> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://faq.exode.biz/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Installments and subscriptions > How installments and subscriptions work: payment schedule, automatic charges, retries, cancellation and course access Installments and subscriptions let you sell a course with payment in parts. The student links a card once, and Exode charges payments on schedule by itself, retries failed charges and closes access if the student stops paying. * **Installment** — the school's internal installment plan. The course price is split into several payments with set dates. When all payments are made, the installment plan is complete. * **Subscription** — a regular payment for a period: a week, a month or a year. The subscription renews as long as charges go through and it has not been canceled. The payment type and schedule are set in the course tariff. See [Launch and tariffs](https://faq.exode.biz/en/online-schools/sales-payments/launches-and-pricing.md) for more about tariffs. ## How an installment plan works * The tariff contains a list of payments: the amount of each and how many days after sign-up it is charged. 0 days — at the moment of sign-up, 1 — the next day, 30 — in a month. * The tariff price equals the sum of all payments. * On the checkout page, the student sees the **Payment schedule** and the **Total payments**. * If the student applied a promo code, the discount is split equally among all payments. * When the last payment is made, the installment plan gets the **Completed** status. ## How a subscription works * The tariff sets the **Subscription interval**: a week, a month or a year, and the number of such intervals in one period. * **Free trial period** — several days of free access. The first charge happens after they end. If the student subscribes to the same course again, no free period is given. * **Discount for all periods** — if turned on, the promo code discount applies to all subscription payments. If turned off, only the first period is paid at the discount, and then at the full tariff price. * With monthly payment, the charge day stays the same. If the subscription was set up on the 31st, in shorter months the charge happens on the last day of the month. On the subscription checkout page, the student sees the terms: free period, amount per period, payment day and the hint **You can cancel your subscription in the account settings**. ## How a student sets up an installment plan or subscription **1. Selects a tariff** On the checkout page, the student clicks **Pay in installments** or **Subscribe**. For such tariffs, only cash registers that can link a card are shown, unless one-time payment is turned on in the tariff. **2. Links a card** The student enters card details on the card adding page or on the provider's side. If the student already has a saved card, linking is not needed. **3. Pays the first payment** If the first payment is due on the sign-up day, Exode charges it from the card right away. After payment, the student gets access to the course and is added to the tariff's group. **4. Further payments are charged automatically** Exode charges each next payment from the linked card on its date. If the first payment is not due on the sign-up day, for example in a subscription with a free period, access opens right after the card is linked, and the first charge happens on the scheduled day. > [!WARNING] > > If the card was linked but the first payment failed, access to the course does not open. The installment plan or subscription gets the **Awaiting payment** status. The student can retry the payment on the invoice page with the **Retry** button. If the first payment is paid later, all following schedule dates shift by the length of the delay. ## One-time payments In the tariff, you can turn on **Option for one-time payments**. Then an installment plan or subscription can also be set up through a cash register without card linking, for example through Payme or Click. * The student pays the first payment as a regular payment. * Exode does not charge the following payments automatically. On the payment date, the student receives the same message as for a failed charge, and the invoice appears in their **Payments and bills → Bills to pay** section. * The deadlines and consequences of non-payment are the same as for a failed automatic charge. ## Automatic charges and retries Exode checks upcoming payments every 30 minutes, so the charge happens within half an hour after the payment date comes. If the charge fails, Exode retries it. There are 4 attempts in total: | Attempt | When | | - | - | | 1 | On the payment date | | 2 | 3 hours after the first failure. If in 3 hours it will be night for the student, from 22:00 to 8:00 in their time zone, — after 12 hours | | 3 | One day after the payment date | | 4 | Two days after the payment date | * After each failed attempt except the last one, the student receives a message about the failed charge by SMS, email or Telegram — through the channels available in their account. * While the payment has not gone through, the student sees it in **Payments and bills → Bills to pay** with the retry date and the **Pay by** deadline — two days after the payment date. The student can pay it themselves without waiting for the next attempt. * The next installment payment is not charged until the previous one is paid. * If the 4th attempt also fails, the installment plan or subscription is canceled, the student is removed from the tariff's group and loses access to the course. The student receives a message that access has been closed. ## Course access * The student gets access through the tariff's group: Exode adds them to the group after the first payment. * As long as payments go through, access remains. * When canceled due to non-payment, access closes right after the 4th failed attempt. * When canceled by the student or the school, access remains until the next payment date and closes on that date. * If the installment plan or subscription is activated again and the payment goes through, the student returns to the tariff's group. ## Cancellation and restoring ### The student cancels a subscription In **Payments and bills → Subscriptions**, the student clicks **Cancel subscription** and can give a reason. The subscription stays valid until the end of the paid period, and there will be no new charges. Before the next payment date, the student can click **Restore subscription**, and the charges continue. After that date, the subscription can't be restored — a new purchase is needed. > [!NOTE] > > A student can't cancel an installment plan. Only the school can stop an installment plan. ### The school cancels an installment plan or subscription In **Sales → Installments** or **Sales → Subscriptions**, expand the student's row and click **Deactivate**. You can give the reason for cancellation in the **Reason for cancellation (optional)** field, up to 255 characters. The student's access remains until the next payment date. To bring back a canceled installment plan or subscription, click **Activate**. Canceled payments become scheduled again, and Exode tries to charge overdue ones at the next check. ## Upgrading to a higher tariff A subscriber can switch to a higher-tier subscription tariff in the same course without waiting for the end of the paid period. For this, **Tariff tier** must be filled in for both tariffs in the advanced subscription settings. You