Payments & Collection
How billing actually works
Raising a charge and taking the money are two separate steps. Understanding that explains most billing questions.
Last updated September 2, 2026
This is the single most useful thing to understand about Memberships. Billing is two jobs, not one, and they can succeed and fail independently.
| Step | What runs | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Raise the charge | A scheduled job, twice a day | A Charge row on the member's ledger. Their balance goes up. |
| 2. Collect the money | A separate job, once a day | A card charge or bank debit. Their balance comes down. |
Step one: raising the charge
For every Active membership that has started and not yet ended, the job raises the charge due on the schedule. The row is described as Subscription — {package} — {period}, so you can see exactly what each charge covers.
Step two: collecting it
The collection job looks for members who owe money — and it only takes those who are Active and have automatic payments switched on. Everyone else simply accrues a balance.
It collects the whole balance
Collection charges the member's entire outstanding balance in one transaction, not each charge separately. A member three months behind is charged for all three at once the moment a working card appears — which is worth warning them about before you fix their card for them.
Doing it by hand
You do not have to wait for the overnight run. Process Card Payment on the Transactions tab charges the saved card now, for an amount you choose up to the balance.