Tutorials

How to Set Up Automatic Billing for Membership Businesses with 4Geeks Payments

Allan Porras

20 Dec 2025 — 4 min read

Managing a membership business requires a reliable flow of recurring revenue. Manually sending invoices and chasing payments can be time-consuming and prone to error. 4Geeks Payments offers a robust solution to automate this process, allowing you to focus on growing your community rather than managing spreadsheets.

This guide will walk you through setting up automatic billing for your membership business. By automating subscriptions, you ensure timely payments, reduce churn caused by failed transactions, and provide a seamless experience for your members.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

A generic 4Geeks Account: You must have administrative access to the 4Geeks Console.
Active Payments Module: Ensure the 4Geeks Payments product is enabled for your organization¹.
Payment Gateway Connection: An active account with a payment processor (such as Stripe or PayPal) integrated into your 4Geeks dashboard to process the actual transactions.
Membership Strategy: A clear list of your membership tiers (e.g., Silver, Gold, Platinum) and their respective prices.

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How to Use 4Geeks Payments for Membership Billing

Follow these steps to configure recurring billing cycles for your customers.

1. Access the Payments Dashboard

Log in to the 4Geeks Console and navigate to the Payments module from the main menu. This dashboard is your central hub for tracking revenue, managing invoices, and configuring products.

2. Create Your Membership Products

To bill a customer, you first need to define what you are selling.

Click on Products or Service Management.
Select Add New Product.
Enter a Name (e.g., "VIP Membership") and a Description.
Upload an image or icon to help identify the plan internally or on customer checkout pages.

3. Define Recurring Pricing Plans

Once the product is created, you must determine how it is billed.

Navigate to the Pricing tab within the product view.
Select Recurring as the billing type.
Billing Interval: Choose how often the customer is charged (e.g., Weekly, Monthly, or Annually).
Price: Enter the amount (e.g., $49.00).
Trial Period (Optional): If you offer a free introduction, specify the number of trial days before the first charge occurs.

Tip: Creating multiple pricing options (e.g., a Monthly plan vs. a discounted Annual plan) for the same product can increase conversion rates.

4. Set Up Automation Rules

4Geeks Payments allows you to automate what happens after a payment is successful or failed.

Go to Settings > Billing Automation.
Success Actions: Configure the system to automatically send a "Welcome Email" and generate a PDF invoice upon successful payment.
Failure Actions: Set up "Dunning Management" (automatic retries). For example, configure the system to retry a failed card 3 times over 5 days before suspending the membership.

5. Enroll Members

There are two primary ways to add members to your new automatic billing plan:

Manual Enrollment: If you are migrating members from another system, go to Customers, select a customer profile, click Add Subscription, and select the Membership Plan you created.
Self-Service Checkout: Generate a Payment Link or Checkout Widget code from the product page. Embed this on your website so new members can sign up and enter their credit card details securely themselves.

Common Use Cases

Scenario 1: The Fitness Studio

A boutique gym uses 4Geeks Payments to manage access. They set up a "Monthly Unlimited" plan for $120/month.

Application: The system charges members on the 1st of every month.
Benefit: If a payment fails due to insufficient funds, the system automatically suspends the member's QR code access (integrated via 4Geeks Asset) until the payment is resolved, preventing unauthorized entry without manual staff intervention.

Scenario 2: Tiered SaaS Subscription

A software company offers "Basic" and "Pro" tiers.

Application: Using the recurring billing feature, they allow users to upgrade from Basic to Pro in the middle of a billing cycle.
Benefit: 4Geeks Payments automatically calculates the proration (the cost difference for the remaining days of the month), charges the user immediately, and updates the renewal amount for the next cycle.

Troubleshooting

Issue 1: Customer Reports a Double Charge

Cause: This often happens if a customer clicks the "Pay" button multiple times during a slow connection, or if a manual charge was run concurrently with an automated scheduled one.
Solution: Check the Transaction History in the customer's profile. If a duplicate exists, use the Refundbutton on the duplicate transaction line item to return the funds immediately.

Issue 2: Automatic Renewal Failed

Cause: Expired credit cards or bank fraud locks are common culprits.
Solution: Check the Dunning/Retry Logs. If the card is hard-declined (e.g., "Card Stolen" or "Expired"), the system will likely stop retrying. You must contact the customer to update their payment method via a secure update link generated in the dashboard.

Issue 3: Invoices Not Being Sent

Cause: Email configuration settings or spam filters.
Solution: Verify that "Email Receipts" is toggled ON in the Billing Automation settings. Also, ask the customer to check their spam folder. You can manually Resend Receipt from the specific transaction detail page.

FAQs

Can I pause a membership instead of cancelling it?

Yes. In the Subscriptions view, select the active subscription and click Pause. You can set it to resume automatically on a specific date or leave it paused indefinitely.

Is it possible to offer coupon codes?

Absolutely. You can create percentage-based or fixed-amount discount codes in the Coupons section of the dashboard and share them with potential members to use during checkout.

Conclusion

Setting up automatic billing with 4Geeks Payments streamlines your revenue collection and professionalizes your membership business. By following these steps, you minimize administrative work and ensure a consistent cash flow.