When you enroll a customer, Run a Call bills the first period of the membership for you, the way you choose. Later periods are billed by renewal invoices. See Renewals and autopay.
Choose how the first period is billed
Under First period, pick one:
| Choice | What happens | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Add to this invoice | The membership goes on the job's invoice as a line, so one payment covers the work and the first period. If the job has no invoice yet, it goes on the job's line items and lands on the invoice when you create it. | Mobile app only, when enrolling from a job. It's the default there whenever the job can take it. |
| Invoice separately | A separate first-period invoice is created right away. | Office and mobile app. The default in the office. |
| Bill later | No invoice now. The first period is invoiced on the billing run for the start date, like a renewal. | Office and mobile app, only while Create renewal invoices and email them to members is on under Settings → Memberships. |
Add to this invoice isn't offered when the job's invoice is already paid. On an invoice that has been sent but not paid, it's offered only to people whose role has full access to invoices. One-time plans, a multi-year term paid up front, and plans with no price don't show the choice.
Invoice separately
The first-period invoice is named, for example, Gold membership — Sep 2026 — first period. It's due on the membership's start date and gets its own invoice number (INV-…).
- Autopay on and a card on file: the card is charged right away and the invoice is marked paid.
- No autopay, enrolled in the office: the invoice is emailed to the customer with a pay link. It's also emailed if the autopay card is declined. The toast after enrolling has Open invoice so you can go straight to it.
- No autopay, enrolled on the phone: the tech can collect it right away (see below).
This applies when the start date is today, in the future, or within your grace period (7 days by default, set under Settings → Memberships). If the start date is further back, for example when you type in a paper member after the fact, no invoice is raised. Use Bill first period below if you need one.
One-time plans are billed once, on their start date, and plans with no price are never invoiced.
See the first period on the membership
Open the membership. Under the billing details you see a line such as First period · INV-1234 · Unpaid or Paid. Click the invoice number to open it.
<!-- shot: Membership page with the First period line and the Bill first period button -->Bill first period
For memberships enrolled before this change, or backdated past the grace period, the membership page has a Bill first period button. It raises the invoice for the period the membership started in. If that start date is already past, the invoice is past due as soon as it's created, and the confirm tells you so.
The button hides once the first period has been billed or the membership has already renewed, so a period is never billed twice.
Collect renewal
Collect renewal raises the next period, not the first one. The confirm shows which month and due date it's for. Paying it moves the membership forward one period, so its Next Billing date moves too. Use it when a member wants to pay ahead.
Enrolling on the phone
When the job has an invoice or line items, the tech app starts on Add to this invoice. After the customer signs, the tech sees, for example, Gold Maintenance Plan added to this invoice, and collects the job's invoice as usual.
With Invoice separately, the first-period invoice is created as soon as the customer signs. The next screen shows the invoice, what it covers and the amount, with two buttons:
- Collect $X now opens the usual payment options on the phone.
- Collect later leaves it for the office to send or collect from the membership page.
If the customer is on autopay, the status reads Paid · charged to the card on file and the tech taps Done. If the card is declined, it reads Unpaid · the card on file was declined and the tech can collect another way.
<!-- shot: Mobile screen after enrolling with Collect $X now and Collect later -->The pill on the customer's page
The membership card on the customer's page shows where billing stands:
| Pill | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Current | Nothing is owed: the latest membership invoice is paid, or none has been raised yet. |
| Pending | A membership invoice is unpaid but still within its due date and grace period. |
| Overdue | A membership invoice is unpaid past its due date and grace period. |