Direct debit, iDEAL or outside the app: which method do you choose?

There are three ways to collect membership fees. Each method has consequences for your workload, for the member's convenience and for the cost. You choose per subscription how a member pays, so you can use them side by side. By default, the member chooses between automatic direct debit and iDEAL themselves.

The three methods

	Automatic direct debit	iDEAL	Outside the app
Who starts the payment?	The system, automatically	The member, per instalment	The member, themselves (bank transfer or cash)
One-off action in advance	Signing a mandate	None	None
Work for the administrator	Hardly any	Hardly any	Marking instalments as paid yourself
Service charge (paid by the member)	€ 1.00 or € 0.60 per payment	€ 1.00 or € 0.60 per payment	None
Mollie transaction costs	Per collection	Per payment	None

Which service charge applies depends on the payment connection. Without its own Mollie account, the member pays € 1.00 and 4planning bears Mollie's transaction costs. If your association has connected its own Mollie account, the member pays € 0.60 and the association bears the transaction costs itself. See Service charges on membership fees.

Automatic direct debit

The member signs a mandate once. After that the system collects automatically each period. Before every collection the member receives a pre-notice, by default around fourteen days in advance.

This is the calmest method: you do not have to chase anyone. A member can only be collected from once the mandate is actually active. Without a mandate the instalment stays outstanding.

iDEAL

The member pays per instalment through a payment link on their own membership fee page. They click Pay now and complete the payment in their banking environment.

Handy for members who do not want to give a mandate, but it asks something of the member every period.

Outside the app

No payment runs through 4planning. For each instalment the member receives a message with the amount and the due date, transfers it (or pays in cash), and you mark the instalment as paid once the money arrives. This is the only method without a service charge, but also the only one that gives you ongoing manual work.

How does this member pay? Three choices per subscription

For each subscription, choose one of these three under How does this member pay?:

• The member chooses (direct debit or iDEAL), the recommended choice. The member can switch between automatic direct debit and iDEAL on their own membership fee page. A new subscription starts with the Default when the member chooses, which you set under Settings › Membership fees.
• Direct debit only. The member signs a mandate and cannot switch to iDEAL. Without a mandate nothing is collected. Handy for a monthly or weekly plan: with iDEAL the member would receive a new payment request every instalment.
• Outside the app (bank transfer or cash). No direct debit and no payment link. Only an administrator can set this, never the member.

A few things worth knowing:

• Switching to direct debit goes through the mandate. If a member chooses direct debit themselves, the method only changes once the mandate is active.
• An announced direct debit still goes ahead. If someone switches to iDEAL or outside the app after the pre-notice has been sent, that one collection is still carried out as notified. The change applies from the next instalment onwards.
• Children cannot switch off their parents' mandate. If the direct debit runs on a parent's mandate, that parent decides, even if the child has their own account.
• Members under 18 with their own account can give a mandate themselves, after ticking a box confirming that their parent or guardian knows about it. If a parent is in the app, that parent arranges it.
• You see it in the admin view. The subscription shows which method is active, who changed it and when. You can filter the subscription list by How they pay.

Frequently asked questions

• Can I use a different method per member? Yes. The choice belongs to the subscription, not to the plan.
• Can a member switch later? Only with The member chooses: between direct debit and iDEAL, on their own membership fee page and at most once a day. When switching to direct debit they sign the mandate first.
• Why is a direct debit instalment still outstanding? Usually the mandate is missing or no longer valid. The member automatically receives a reminder about this. In the subscription list you find these members with the Awaiting mandate toggle.