How To Setup A Payment Plan In Woocommerce

WooCommerce Payment Plans: Making Sales Easier with Installments (Even If You’re a WooCommerce Newbie!)

Want to boost your sales and make your products and services accessible to more customers? Offering payment plans in your WooCommerce store can be a game-changer! Think about it: that high-ticket piece of art, that in-depth online course, or even a bulk order of custom-printed t-shirts becomes much more approachable when broken down into manageable installments.

This guide will walk you through the ins and outs of setting up payment plans in WooCommerce, even if you’re a complete beginner. No complicated coding required (unless you want to get fancy later!).

Why Offer Payment Plans in WooCommerce?

Imagine you’re selling a premium online course on photography skills for $500. Some potential students might be hesitant to drop that amount all at once. But, if you offer a payment plan of $125/month for four months, it suddenly becomes much more appealing. Why?

Increased Conversions: Lowering the upfront cost reduces the barrier to entry. More customers are likely to say “yes” when they can spread the payments out.
Higher Order Values: Customers might be willing to purchase a more expensive product or service knowing they can pay for it over time.
Competitive Edge: Payment plans set you apart from competitors who only offer full payment upfront.
Improved Customer Satisfaction: Offering flexible payment options shows you care about making your products accessible.

Methods for Setting Up WooCommerce Payment Plans

There are primarily two ways to offer payment plans in WooCommerce:

1. Using a Dedicated Payment Plan Plugin: This is generally the easiest and most user-friendly option for beginners. These plugins handle all the complexities of managing subscriptions, payment schedules, and reminders.

2. Using WooCommerce Subscriptions (and potentially other plugins): This approach offers greater flexibility and customization, but it can be a bit more complex to set up.

We’ll focus on the first, easier method in this guide, using a plugin called “Partial.ly Payment Plans” as our example. However, the general principles apply to many similar payment plan plugins.

Step-by-Step Guide: Setting Up Payment Plans with Partial.ly

Partial.ly is a popular and well-regarded WooCommerce plugin for offering payment plans. It integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce and makes the process relatively straightforward.

1. Install and Activate the Plugin:

Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
Go to Plugins > Add New.
Search for “Partial.ly Payment Plans for WooCommerce.”
Click “Install Now” and then “Activate.”

2. Configure Partial.ly:

Once activated, you’ll likely see a notice to connect your WooCommerce store with Partial.ly. Follow the instructions to create a Partial.ly account (if you don’t already have one) and connect it to your WooCommerce store. This usually involves entering your Partial.ly API keys.
Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Partial.ly.
Here, you’ll find various settings to customize your payment plans:
Plan Eligibility: Determine which products are eligible for payment plans. You can set this globally or on a per-product basis. For example, you might exclude products under $50.
Down Payment: Set the percentage or fixed amount required as a down payment. A 20% down payment is common.
Payment Frequency: Choose the payment frequency (e.g., weekly, bi-weekly, monthly).
Payment Term: Set the maximum duration of the payment plan (e.g., 3 months, 6 months, 12 months).
Interest Rate: Decide whether to charge interest. If so, set the interest rate. Note: charging interest can have legal implications, so research the regulations in your area.
Minimum Order Amount: This is the lowest total cost of the product for a customer to be eligible to use the payment plan option.

3. Configure Payment Plan Settings for Individual Products (Optional):

Go to Products and edit the product you want to offer a payment plan on.
Look for the “Partial.ly Payment Plans” section within the product edit screen.
Here, you can override the global settings and customize the payment plan specifically for that product. For instance, you might offer a longer payment term for a more expensive product.

//Example:  Setting a different down payment percentage for a specific product.
//(This code snippet is for demonstration and would generally be managed through the plugin settings UI, not directly in code.)
$product_id = 123; //Replace with your product ID.
update_post_meta( $product_id, '_partial_ly_down_payment_percentage', '30' ); //Sets down payment to 30%

4. Test Your Payment Plan Setup:

The very important step is to do a test purchase to ensure that the payment plan option appears correctly at checkout, the down payment calculation is accurate, and the payment schedule is displayed clearly to the customer.
Process a test payment (if possible) to confirm that payments are processed correctly and that the order status is updated appropriately.

Example Scenario: Setting up a Payment Plan for a $300 Item

Let’s say you’re selling a handcrafted leather bag for $300. You decide to offer a payment plan with the following terms:

Down Payment: 25% ($75)
Payment Frequency: Monthly
Payment Term: 3 months
Interest Rate: 0%

Here’s how the customer’s payment schedule would look:

Down Payment: $75
Monthly Payment: $75 ($300 – $75 = $225; $225 / 3 = $75)

This makes the bag much more accessible compared to a full payment of $300 upfront.

Important Considerations

Terms and Conditions: Clearly outline the terms and conditions of your payment plans, including late payment fees, cancellation policies, and ownership of the product during the payment period. This helps to protect your business.
Customer Communication: Keep customers informed about their payment schedules and any changes to the plan. Use email reminders to prevent late payments.
Legal Compliance: Ensure your payment plan offerings comply with all applicable laws and regulations in your region, especially regarding interest rates and consumer protection. Consulting with a legal professional is always a good idea.
Fraud Prevention: Implement measures to prevent fraud, such as verifying customer information and monitoring for suspicious activity.

Conclusion

Offering payment plans in WooCommerce can be a powerful way to increase sales, improve customer satisfaction, and gain a competitive edge. By following these steps and using a reliable payment plan plugin, you can easily implement this strategy and start reaping the rewards. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different payment plan configurations to see what works best for your products and your customers. Good luck!