Payments and Billing

Money drives more support questions than any other topic, so this guide goes into detail. The short version: parents pay, club owners collect through Stripe Connect, and Prodemy takes a platform fee. Refunds are the club owner's decision, not ours. Read on for the details.

What the support chatbot can and can't help with#

Prodemy's in-app chatbot can answer any question about how billing works on Prodemy: auto-pay, coupons, refund policies, late fees, auto-lock, receipts, Stripe Connect setup, how the platform fee is calculated, and everything else covered in this guide. Ask it anything.

There are a few things the chatbot can't do:

• Look up your specific account, charges or payment history.
• Reverse a charge, issue a refund, or override your club owner's refund decision.
• Investigate why a specific transaction failed or why your Stripe payout hasn't arrived.

These are account-level actions, so a person needs to look at your data. If that's what you need, raise a ticket through Contact us and include your payment ID. For anything else, keep reading or ask the chatbot.

How Prodemy payments work#

Prodemy is a marketplace. When a parent pays for a class or tournament, the money goes straight into the club's own Stripe Connect account; Prodemy never holds it. At the moment of the charge, Prodemy's platform commission is deducted automatically as a Stripe application fee and sent to Prodemy. The club receives the rest on its usual Stripe payout schedule.

Every coach belongs to a club, so coaching payments always go through that club's Stripe Connect account, with the platform commission deducted. That includes coaches who own their club themselves.

Platform subscriptions (if you're on a student plan) go 100% to Prodemy and are billed through Stripe Billing.

One rule applies everywhere: payments are financial forward-only, which means there are no retroactive changes. The commission rate, Stripe fee handling, class fee and every other price detail are recorded on the payment at the moment it's created. If a club raises its fee next month, existing enrollments keep the old price until their next billing cycle.

Who pays for what#

On Prodemy, the parent always pays for any activity involving their child. Students can't pay for themselves unless they're 18 or older and the club has turned on adult student self-pay for them.

How checkout works depends on who starts it:

• When a parent starts it (booking a coach, registering for a tournament, or enrolling their child in a class), checkout happens in the same flow and they pay by card on the spot.
• When a child starts it (a student enrolls themselves from their dashboard), the enrollment is created and linked to the parent's account as a pending payment. The child sees "Awaiting parent payment," and the parent gets a notification with a Pay now button.
• When an adult student (18+) pays for themselves, and the club allows it, they pay directly from their own Payments page. No parent is involved.

Every pending payment, whatever its type (class, tournament, workshop, camp, coaching session, club membership, lane booking or subscription), appears in one combined list on the parent's Payments page.

What the “Platform fee” line on your bill is#

Clubs present Prodemy's fee and the payment processor's fee in one of two ways, and both are normal:

• Bundled into the price. The club sets a price that already covers both fees. You see one number at checkout and no separate fee line.
• Shown separately. The advertised price stays as it is, and the fees appear as their own line called Platform fee.

If you see a Platform fee line, it covers two different things:

1. Prodemy's commission — our charge for running the platform, a percentage set in your club's agreement with us.
2. The payment processor's fee — what Stripe charges to move the money. Card is 2.9% + $0.30; bank transfer (ACH) is 0.8%, capped at $5.

Clubs are on one of three plans with us (per-transaction, hybrid or flat monthly), so the commission part varies from club to club. On a flat monthly plan there's no commission on your payment at all, and the line is called Processing fee instead, because it's purely the processor's charge.

Here's what it looks like on a $100 class at a club on the standard 3.5% commission:

You pay by	Fee line	Your total
Card	+$6.90	$106.90
Bank transfer (ACH)	+$4.33	$104.33
Offline (cash or cheque)	+$9.19	$109.19

The line is worked out so your club receives the full $100 it charged. Everything above that covers the commission and the processor.

