Memberships — Recurring Subscription Plans
Create recurring membership plans with automatic billing, customisable benefits, and session tracking. Clients subscribe online or in-salon and receive discounts, included sessions, or unlimited access on every visit.
What is memberships?
Salon memberships are recurring subscription plans where clients pay on an automatic billing cycle and receive ongoing benefits such as percentage discounts, included sessions, or unlimited access to selected services. Bella Booking handles billing through Stripe with 9+ frequency options from weekly to annual. Clients can subscribe online, view remaining sessions, and manage their membership through a self-service portal on your booking page.
Memberships let you offer recurring subscription plans that clients pay for on a regular billing cycle. Each plan includes one or more benefits — percentage discounts, included sessions, or unlimited access to selected services. Billing is handled automatically through Stripe, with 9+ billing frequencies from weekly to annual. A plan can also be a fixed-term instalment plan, letting clients pay off a course of treatments in instalments every 4 weeks over a 4, 8 or 12-week term. Clients can browse plans, subscribe online via Stripe Checkout, and manage their membership through the My Membership portal on your booking page. Team members can also enrol clients directly from the dashboard.
What's included
Key capabilities of memberships
Flexible billing cycles
Choose from 9+ billing frequencies: weekly, fortnightly, every 4 weeks, monthly, every 6 weeks, every 2 months, quarterly, every 6 months, or annually. Match your billing to your service rhythm.
Customisable benefits
Each plan includes one or more benefits with a discount percentage (0–100%), optional session limit per cycle, and an optional scope to specific services or whole bundles (leave blank for all services). Combine included sessions, percentage discounts, and unlimited access in a single plan.
Instalment plans over a fixed term
Turn a course of treatments into a payment plan: choose a 4, 8 or 12-week term and clients pay the package off in equal instalments every 4 weeks instead of all upfront. The included services are granted once per term — usable any time across it — the plan renews automatically each term, and the client is committed for the current term (they can switch off renewal at any time and the remaining instalments simply complete). Predictable cash flow for you, an affordable amount every 4 weeks for them.
Members skip the deposit
Reward members by waiving the upfront deposit on the services their plan covers — even when the benefit is only a partial discount. Or set a smaller member-only deposit, or require just a card on file. Non-members are unaffected, and the policy applies everywhere: online booking, reminders, and the pay-deposit link.
Automatic recurring billing
Set a plan to charge the client's card on file and Stripe handles subscription billing, invoice generation, and payment retries automatically — no manual invoicing required.
Cash and manual collection
Choose how each member pays when you enrol them. Card on file auto-charges every cycle; manual collection lets members pay at the till — cash, your own terminal, or another method. With manual collection Stripe still tracks the renewal schedule and issues an invoice, but no card is charged: the membership activates on enrolment, you take the first payment then, and record each renewal when it's collected. The same plan can be card on file for one member and manual for another. A 1% fee applies to each manual collection, added to your Bella invoice.
Online purchase via Stripe
Clients browse plans and subscribe through your online booking portal using Stripe Checkout. Credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay accepted.
Dashboard enrolment
Enrol clients directly from their profile in the business dashboard. Ideal for in-salon sign-ups where the team member handles the process.
Session tracking
For capped benefits, session counters track usage per billing cycle and reset automatically at renewal — or once per term on an instalment plan. Clients and staff always know how many sessions remain.
Automatic benefit redemption
Membership discounts are applied automatically at checkout when the appointment includes a matching service. No manual selection needed.
Pause and resume
Optionally allow team members to pause a client's subscription temporarily. Billing stops, session counters are preserved, and the membership resumes when ready.
Flexible cancellation
Cancel immediately or at the end of the current billing period. If you schedule an end-of-period cancel and change your mind, Undo cancellation keeps the membership renewing — or Cancel now ends it immediately instead. Clients can also cancel their own membership from the online portal (a team member undoes a scheduled cancel from the dashboard). Instalment plans carry a minimum-term commitment: clients switch off renewal instead, the term's remaining instalments complete, and the membership ends at the term end.
My Membership portal
Clients view their membership status, plan details, session usage, and next charge date through the My Membership section on your online booking page.
