Payment Plans

1. Getting Started with Payment Plans

Provider-Controlled: You maintain full control with a manual switch at the account level and per individual ticket.

Automated Collection: Pebble captures the first instalment immediately at checkout and automates all future monthly payments.

Operational Visibility: If an instalment fails, clear warning icons are flagged directly on your class registers and attendance sheets to keep your staff informed.

1.1 How to Switch On Payment Plans for you account

Before you can start using Payment Plans you need to switch them on in your settings section.

Settings -> Feature Access -> Payment Plans

1.2 Adding a Payment Plan to a ticket

You can manage payment plans directly within the ticket setup during the add/edit activity flow

To enable instalments for a ticket:

Navigate to Add/Edit Activity and create/edit a ticket.
Once you enter a price for the ticket you'll then see the "Let customers spread the cost" field appear. Switch this on.
Define the total number of instalments you want to offer (up to a maximum of 6 instalments).

Important Notes:

Customers pay an initial instalment at checkout.

Future instalments are automatically collected on the 1st of each month.

All instalments must occur before the start of the first session in the booking.

If an activity's start date is too close to allow for the full payment schedule, the instalment option will automatically become unavailable to the customer on the ticket at checkout.

If the cost at checkout is less than £100 then the instalment option will automatically become unavailable to customer on the ticket at checkout.

2. The Parent Booking & Tracking Journey

We ensure customers fully understand their financial commitment before they complete a payment:

Transparent Checkout: When booking, customers must actively select the "Pay in X instalments" option to opt in. The review screen then clearly breaks down exactly what is "Due Today" versus what is due in the future.
Booking Confirmations: Upon booking, parents receive a confirmation email detailing what has been paid today alongside their future payment schedule. They are also emailed a reminder before every instalment is captured.
Self-Service Tracking: Customers can access their payment tracking either by following the link in their booking confirmation email - or by navigating to the booking within their Pebble account. They can view amounts, due dates, and outstanding balances. If a card is nearing expiration, customers can update their card details for future instalments themselves from this view.

3. Tracking Payments in the Provider Portal

You can view a payment timeline for any booking made with Payment Plans - click on an attednee anywhere in Pebble to open the attendee/booking modal.within the attendee/booking modal in your portal.

Within the attendee/booking side sheet you will see a complete history of all instalments related to a booking.

Progress Status: A clear visual breakdown showing exactly how many instalments have been collected so far (e.g Sale - 2 of 3 instalments).
Payment History: A history of successful Stripe payments versus any attempted failures.
Fee Breakdown: Details regarding the exact Pebble and Stripe fees deducted from each individual instalment as it is collected.

4. Managing Failed Instalments

If an instalment fails, Pebble provides both automated recovery safety nets and manual tools via your Failed Payments Page to help you recover funds quickly:

4.1 Automated Recovery

Auto-Retries: Just like our standard subscription functionality, failed instalments trigger 3 x automated retries
Instant Alerts: Every failed payment triggers an immediate email notification to both the customer and the provider. Automated failed payment tags and notifications will also instantly appear across your registers, attendance overviews, and booking pages.

4.3 Manual payment recovery

If you need to step in manually to collect oayment, the actions dropdown on the Failed Payments page allows you to:

Send payment update email: Manually prompt the parent to update their card details.
Copy Payment Link: Copy a direct payment link to share with the parent via email or SMS.
Mark as paid: Settle the balance in the system if the parent pays you directly via cash or bank transfer.
Cancel booking: Cancel the customer's booking entirely if the balance remains unresolved.

⚠️ Legal & Attendance Note: Legal guidance requires Pebble to disable manual payment recovery methods if an instalment remains outstanding ten days after sessions begin to help you remain FCA compliant.

When this occurs, the Send payment update email and Copy Payment Link will become disabled. Please make suitable arrangements with the customer regarding the class and any payments you deem to be due.

5. Final Points

Policy Item	How It Works
Risk Mitigation	Pebble will transfer payment plan instalments to the providers as they are successfully collected. We do not front the balance at the start of the plan.
Refund Caps	Refunds back to a customer's card are strictly capped at the exact amount the parent has actually paid to date via instalments, preventing negative balance scenarios.
Cancellations	If a whole booking is cancelled, any remaining future instalments are automatically cancelled. The cancellation UI transparently displays "Instalments paid via card" vs. "Total booking value" to guide you through the flow.

We value your input and are always looking for ways to improve our communication and services.

If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our CS team at support@bookpebble.co.uk or on the live chat support.