Can I pay less?#

Yes, by paying with bank transfer instead of card, if your club allows it. Bank transfer (ACH) costs 0.8% capped at $5, compared with 2.9% + $0.30 for a card. On a $100 class, that's $104.33 instead of $106.90. On larger amounts the $5 cap makes the saving much bigger: on a $500 registration, a card adds about $33 and a bank transfer adds about $22.50. You choose your method at checkout. You link a bank by signing in to it through Stripe; if your bank can't be linked that way, verification takes 1–2 business days, so set it up before a due date rather than on the day itself.

Paying offline doesn't avoid the fee. Cash or cheque still carries your club's commission, and most clubs add an offline processing fee on top, so paying offline usually costs more than paying by card, not less. The checkout screen shows the online and offline totals side by side before you choose, so you can compare them yourself.

You can't opt out of the fee itself. Whether fees are passed on to families is your club's decision. If you think the fee is being applied wrongly, raise a ticket through Contact us with your payment ID and we'll check the calculation. We can't waive a club's own setting, though.

Payment methods#

Prodemy supports two kinds of payment method:

• Cards and wallets — Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Discover, plus Apple Pay, Google Pay and Link (Stripe's saved-details wallet) where supported. A payment made with Link shows as Card on your Payments page.
• Bank account (ACH) — a direct debit from your bank. You link your bank by signing in to it through Stripe. If your bank can't be linked that way, Stripe sends two small test deposits for you to confirm instead, which takes 1–2 business days.

Stripe's fees are separate and depend on the method. Card fees are typically 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, and ACH fees are typically 0.8% (capped at $5). Prodemy's admins configure the exact rates, so they may vary slightly.

Cards are charged instantly. ACH works in the background: the charge starts right away but can take 3–5 business days to clear, and during that time the payment shows as "Processing."

Saving a payment method#

There are two ways to save a card or bank account, and they do different things:

• At checkout. The payment form has a box that says "Save payment details for future purchases." Tick it and that card or bank account is offered again the next time you pay: one click, no re-typing and, for a bank, no re-linking. Leave it unticked and it isn't offered again. A method saved this way appears only in the checkout form, where you can also remove it. It isn't listed on your Payments page, and auto-pay doesn't use it.
• On your Payments page. A card you add there is listed under your payment methods, can be set as your default, is offered at every checkout, and is the card auto-pay charges.

If a card or bank account you saved earlier isn't offered, tick the box again the next time you pay.

Who picks card vs bank#

You choose between card and bank at checkout, on the Stripe Checkout page. Both options are available unless the club has turned one off. Some clubs pass different Stripe fees on to the parent depending on the method used, and the checkout page shows the exact amount before you confirm. New clubs pass the card processing fee on to the payer by default, and your checkout total always reflects the final amount.

Reading your Payments page#

Each row on your Payments page shows how it was paid (Card, Bank for ACH, or the name of an offline method), so a bank payment is never mislabeled as a card payment. A payment made with Stripe Link shows as Card. A filter toolbar lets you narrow the list with date-range chips, per-column filters, sortable columns and search.

The date column changes meaning to suit the tab you're on: it shows Due date on Upcoming, Paid date on History, and Next charge on Auto-pay. Click any row to open a full detail view with the complete date timeline, who the payment belongs to, and any coupons, credits and refund history.

Working out what a charge was for#

Go to Payments and open the History tab. Each row shows the date it was paid, the amount, which child it was for, and a description naming the class or event and the period it covered. A monthly class charge, for example, reads as the class name plus the month it paid for.

Two things commonly surprise people:

• A charge is dated when it was paid, not when the class ran. A payment for next month's classes is often taken at the end of this month.
• The amount can be larger than the class fee if a platform fee, late fee or one-off registration fee was added. Open the row to see the breakdown.

If the breakdown still doesn't explain the charge, we'll need to look up your specific account. Raise a ticket through Contact us and include the payment ID from that row.

Auto-pay#

Auto-pay lets Prodemy charge your saved card (or bank account) automatically on the due date of any recurring payment, such as class fees, club memberships and platform subscriptions.