Automated notifications
Email and SMS notifications for membership activation, payment failures, and cancellation. Customise templates with your standard variables.
Terms and conditions
Attach versioned terms and conditions to plans. Clients accept terms at purchase time, with a full version history for compliance.
Capacity limits
Optionally cap how many clients can be actively subscribed to a plan at once — ideal for a founding-member tier or a high-touch plan your team can only service for so many people. Online purchase is blocked once full, with a "Fully subscribed" badge on your booking page; dashboard enrolment stays a warning so your team can still make exceptions.
How memberships work
Create a plan
Go to memberships and create a new plan. Set the name, price, billing cycle, and add benefits with discounts, session limits, and a scope to specific services, whole bundles, or all services.
Clients subscribe
Clients purchase a membership online via your booking page with Stripe Checkout, or a team member enrols them from the dashboard. Billing starts after the first payment.
Benefits apply automatically
When the client checks out for an appointment, membership discounts are applied automatically to matching services. Session counters track capped benefits.
Billing renews
Stripe bills the client automatically on the chosen cycle. Session counters reset at each renewal. The membership continues until cancelled or paused.
Plan availability
Feature
Starter
Professional
Prices shown in your local currency at checkout.
Frequently asked questions
What billing frequencies are available?
Nine options: weekly, fortnightly, every 4 weeks, monthly, every 6 weeks, every 2 months, quarterly, every 6 months, and annually. Monthly bills on the same calendar date; every 4 weeks bills every 28 days.
Can a plan have multiple benefits?
Yes. Each plan can include any number of benefits. For example, 4 included facial sessions per month plus 20% off all other services — all in one plan.
Can clients purchase memberships online?
Yes. Toggle "Allow online purchase" on individual plans to make them available on your online booking portal. Clients pay via Stripe Checkout and receive a confirmation email.
What happens when a payment fails?
The membership moves to a Payment Failed status. Stripe retries the payment automatically. The client receives a notification. If payment is recovered, the membership returns to Active.
Do clients have to pay by card, or can they pay cash?
Either. You choose the collection method when you enrol each member. Card on file auto-charges through Stripe every cycle. Manual collection lets the member pay at the till — cash, your own terminal, or another method — while Stripe still tracks the renewal schedule and issues an invoice. The membership activates on enrolment and you take the first payment then; for each later renewal you record the payment once it's collected. The same plan can be card on file for one member and manual for another. A 1% fee applies to each manual collection, added to your Bella invoice.
Can clients pay for a package of services in instalments over a fixed term?
Yes. Set a plan up as a fixed-term instalment plan with a 4, 8 or 12-week term. The price you set is the per-instalment amount, billed every 4 weeks, and the included services are granted once for the whole term — for example, a 12-week colour programme paid in 3 instalments. The plan renews automatically each term, and the client is committed for the current term: they can switch off renewal at any time, with the remaining instalments completing first.
Can clients pause their own membership?
Pausing is currently managed by team members from the business dashboard. Clients can cancel their membership from the online portal. Instalment (fixed-term) plans can't be paused — their billing follows the committed term.
How do session counters work?
For benefits with a session limit, the system tracks how many times the benefit has been redeemed in the current billing cycle. Counters reset automatically when the next cycle begins. If an appointment is cancelled, the session is restored.
Can I limit how many clients can join a membership plan?
Yes. Set a maximum active subscribers cap on any plan — leave it blank for unlimited. Once full, the plan shows a "Fully subscribed" badge on your booking page and new online purchases are blocked; your team can still enrol someone from the dashboard as a manual override. Lowering the cap below your current subscriber count is fine — existing members keep their spot, and new online joins are simply blocked until numbers drop back under the new cap.
Can I use a membership to force a consultation before a treatment?
No — that is the wrong tool. Members-only asks whether the client holds a covering membership. For consultation-before-treatment, set a prerequisite service on the treatment (Completed or Booked mode) under Services & Bundles. The treatment stays visible but locked online until the consult rule is met; your team can still override from the dashboard.
How does Bella Booking compare?
See how memberships in Bella Booking stacks up against the other leading salon, spa and clinic software platforms.
View the full comparisonExplore by business type
Ready to try memberships?
Start your free trial today. No credit card required.
Australian-made. Multi-timezone support.