can switch only to a tariff with a higher tier. * On the checkout page, the student sees the **Tariff upgrade** block: the days left on the current tariff, the **Pay now** amount and the next charge date. * The extra charge equals the difference between the daily cost of the new and current tariffs multiplied by the remaining days of the period. If the difference is not positive, the switch goes through with **No extra charge**. * The new tariff takes effect right after payment, and the student moves to the new tariff's group. The next charge happens on the same date as before, but at the new tariff's price. * Promo codes do not apply to the extra charge. * You can't switch to a lower tariff. The student sees **A lower tariff is not available** and a hint to cancel the subscription and wait for the end of the paid period. ## Managing installments and subscriptions All of the school's installment plans and subscriptions are collected in **Sales → Installments** and **Sales → Subscriptions**. To work with them, you need the **School sales** permission. The list shows the student, the status, the dates of the last and next payment, the course and the tariff. For installments — how many payments have been made, for subscriptions — the interval and the number of renewals. Above the list there are the **All**, **Active** and **Canceled** tabs, search, filters by the current payment status, course, tariff, dates and payment amount, as well as export to a file. Click a row to expand the student's payment schedule: | Column | What it shows | | - | - | | **Payment date** | The number and date of the scheduled payment | | **Status** | The payment status, see the table below | | **Amount** | The payment amount | | **Attempt** | How many failed charge attempts there have already been, out of 4 | | **Next attempt** | The date of the next attempt. Hovering shows the **Access cancellation** date | | **Actions** | Deleting the payment and going to the invoice | Under the schedule you see the installment plan's **Total amount**, **Amount paid**, **Number of payments** and **Selected card**. If the last charge failed, the schedule shows the reason: **Insufficient funds**, **Card not found**, **Payment provider error** or **Unknown error**. If the student set up an installment plan or subscription for the course several times, tabs appear above the schedule: **Current** and the previous ones by number. ### Changing the schedule Click **Edit** to adjust the schedule of an active installment plan or subscription: * change the payment date and amount; * mark a payment as **Paid** or return it to **Scheduled**; * change the number of attempts for a failed payment; * add a payment with the **Add** button or delete an extra one. After making changes, click **Save**. Payment numbers are recalculated by date. If you change the amount of an unpaid payment, its invoice amount is updated too, and unfinished payment attempts for the old amount are canceled. For a subscription, new payments are created automatically. You only need to add a payment manually if you want to change the date or cost of future charges. ### Changing the card In the **Selected card** block, you can choose another active card of the student. If the student has no other saved cards, you see **No active cards**. ## Statuses ### Payment statuses in the schedule | Status | What it means | | - | - | | **Waiting for card** | The first payment is waiting to be paid at sign-up | | **Scheduled** | The payment is waiting for its date | | **Paid** | The payment has been made | | **Unsuccessful** | The charge failed, Exode will retry | | **Canceled** | The payment was canceled: by the student, by the school, after failed attempts or when setting up again | ### Installment and subscription statuses | Status | What it means | | - | - | | **Awaiting payment** | The first payment has not been paid yet | | **Active** | Payments go according to the schedule | | **Completed** | All installment payments have been made | | **Canceled** | The installment plan or subscription has been canceled | ## What the student sees In the **Payments and bills** section of their account, the student sees: * **Bills to pay** — payments that could not be charged; * **Installments** and **Subscriptions** — the schedule, upcoming and recent payments, the selected card; * **Cards** — saved cards; * **Recent payments** — payment history. A scheduled payment can be made early with the **Pay** button: if a card is linked, the money is charged right away, otherwise the invoice page opens. ## Frequently asked questions > **How many times does Exode try to charge a payment?** > > 4 times: on the payment date, after 3 hours (or 12 if it will be night for the student), one day and two days after the payment date. After the 4th failed attempt, the installment plan or subscription is canceled, and the student loses access. > **Why did the student lose access to the course?** > > The payment could not be charged in 4 attempts, and the installment plan or subscription was canceled. Or the student or the school canceled it, and the next payment date came. You can see the status and the reason for the failed charge in **Sales → Installments** or **Sales → Subscriptions**. > **How do I give access back to a student who didn't pay on time?** > > Open the student's installment plan or subscription and click **Activate**. Canceled payments become scheduled again, and Exode tries to charge them at the next check. After a successful payment, the student returns to the tariff's group. > **I canceled a student's subscription, but they still have access. Is that normal?** > > Yes. After cancellation, access remains until the next payment date, that is, until the end of the paid period. On that date, Exode removes the student from the tariff's group. > **Can a student cancel an installment plan themselves?** > > No. A student can cancel only a subscription. The school stops an installment plan with the **Deactivate** button. > **A student canceled their subscription and changed their mind. What should they do?** > > Before the next payment date, they can click **Restore subscription** in the **Payments and bills** section. After that date, they need to subscribe again. No free period is given when subscribing again. > **Why wasn't the second installment payment charged?** > > The next installment payment is not charged until the previous one is paid. Check the status of the previous payment in the student's schedule. > **A student wants to pay ahead of time. Is that possible?** > > Yes. In the **Payments and bills** section, a scheduled payment has a **Pay** button. If a card is linked, the money is charged right away. > **How do I extend an installment plan or change a payment amount?** > > Open the installment plan in **Sales → Installments**, click **Edit**, change the dates and amounts or add payments, then click **Save**. > **Does a promo code apply to all payments?** > > In an installment plan, the discount is split equally among all payments. In a subscription, the discount applies only to the first payment, unless **Discount for all periods** is turned on in the tariff. > **Can I move a subscriber to a cheaper tariff?** > > No, switching to a lower tariff is not available. The student needs to cancel the subscription, wait for the end of the paid period and buy the new tariff. *** *Updated: 2026-10-15 18:32 UTC* This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.