Turning auto-pay on#

You can turn on auto-pay in three places:

• At checkout: tick the "Enable auto-pay for future payments of this class" box.
• On your Payments page: open the Auto-pay tab and switch it on for each payment item.
• On a specific pending payment: click Enable auto-pay before you pay.

Before each auto-charge#

You'll get a reminder 3 days before each charge. Both the email and the in-app notification show the amount, the card on file (last 4 digits), the charge date, and a Disable auto-pay link.

Turning auto-pay off#

Go to Payments, open the Auto-pay tab, and switch it off. Your next payment becomes a manual one that you pay by the due date. There's no penalty, and you don't need to re-enroll.

What if the auto-charge fails#

If the charge fails (for example, the card is declined or the bank account has been closed), the payment is marked as failed and you're notified. Your club's reminder schedule then starts, and after a few days the grace period ends and auto-lock may apply. You can update your payment method and retry from the Payments page.

Coupons#

Club owners can create discount codes. Coupons are optional, and most classes don't have one.

Entering a coupon at checkout#

At checkout, expand the Have a coupon code? field, type the code (capital letters don't matter) and apply it. If the code is valid, the discount shows on the summary line straight away. If not, you'll see an error in plain language. The most common ones are:

• "Coupon expired" — the valid-until date has passed.
• "Coupon not valid for this item" — the coupon is limited to a specific class or event type that doesn't match what you're buying.
• "Coupon usage limit reached" — too many people have already used it, or you've reached your personal maximum number of uses.
• "Coupon requires higher amount" — there's a minimum purchase.
• "Coupon not for your account" — the coupon is locked to a different parent's account.

Types of coupons#

• Percentage off — for example, 20% off.
• Fixed amount off — for example, $10 off.
• Free trial period — for example, the first month free.
• Sibling discount — stackable with other enrollments at the same club.

Platform commission when using coupons#

This one matters for club owners: platform commission is calculated on the pre-coupon amount. If a $100 class has a 10% coupon and the parent pays $90, Prodemy's commission is still calculated on the original $100, so the club absorbs the discount. This is standard practice for marketplaces.

A coupon can be set to apply to the class fee, the registration fee (see the next section), or both, so check what a particular code covers.

One-time class registration fee#

Some clubs charge a once-a-year registration fee on top of class fees. If yours does, you'll see it added to your first class enrollment of the season at that club. A few things to know:

• It's charged once per season. You pay it once per student, per club, per season. Enrolling in another class later in the same season doesn't charge it again.
• It's non-refundable. By policy, the registration fee isn't refunded even if you cancel later; any refund is calculated without it.
• Coupons can be set up to discount it (or not). The checkout breakdown shows exactly what you're paying.
• The club sets the amount and the date its season starts. Students who are already enrolled when a club first turns the fee on are grandfathered.

Whether you see a registration fee at all is up to your club, and many clubs don't charge one.

Offline payments#

Not every family pays online. Prodemy lets you record payments you've made offline by Zelle, cash, check or direct bank transfer.

How it works#

1. You pay the club directly, for example by sending a Zelle, handing over cash or dropping off a check.
2. You record the payment on your Payments page: click Record offline payment on the pending item, pick the method (Zelle, Cash, Check or Bank transfer), enter a reference number (such as the Zelle confirmation code or the check number), and submit.
3. The club owner sees the recorded payment in their Reconciliation dashboard and confirms they received it.
4. Once it's confirmed, the payment is marked as paid and any related access, such as a class enrollment, becomes active.

Until the club confirms, the payment shows "Awaiting club confirmation" on your side.

The offline processing fee#

Paying offline may add a small processing fee, so paying offline isn't a way to avoid the cost of handling payments. When a club has this fee turned on, the checkout screen shows the online total and the offline total side by side before you choose, so you can see the difference (paying online often saves you a little). The fee is split between Prodemy and the club: the club keeps its share, and Prodemy's share is billed to the club later. Prodemy's admins set the rate and the split, and club owners can see the rate that applies to them on their fee-agreement card.

