Understanding the New Membership Billing Structure
Membership billing has been updated to make recurring payments clearer, easier to manage, and more flexible when changes happen during an active billing cycle.
This article explains how the new Membership structure works, what businesses will see, and how billing changes are handled.
What Has Changed?
Memberships now have their own dedicated billing structure.
This means Membership billing is handled separately from regular Orders, Products, Packages, or one-off purchases.
Memberships now use:
- A Membership Billing Start Date
- A Draft Invoice for the next billing cycle
- Automatic invoice generation
- Membership & Business credit is combined
- Automatic payment attempts where a payment method is available
- Optional proration for mid-cycle changes
- Business Credit when a client has overpaid
Membership Billing Is Separate from Order Billing
Membership invoices are different from standard order invoices.
Standard invoices are still used for things like:
- Products
- Packages
- Vouchers
- One-off purchases
- Other non-membership orders
Membership invoices are used only for:
- Recurring membership payments
- Membership renewals
- Membership price changes
- Billing date changes
- Proration adjustments
- Membership-related billing changes
This makes it easier to track Membership payments separately from other client purchases.
Membership Billing Start Date
Each Membership has its own Billing Start Date.
This date controls when the Membership billing cycle starts.
The Membership Billing Start Date is independent from your Branch Billing Cycle.
For example, if your branch billing cycle is set to the 25th of the month, but a client’s Membership Billing Start Date is the 1st of the month, the Membership will follow the 1st of the month.
The branch billing cycle will not control Membership billing.
Creating a New Membership
When you create a new Membership, it starts as Inactive.
This means:
- No invoice is issued immediately
- No payment is taken immediately
- The billing cycle has not started yet
A Membership only starts billing when the Billing Start Date is set and billing is activated.
Draft Membership Invoice
Once a Billing Start Date is set, Collar creates a Draft Membership Invoice.
The Draft Invoice is a preview of what the client will be billed.
You can use the Draft Invoice to review the upcoming Membership charge before it is issued.
The Draft Invoice may include:
- Membership charge
- Pet-related charges
- Proration charges
- Manual adjustments
- Billing date adjustments
- Total amount due
Repeats Are Now Hidden
Memberships still use internal billing cycles in the background, but these are no longer shown to businesses.
Instead, you will see the Draft Membership Invoice.
This keeps the Membership billing view simpler and easier to understand.
The Draft Invoice is the main billing preview you should use when reviewing upcoming Membership charges.
Activating Billing
If you select Activate Billing Now, Collar will:
- Start the Membership billing cycle
- Issue the Draft Membership Invoice
- Attempt to charge the client automatically if they have a valid payment method saved
- Mark the invoice as Paid, Unpaid, or Payment Failed depending on the result
- Create the next Draft Invoice for the following billing cycle
Once billing is active, Collar will always prepare the next Draft Invoice in advance.
This allows any changes made during the current cycle to be reflected before the next invoice is issued.
Automatic Membership Billing
Membership invoices are automatically processed at 5:00 AM in your branch’s local time.
When a Membership invoice is due, Collar will:
- Issue the Draft Invoice
- Attempt payment if the client has a valid payment method saved
- Update the invoice status
- Prepare the next Draft Invoice
If the payment succeeds, the invoice will be marked as Paid.
If payment fails, the invoice will be marked as Payment Failed.
If the client does not have a payment method saved, the invoice will be marked as Unpaid.
Membership Credit and Business Credit are now combined
- Membership Credit is no longer maintained separately from Business Credit.
- All available credit now sits within the client’s overall Business Credit balance.
- Credit can be used towards any eligible booking or purchase across your business, including Membership invoices.
- All existing unused Membership Credit has been migrated automatically.
Membership Invoice Statuses
Draft
The invoice has not been issued yet.
This is a preview of the next Membership invoice and can still be adjusted.
Issued
The invoice has been finalised and is ready for payment.
Paid
The invoice has been paid successfully.
Unpaid
The invoice has been issued but no payment has been collected.
This may happen when the client does not have a saved payment method.
Payment Failed
A payment attempt was made, but the payment failed.
You can retry the payment if the client has a valid payment method saved.
Void
The invoice has been voided and can no longer be paid.
Membership Statuses
Inactive
The Membership has been created, but billing has not started yet.
Active
The Membership billing cycle has started and the Membership is running.
Past Due
A Membership invoice is unpaid or payment has failed.
Paused
The Membership has been paused and future billing will not continue until it is resumed.
Canceled
The Membership has been canceled and no future billing should be generated.
Multi-Pet Memberships
Memberships can now support multiple pets under one Membership billing cycle.
Previously, each pet could create a separate billing repeat in the background.
Now, one Membership can include multiple pets more cleanly.
