You know that accepting recurring payments and getting predictable repeat business from your customers is the holy grail of business revenue. Having that steady income stream of recurring charges takes the pressure off having to go out and seek new business month in and month out.
The Benefits or Recurring Billing
Recurring billing also allows you to:
- Skip the hassle of manual work. You don’t have to send out manual invoices, bill credit card, or cash checks.
- Improve your customer retention. Because customers don’t have to make a separate buying decision each month, the likelihood of them staying with you longer goes up.
- Keep your customer’s info secure. Your customer’s payment info stays secure because there’s less back and forth regarding sensitive financial information.
- Reduce missing or late payments. Since the system is automated, there’s nothing for you or your customers to remember.
- Have fewer conversations. Not having to bug your customers month in and month about payments reduces the number of awkward interactions you have to have with them.
You don’t have to be an online subscription-based business to take advantage of this valuable income stream. There are plenty of product-based businesses that make recurring payments work for them.
Think of your neighborhood car wash, for example. That used to be a one-and-done type of a transaction. But these days, plenty of car washes offer monthly plans. That’s a great way to service those customers that prefer to not have to worry about paying for each wash separately and a new, steady stream of recurring revenue for the business.
Really, it doesn’t matter what type of a business you run… You can probably figure out how to make recurring payments work for your particular use case.
If you’re already one step ahead of the curve and have an existing WordPress website, integrating recurring payments into your business is even easier.
In this quick article, we’ll show you how to accept recurring payments on your WordPress site in five easy steps.
Follow the steps and you’ll be well on our way to growing your customer, client, or donor base without having to worry about collecting payments manually each month.
Step 1: Open a Stripe account
First things first. In order to accept credit card or debit payments, you’ll need a payment processor. We recommend using Stripe. Stripe is reliable, forward-thinking and a much better option than an old-school option like PayPal. To learn why, read this article: Stripe vs. PayPal: Which Should You Choose (and Why).
On Stripe’s website, click the “Create Account” button and go through the steps of putting in your email, choosing a password, etc. Stripe will instantly send you a confirmation email. Click on that link and you’ll automatically be taken to Stripe’s control panel.
Click on “Activate Your Account” and go through the form, filling out your company and bank info. Stripe will take about a week to verify your bank account.
Step 2: Sign up for ChargeKeep
The easiest way to make Stripe work with your WordPress site is using ChargeKeep. It’s much easier than installing a WordPress plugin, which you need to download, install, and keep updated. With ChargeKeep, you simply sign up, connect your Stripe account, and embed (or link to) your payment form.
To sign up for ChargeKeep, go to the website and click on any of the buttons that ask you to sign up for a trial.
Step 3: Connect Stripe to ChargeKeep
Before you can accept recurring payments, you’ll need to connect the Stripe account you created in Step 1 to your new ChargeKeep account. To do that, simply click on “Connect to your Stripe Account” at the top and go through the 2-step process to link your account.
Step 4: Set up a new payment form
Once you’re fully connected, you’ll need to set up the payment form you’d like to link to or embed in your WordPress site.
Click on “New Payment Form” and go through the steps of creating your recurring payment form.
You can choose to preset a subscription plan or have your customer or client choose from different options.
Step 5: Integrate your payment form
Once you’ve created your payment form, your final step is to integrate into your WordPress site. ChargeKeep makes this super easy by giving you a series of scripts you can copy into your site.
You can choose to embed the form into your site, create a pop-up that activates when someone clicks a button or link, or direct your customers to a separate page where they can make their payment.
Get Started Today
Setting up a recurring payment plan for your customers, clients, or donors is easier than ever. With Stripe and ChargeKeep, it doesn’t matter what sort of product or service you provide. You can be up and running in 5 minutes or less.
Want to give it a try yourself?