If the club rejects an offline submission#

A club owner can reject a recorded offline payment if it doesn't check out: the payment wasn't received, the amount doesn't match, the reference is invalid, or it's a duplicate. You'll be notified, the payment goes back to unpaid, and you can pay again another way. A rejection isn't a refund, because no money moved. It's simply the club saying it didn't receive this payment.

Offline payments and platform commission#

Prodemy still charges the platform commission on offline payments. The commission is deducted first from the club's next online Stripe payout, and any remainder is invoiced monthly. This keeps the platform fee consistent no matter how the parent paid.

Refunds#

Refunds are the most common support question. The short answer: the club owner decides the refund. Prodemy isn't involved in the refund decision itself.

How it works#

• Prodemy doesn't set a minimum refund or a guaranteed refund window. Each club sets its own refund policy.
• Refund amounts, eligibility windows and partial-refund percentages are all the club's call. For tournaments, camps and workshops, the event's refund policy is shown when you register.

Requesting a refund#

There's no refund button on your Payments page. To ask for a refund on a class or another payment, contact your club directly; the club owner decides and issues it. Event registrations are different: cancelling the registration sends the refund to the club owner for a decision (see Cancelling an event registration below).

Refund method#

When the club approves a refund, they choose one of these methods:

• Stripe refund — the money goes back to your original card or bank account within 5–10 business days. A payment made with Stripe Link can be refunded the same way as a card payment.
• Platform credit — a credit on your Prodemy account that's applied automatically to your next payment at the same club. It doesn't transfer between clubs.
• Prodemy credit — occasionally Prodemy itself (not a club) gives you a credit. It shows on your Payments page as Credit at Prodemy and is used only on bills Prodemy sends you directly. It's never used on a club's bill, and a club's credit is never used on a Prodemy bill. Bills from Prodemy are paid by card or bank account; they can't be recorded as paid offline.

You'll see the refund status and method on the Payments page, and an email confirms when the refund has been processed.

If the club denies or ignores the refund#

Raise a ticket through Contact us. Include the payment ID (shown on the Payments page), the date you requested the refund, and any messages you've exchanged with the club. Prodemy doesn't mediate refund decisions, but we do mediate disputes when the process has broken down, for example if the club never responded, or the refund was processed but the money never reached you.

When a club ends a class or archives a package#

• When a class ends, it finishes at the end of the current billing period, so you get the rest of the period you've already paid for. Any unpaid bills for after the end date are cancelled, and you won't be charged for them. If you had already paid for a later period, the club can see that and decides whether to refund it or give you platform credit, so contact the club.
• When a package is archived, the club has stopped selling it. If you've already paid, you keep your remaining sessions. An unpaid purchase of the package is cancelled.

Cancelling an event registration#

Cancelling a tournament, camp or workshop registration works a little differently from a class refund. You cancel from the registration itself (see the Parent's Guide). This cancels the whole registration group and sends your refund to the club owner's refund queue for a decision. The club owner chooses the amount and the method (card, platform credit or offline), and you're notified of the outcome. Stripe's processing fee and any one-time registration fee aren't refundable.

Late fees#

When a payment is past due, late fees may apply. The club owner sets them up for each class, and they vary widely.

Common setups#

• Flat late fee — for example, $15 added after the grace period ends, capped at a maximum total.
• Daily late fee — for example, $1 a day, capped at a maximum.
• Percentage — for example, 5% of the overdue amount.

Grace period#

Every class has a grace period, in days, after the due date before late fees start. For new classes, the platform default is now 0 (no grace period), so a club has to opt in by setting one. The grace period for your class is shown on the confirmation screen and on the payment detail page.

Seeing the exact amount owed#

Go to Payments and find the overdue item. The total shown includes the original fee plus any late fees that have built up, and it updates automatically as the days pass.

Auto-lock#

If a payment goes far enough past due, your dashboard may lock automatically. This is a club-level setting, and not every class has it turned on. In fact, the platform default for new classes is "never auto-lock," so a club has to turn it on deliberately.

