. That happens in the month when the balance is exhausted.
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Example:
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Jan currently has a balance of €100.
The club asks for a €50 deposit. Jan must pay a €40 instalment each month.
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- The deposit is paid from the balance (€100 − €50 = €50 remaining).
- In the first month, Jan owes €40. He still has a €50 balance, so the first instalment is paid from it.
- In the second month, Jan owes another €40. He has €10 left in his balance, so he pays the remaining €30 online. This also activates the direct debit for the remaining instalments.

Does an account balance or administrator discount affect payments?

Yes. An account balance and any administrator discount are automatically applied to the next unpaid instalments.

How does this work in practice?

If a customer pays €30 a month and receives a €100 administrator discount, they:

• pay nothing for three months

• and receive a €10 discount in the fourth month on the monthly instalment.

Recalculate instalments

Sometimes a customer wants to pay more or less each month. You can change this using “Recalculate repayment schedule” in the cost note.

Choose the first date from which the new calculation should apply. The system then recalculates the monthly amount automatically.

If you move the first month earlier, the customer pays less per month. Moving it later increases the monthly amount because there is less time to pay the full balance.

The final step previews the new repayment schedule.