Instalment plans

Let customers split payments into scheduled instalments for higher-value bookings.

Instalment plans let you break the cost of a booking into multiple scheduled payments, making higher-value activities more accessible. Customers pay an initial amount at checkout and the remaining balance is collected automatically over time through Stripe.

How instalment plans work

1. You configure an instalment plan on an activity or product, defining the number of payments and the schedule.
2. At checkout, customers see the instalment option alongside the full-price payment.
3. The customer pays the first instalment to confirm their booking.
4. Sailia automatically collects subsequent payments on the scheduled dates through Stripe.
5. If all payments are collected, the plan is marked as complete.

The booking is confirmed after the first instalment is paid. The customer has full access to their reservation while the remaining instalments are outstanding.

Setting up instalment plans

To offer instalment payments on an activity:

1. Open the activity settings

   Navigate to the activity you want to offer instalments for and open its pricing configuration.

2. Enable instalment payments

   Toggle on the instalment option and define the payment schedule — the number of instalments, the interval between payments, and the amount for each instalment.

3. Save and publish

   Save your changes. Customers booking the activity now see the instalment option at checkout.

Managing instalment plans

From your financial dashboard, you can track all active instalment plans. Each plan shows:

Field	Description
Customer	The customer’s name and account
Activity	The booked activity and session date
Total amount	The full price of the booking
Paid so far	The total amount collected across completed instalments
Unpaid	The remaining balance still to be collected across future instalments
Next payment	The date and amount of the next scheduled instalment
Status	Active, completed, or abandoned

Use the Unpaid column to quickly identify plans with the largest outstanding balances when reviewing collections or following up with customers.

Payment collection

Instalment payments are processed automatically through Stripe on the scheduled dates. If a payment fails:

• Stripe retries the charge according to its retry schedule.
• The customer is notified about the failed payment.
• If retries are exhausted, the instalment plan may be marked as abandoned.

An abandoned instalment plan means outstanding payments were not collected. Review abandoned plans regularly and follow up with customers to resolve payment issues.

Automating instalment communications

Use automated workflows to keep customers informed throughout the instalment lifecycle. Available triggers include:

Trigger	When it fires
Instalment due	An instalment payment is about to be collected
Instalment paid	An instalment payment has been successfully processed
Instalment plan started	A new instalment plan is created
Instalment plan completed	All instalments are fully paid
Instalment plan abandoned	The plan is terminated due to missed payments

Set up an “instalment due” workflow to send a reminder a few days before each payment. This reduces failed payments and improves the customer experience.

Terminating an instalment plan

You can manually terminate an active instalment plan in two places:

• From the refund wizard — when you’re cancelling the booking and issuing a refund at the same time.
• From the financial dashboard — when the underlying booking items have already been cancelled and you just need to stop future collections.

From the refund wizard

Use this option when a customer cancels a booking that is being paid in instalments and you want to stop future collections at the same time as issuing a refund.

1. Open the booking and select Refund.
2. For the item that is part of an instalment plan, enable Terminate instalment plan for this item.
3. Enter the refund amount and confirm.

Sailia processes the refund, marks the plan as terminated, and emails the customer to confirm that the plan has been cancelled. Outstanding scheduled payments are no longer collected. See Cancelling instalment bookings for the full refund workflow.

If you leave Terminate instalment plan for this item disabled, the plan stays active and Sailia continues to prompt the customer to pay future instalments — even after the refund is issued. Enable the checkbox whenever the refund should also stop the remaining schedule.

From the financial dashboard

Use this option when the booking items linked to an instalment plan have already been cancelled but the plan itself is still in progress — for example, if the refund was issued without enabling Terminate instalment plan for this item, or if the items were cancelled separately. Terminating the plan here stops Sailia from prompting the customer for any remaining payments.

1. Go to your financial dashboard and open the Instalments tab.
2. Select the in-progress instalment plan you want to terminate.
3. If the base booking items have already been cancelled, a Terminate Instalment Plan button appears below the instalment timeline.
4. Click Terminate Instalment Plan and confirm.

The plan moves to a terminated state and no further instalment payments are collected. The button only appears when:

• The plan status is In progress.
• At least one of the original booking items linked to the plan has been cancelled.
• You have the Financial Dashboard permission.

If the booking items are still active, terminate the plan through the refund wizard instead so the cancellation and refund happen together.

Terminating a plan is permanent. Remaining scheduled payments are stopped and cannot be restarted — the customer would need to be rebooked to resume collection.

Troubleshooting

A customer's instalment payment failed

Stripe automatically retries failed payments on its default schedule. If retries are exhausted, the plan is marked as abandoned. Check the customer’s payment method in Stripe and contact them to update their card details if needed.

A customer wants to cancel and stop future payments

Open the booking, select Refund, and enable Terminate instalment plan for this item before confirming. The plan is cancelled along with the refund and no further payments are collected. See Terminating an instalment plan.

The booking was cancelled but the instalment plan is still running

Open the Instalments tab in the financial dashboard, select the plan, and click Terminate Instalment Plan. This button appears whenever the base booking items have been cancelled but the plan is still in progress. See From the financial dashboard.

A customer wants to pay off their remaining balance early

Currently, instalment plans follow the configured schedule. To close a plan early, you can manually process the remaining amount through the point of sale and update the plan status in the dashboard.

Instalment plan shows as abandoned

An abandoned plan means all retry attempts for a scheduled payment have failed. Review the plan in your financial dashboard, contact the customer to resolve the payment issue, and consider rebooking them if needed.

Related guides

Payments and Stripe

How Sailia processes payments and handles failed charges.

Automated workflows

Set up email reminders for upcoming instalment payments.