What auto-lock does#

• Your parent dashboard pages (except Payments, Settings and Payment Methods) are grayed out with a lock icon and a red banner.
• The banner reads: "Access locked! Please make payment to resume access."
• While you're locked, you can't enroll in new classes, book coaches or register for tournaments.

Warning before lock#

You get a warning notification (by email and in-app) 3 days before auto-lock takes effect. Pay within those 3 days and the lock never happens.

How to get unlocked#

Pay the overdue item. Stripe confirms a successful charge within minutes, and your access unlocks automatically. You don't need to log out and back in; the dashboard refreshes and removes the lock on its own.

For offline payments, the lock is lifted when the club owner confirms they've received the payment. Depending on the club, that can take a day or two.

Manual lock by club owner#

Separately from auto-lock, club owners can lock a family's access manually for any reason (for example, behavior issues). A manual lock is lifted by the club, not by making a payment. If you've been locked manually and don't know why, raise a ticket.

When will I get a payment reminder, and by email?#

You get an in-app notification at every reminder step, plus reminder emails for the ones that matter most:

• 3 days before a payment is due, you get a "due in 3 days" email. If you're on auto-pay, you get the auto-pay charge preview instead.
• On the due date, and again while the payment stays overdue, you get a due-today or overdue email. These repeat on your club's reminder schedule, up to the reminder limit your club has set (commonly five overdue reminders). Nothing is emailed while a payment is still comfortably in the future.
• Payment reminder emails go to every payer by default. Because they're about money you owe, turning off other email notifications doesn't affect them.

If you're on auto-pay, you won't get a "pay now" email on the due date itself, because we may still be charging your card. You'll only hear from us if the charge actually fails and the payment becomes overdue. A bill your club has just set up for you (for example, a coach assigning you to a class today) skips the due-day email and starts with the first overdue reminder. If you've already paid your club directly, the reminders stop as soon as the club marks the payment as received.

Does an unpaid enrollment get cancelled automatically?#

No. Simply not having paid yet never cancels an enrollment or releases the seat, however long the invoice has been outstanding. An unpaid invoice leads to reminders, late fees and possibly auto-lock, but your place is kept.

There's one narrow exception, and it applies to a payment that failed, not one that's merely unpaid. If a payment attempt is declined (the card is rejected or the bank account is closed) and it isn't retried or paid within 7 days, the enrollment is cancelled and the seat is released. You're notified when that happens, and you can re-enroll. Updating your payment method and retrying, or paying by any other method, before the 7 days are up prevents the cancellation.

If you re-enroll in a new season, a registration fee may apply again.

Receipts#

Every paid payment comes with a receipt, and you can get it in two ways:

• Open Payments, go to the History tab, click the item, then click View receipt to see an itemized breakdown.
• Click Download receipt to get a PDF.

Receipts include the parent's name, the child's name (if applicable), a description, the amount, Stripe fees (if they were passed on to the parent), platform fees (shown openly), the date, and a unique transaction ID.

For tax or accounting purposes, the PDF is the official version.

Platform subscriptions (student plans)#

If you're on a paid Prodemy student plan (Beginner at $0.99/month or Advanced at $2.99/month), your subscription is billed separately through Stripe Billing.

Managing your subscription#

Open Settings, then Subscription. From there you can:

• See your current plan and next billing date.
• Upgrade or downgrade (the change is prorated).
• Cancel. Your subscription shows as cancelling, you keep access until the end of the period you've paid for, and then you drop to the free plan.

If you cancel and change your mind#

Before the paid period ends, click Resume subscription. Your subscription becomes active again and the next renewal is charged as normal.

Club owner billing (the platform fee you pay)#

Club owners, this section is for you. It covers the platform fee Prodemy charges your club, which is separate from the per-transaction commission.

