Cobot's automated invoicing feature streamlines your billing process by automatically generating and sending invoices to your members on their scheduled billing dates.
For added flexibility and to encourage timely payments, you can also send invoices to your members in advance of their charge date or send reminder emails in advance of the charge date.
So which one should you use?
Use the Invoice in Advance Feature if you want members to have an exact snapshot of how their invoice will look and what they will be charged for.
Charges generated between the early invoice and their charge date are NOT added to that invoice cycle.
Use the Reminder Email add-on if you want to send a friendly email notifying your members of their upcoming charge date. No invoice is generated.
Charges generated between the reminder email and the invoice charge date ARE added to that invoice cycle.
This guide covers the following topics:
Sending Invoice's in Advance of the Charge Date
You can set invoices to be sent a specific number of days before they are due by going to Setup » Invoice Settings » Send invoice before charge date.
For example, if you charge members on the 1st of the month but want them to receive their invoices five days in advance, simply enter "5" in the "Send invoice before charge date" field.
Members will get their invoices five days early but won't be charged until the 1st.
IMPORTANT NOTES
Once an invoice is generated, it is a fixed asset. Charges (such as booking fees or one-time-charges) that are generated between the invoice in advance date and charge date will NOT be added to invoice. These will be added to the member's next month's invoice.
If you want to remind members their invoicing date is approaching and still have all charges added to their final invoice, then check out how to send reminder emails below instead.
Once activated, ALL members in your space will receive their invoices in advance. It is not possible to only send to specific people or to members of a particular plan.
Sending Invoices Before the Membership Start Date
Sending invoices before a membership starts is different. By default, automated invoices are NOT sent before a membership is active. The first invoice will be triggered once the membership becomes active on the membership start date.
For example, if the member signs up to your space on the 15th of September, but their membership does not start until October 1st, they will receive their first invoice on October 1st.
Click here to learn how to charge your members in advance of their membership start date.
So how does this work with sending invoices in advance of the charge date?
If your member signs up before the invoice in advance window, then they WILL receive their invoice in advance, even if their membership hasn't started yet.
For example, say the member signs up on September 15th with a membership start date of September 1st. Because the invoice is sent five days before the 1st of the month, the new member WILL receive the early invoice. Once their membership starts on the 1st, they will be charged.
However, say the member signs up on August 30th. Because the invoice in advance date has already happened, the member will NOT receive the early invoice, but they WILL receive their first invoice and be charged on September 1st.
For a more robust overview of Automated Member Invoicing and how it works, click here.
Membership Renewal Date vs Charge Date
Cobot offers two key invoicing dates to manage billing. The first is the Membership Renewal Date, which is linked to the plan's renewal frequency. This can be set in the plan settings to renew on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis, depending on the membership terms.
The second is the Invoice Charge Date, which runs automatically on a monthly cycle. This charge happens in addition to the renewal date. The date is set as the same day of the month the renewal date is.
For example, if the renewal date is the 15th of the month, the invoice charge date will also be the 15th.
This charge date captures any fees, including membership fees, booking fees, or one-time charges. If the renewal date changes, the invoice charge date adjusts accordingly.
Click here to read more on how membership renewal dates work.
Charging Canceled Members
If you cancel a membership for a date after the invoice is already generated and posted to the member's account, cobot recognizes this as an outstanding charge and process's payment on the invoice after the membership ends.
To avoid charging the member on this advanced invoice, you can do one of two things:
Cancel the membership before the invoice issue date.
OR, write-off the invoice once you have canceled the membership. This way, cobot will not try charging the invoice after the membership ends.
Reminder Emails That the Charge Date is Approaching
If you prefer to send an email reminder that the invoice date is approaching without having the invoice generated and sent to the member, activate the free Invoice Reminder Email add-on.
This is the better choice if you want members to accumulate charges on their account right up until their charge date.
To activate this, go to Add-ons » Reminders. You can set one or multiple types of reminders and you only need to set it once; each reminder will run automatically, forever until you deactivate it. The add-on dashboard will display a list of all active reminders you can edit or remove.
PRO TIPS
Under "SENDER EMAIL" enter in your email address or the email address you want members to respond to. Do NOT enter in the members email here.
The body of the text is pre-populated. Your members unique data will automatically be populated within the {{ }} brackets.
Use Liquid markup to edit this section or delete everything and add your own text.
IMPORTANT NOTES
New members will also receive the reminder email once their membership is confirmed, but only if they sign up prior to the x number of days.
For example, say the member signs up on August 15th with a membership start date of September 1st. Because the reminder will be sent five days before the 1st of the month, the new member will receive the reminder email.
However, say the member signs up on August 30th. In this case, the member will NOT receive the reminder email.
Once activated, ALL members in your space will receive the reminder email. It is not possible to only send it to specific people or to members on a particular plan.
Next Step: Check out all of your free add-ons, including powerful reporting features under Add-ons.