For example:
- Client: Sarah Jones
- Membership: 3 Days Per Week Daycare
- Pets: Milo and Bella
Both pets can now sit under the same Membership and the same Draft Invoice.
This helps avoid duplicate billing records and makes Membership management clearer.
Proration
Proration allows Collar to calculate billing differences when a Membership changes during an active billing cycle.
Proration can be enabled or disabled for a Membership.
When proration is enabled, Collar can calculate adjustments for changes such as:
- Membership price changes
- Billing date changes
- Pets added to a Membership
- Pets removed from a Membership
Proration Charges
If a change means the client owes more, the additional amount is added to the next Draft Membership Invoice.
No immediate invoice is created.
No immediate payment is taken.
Example
A client is on a £100 monthly Membership.
Halfway through the billing cycle, they upgrade to a £150 monthly Membership.
The difference is £50 for the month.
If there are 15 days remaining, Collar calculates a £25 proration charge.
The next Draft Invoice will show:
- New Membership charge: £150
- Proration adjustment: £25
- Total: £175
Proration Credits
If a change means the client has overpaid, Collar may add Business Credit to the client’s account.
This only happens if the invoice for the affected period has already been paid.
Example
A client is on a £150 monthly Membership.
Halfway through the billing cycle, they downgrade to a £100 monthly Membership.
The difference is £50 for the month.
If there are 15 days remaining, Collar calculates a £25 credit.
If the original invoice has already been paid, Collar will add £25 as Business Credit to the client’s account.
This credit is not Membership Credit.
It is general Business Credit and can be used according to your normal client credit rules.
When Credit Is Not Added
If the client has not paid the affected invoice, Collar will not issue Business Credit.
This prevents credit being added for money that has not actually been collected.
Example
A client downgrades from £150 to £100, but their current invoice is still unpaid.
Collar will not create a £25 credit because the client has not paid for that period yet.
The next Draft Invoice will simply reflect the updated Membership price.
Billing Date Changes
If the Membership Billing Date is changed and proration is enabled, Collar will calculate whether extra days have been added or removed.
Example: Billing Date Moved Later
Membership price: £100 per month
Original next billing date: 1 August
New next billing date: 5 August
This adds 4 extra days to the current billing cycle.
Collar calculates the value of those 4 extra days and adds it to the next Draft Invoice.
Example: Billing Date Moved Earlier
Membership price: £100 per month
Original next billing date: 1 August
New next billing date: 28 July
This removes 4 days from the current billing cycle.
If the affected invoice was already paid, Collar adds the calculated amount as Business Credit.
If the invoice was not paid, no credit is added.
Invoice Actions
The actions available on a Membership invoice depend on the invoice status.
Void
Use Void to cancel an invoice so it can no longer be paid.
This is available for invoices that are Draft, Issued, Unpaid, or Payment Failed.
It is not available for Paid or already Void invoices.
Retry Payment
Use Retry Payment to attempt payment again.
This is available when the invoice is Unpaid or Payment Failed and the client has a valid payment method saved.
Mark Paid
Use Mark Paid when the client has paid outside the automatic payment flow.
For example, if they paid by bank transfer or cash.
This is available for Issued, Unpaid, or Payment Failed invoices.
Adjust
Use Adjust to make changes to a Draft Invoice before it is issued.
This is only available while the invoice is still in Draft.
Once an invoice has been issued, it can no longer be adjusted directly.
What Businesses Should Check
When managing Memberships, check the following:
- The Membership Billing Start Date is correct
- The connected pets are correct
- The Draft Invoice looks correct before billing
- Proration is enabled or disabled based on your billing preference
- The client has a valid payment method saved if you want automatic payment collection
- Any Business Credit created from proration is correct
Key Things to Remember
- Membership billing is separate from standard Order billing.
- The Membership Billing Start Date controls the Membership cycle.
- Draft Invoices show what will be billed next.
- Repeats are handled internally and are no longer shown to businesses.
- Proration charges are added to the next Draft Invoice.
- Proration credits are only added when the affected invoice has already been paid.
- Credits from proration are created as Business Credit, not Membership Credit.
- Automatic billing runs at 5:00 AM branch local time.
- Membership invoices have their own invoice numbering format.
Example Membership Billing Flow
A client starts a monthly Membership on 1 July.
The Membership is £100 per month.
- The Membership is created as Inactive.
- A Billing Start Date of 1 July is added.
- Collar creates a Draft Membership Invoice for £100.
- The business activates billing.
- Collar issues the invoice and attempts payment.
- If payment succeeds, the invoice is marked as Paid.
- Collar prepares the next Draft Invoice for 1 August.
- Any changes made during July are reflected on the August Draft Invoice.