Understand When Card Invoices Are Billed
Use this guide when a member asks, "When will my card be charged?" or when staff need to decide whether an invoice should charge now or wait for the scheduled billing run.
The Short Rule
Card invoices are charged in one of two ways:
- Immediately, when the workflow explicitly starts payment right away.
- Overnight, when a pending card invoice has a billing date of today or earlier.
The overnight billing run processes gyms at about 2:00 AM in the gym's timezone.
Cash invoices are not charged automatically. They wait for staff to mark them paid or switch them to card.
1. Memberships Added by Staff
When staff add a membership to a member and choose Card, the Bill immediately checkbox controls the first invoice.
If Bill immediately is selected, Easy Fitness Booking starts the first card payment right away.
If Bill immediately is not selected, the card is saved on the invoice and the invoice waits for scheduled billing. If that invoice's billing date is today or earlier, it will be picked up by the overnight billing run.
For member self-purchases, card payment starts as part of checkout.
2. Future Billing Dates
Pending card invoices with a future billing date do not charge early.
They wait until the billing date arrives. On that date, the overnight billing run picks up the invoice and sends the card payment to the connected processor.
This applies to:
- recurring membership invoices
- future custom card invoices
- pending invoices whose billing date was moved forward as a grace period
3. Changing a Pending Invoice Billing Date
Staff can edit the billing date on a pending invoice.
Changing the billing date only changes that one invoice. It does not change the membership's billing schedule or the dates of other pending invoices.
If the new billing date is in the future, the invoice waits.
If the new billing date is today or earlier and the invoice uses a card, it will be billed automatically overnight.
4. Changing an Overdue Cash Invoice to Card
An overdue cash invoice is usually a pending invoice whose billing date has already passed. It does not charge because the payment method is Cash.
When staff change that invoice from Cash to a saved card, the invoice becomes eligible for automatic billing.
If the billing date is already today or earlier, the next overnight billing run will try the card.
If the billing date is still in the future, it waits until that date.
5. Custom Card Invoices
Custom card invoices dated today start payment right away.
Custom card invoices dated in the future are scheduled and billed overnight when that billing date arrives.
What Staff Should Check
Before telling a member when a charge will happen, open the invoice and confirm:
- Status: pending, failed, paid, or cancelled
- Payment method: card, cash, or free
- Billing date: future, today, or already past
- Activity notes: whether staff changed the date, payment method, or marked it paid manually
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