Credits is an additional payment method for members to purchase different resources within the app, such as rooms, desks, event tickets, or shop products.
You can easily set both the monetary and credit prices for each resource. We recommend setting equivalent prices in money and credits for each resource in the app. For example, 1 ☆ = 1 monetary unit.
How to enable credits
Navigate to Locations > Settings page by pressing the "Settings" icon next to the location's name > Credits.
Turn on the "Credits" switch.
Enable "Discount" if you want all discounts in plans and subscriptions to apply to credit prices as well.
4. Set prices in credits for the necessary resources in your app.
5. Proceed with setting plans with credits and credit packages as described below.
How credits work
Your app has two types of credits: expiring and permanent.
Expiring credits
Users sign up for a plan with credits, or administrators create a subscription for them.
Users receive credits to their balance on the subscription start date or with the subscription renewal and can use them during the subscription period for bookings or purchases. Unused credits expire at the end of the subscription period.
Important notes:
Users receive credits for their first subscription period only on the subscription start date. If their subscription is set to start on a future date, users need to wait until that date to receive and start using credits.
During the subscription period, users can use credits to make bookings for future dates, beyond their active subscription period. To restrict how far in advance users can book, set the "Book ahead" property as preferred on the Locations > Settings > Rooms/Desks pages.
Users cannot use credits from their subsequent subscription period during the current period. They need to wait for the subscription renewal to receive new credits.
Permanent credits
Members and companies buy permanent credits with credit packages.
Users receive permanent credits immediately and can use them indefinitely as long as they remain members and are not removed from the Community.
If necessary, administrators can manually give or charge both expiring and permanent credits.
Use Cases
There are multiple use cases of a credit system for your business. For example:
Use credits as a perk in plans. Give a specific number of expiring credits in plans as a virtual currency that members can use for booking rooms and purchasing shop products and event tickets, while external users pay with money.
Give credits instead of a refund. If your users request a refund on the monetary transaction in your app, suggest they accept the exact equivalent in permanent credits to keep on their balance. This way, you retain your users and allow them to keep credits for future payments in your app.
Sell credit packages to reduce the number of microtransactions and, as a result, save on payment gateway fees for credit card payments. Encourage members to buy credits packages and use credits for all bookings and purchases in the app. To incentivize users, sell credit packages at a slightly lower price than the monetary value of that number of credits or give a discount on purchasing credit packages in members' subscriptions. This will encourage them to pay a reduced amount upfront.
Notes
The credits spent on specific resources in your app can be auto-refunded according to the refund and rescheduling policies in your app.
Since the credit system exists inside your app, only members can get credits and use them as a payment method. Nonmembers and external users cannot use credits.
FAQs
How do members pay when they run out of credits?
How do members pay when they run out of credits?
If a member runs out of credits, the app notifies them about it and prompts them to top up their balance by purchasing a credit package. Otherwise, the member makes a payment with money or another payment method.
What credits are spent first (expiring or permanent)?
What credits are spent first (expiring or permanent)?
If the user has permanent and expiring credits at the same time, the expiring credits are deducted first by the system.
Where can I set up the value of 1 credit in terms of money?
Where can I set up the value of 1 credit in terms of money?
Please note that the app does not have a specific field to set the value of 1 credit. Instead, you can define the credit-to-monetary unit ratio with your team and consistently apply this rule when setting pricing for all resources in the app. For example, you might decide that 1 ☆ equals 1 monetary unit or 1 ☆ equals 10 monetary units.
By maintaining this consistency, you ensure that customers cannot exploit the credit system. They will always pay the equivalent credit price which they would in money. As a result, if they choose to book more expensive resources using their credits, they will run out of their credits faster and will be able to make fewer bookings or purchases, maintaining fairness.