Three fee models#

When your club is approved, a Prodemy admin picks one of these models:

• Percentage — Prodemy takes a set percentage of every paid transaction, with no monthly fee. It's deducted automatically at the time of each payment as a Stripe application fee.
• Fixed monthly — Prodemy charges a flat monthly fee (for example, $49/month) regardless of your transaction volume. It's billed by Stripe invoice once a month on your billing day (see below), with no per-transaction cut.
• Hybrid — a lower per-transaction percentage plus a smaller monthly base fee. Both apply.

Your model and rate are shown in your club settings: open Settings, then Billing. If you'd like to change models, get in touch through Contact us. Changes take effect from the next billing cycle and are never retroactive.

Monthly invoice (fixed monthly and hybrid)#

For these two models, Prodemy creates one Stripe invoice a month, on your billing day. Hybrid clubs are always billed on the 1st. For a flat monthly plan, the Prodemy admin picks one of these when setting up your agreement:

• The 1st of the month.
• The 15th of the month.
• Your anniversary day — the day of the month your club was approved (capped at 28).

If you have a saved payment method on file, we charge it automatically when the invoice is issued. Otherwise, we email you a link to the Stripe-hosted invoice so you can pay it yourself, and it's due 7 days after it's issued.

Receipts for every paid invoice are in Settings, under Billing and then Invoices, linked directly to the Stripe-hosted PDF.

Auto-charge setup#

Open Settings and find the Auto-pay payment method card. You can save either a card or a bank account. A bank account costs your club less in processing fees on every invoice, but it may need to be verified first: Stripe sends two small test deposits that arrive in one to two business days, and you confirm them on Stripe's page. Once a method is saved, Prodemy charges it automatically when each invoice is issued.

If a monthly invoice fails#

If your saved card is declined or your bank rejects the payment, the invoice stays open while Stripe retries it, and you get an email and an in-app alert after the first failed attempt. After 3 failed attempts, Prodemy's admins are notified too. A bank payment takes three to five business days to clear, and an invoice isn't treated as overdue while that payment is still clearing. Nothing automatically suspends your club; we'll reach out to you.

Your first monthly invoice (no proration)#

Your first invoice works exactly like every one after it: it covers a whole billing period starting on your billing day and charges your full monthly base fee. There's no first-month proration and no setting to turn it on. For example, with a $480 monthly base fee, the base-fee line on your first invoice is $480, even if your fee started part-way through a month.

Disputes#

Prodemy doesn't mediate disagreements over a club's policies; those are between you and the club. We do help with problems on the platform itself.

What counts as a platform dispute#

• The app charged the wrong amount.
• A refund was approved but never arrived.
• Auto-pay charged for an enrollment that had been cancelled.
• Your Stripe account is missing payouts.
• A technical fault broke the payment flow.

How to escalate#

Raise a ticket through Contact us and include:

• The payment ID (from the Payments page or your receipt).
• What you expected to happen, and what actually happened.
• The dates of the transaction and of any follow-up messages.
• Screenshots, if you have them.

We read every ticket and reply by email. There's no live chat with a person.

What is NOT a platform dispute#

• "The class wasn't good and I want a refund." Contact the club.
• "I changed my mind about enrolling after the club's refund window." That's the club's call.
• "The coach didn't show up." Contact the club first. If they don't respond within 48 hours, raise a ticket.

Chargebacks (disputing through your bank)#

If you dispute a Prodemy charge directly with your card issuer or bank, that's called a chargeback. Prodemy records and tracks chargebacks, but they're slow (they take weeks) and they can pull funds back from your club, so they're a blunt tool. Please try the normal refund request or a support ticket first. It's almost always faster, and it keeps you in good standing with your club. Use a chargeback only as a genuine last resort.

Tax and 1099#

Club owners: Prodemy doesn't issue 1099 forms. Your Stripe Connect account issues 1099-K forms directly to U.S. clubs that meet the threshold. Sign in to your Stripe Express dashboard to see them.

Parents: Prodemy doesn't issue tax receipts beyond the receipt for each payment. Some activities may qualify for dependent care credits, so check with a tax professional.

If this doesn't help#

Raise a ticket through Contact us. For payment questions, include the payment ID from the Payments page, the date of the transaction, and a clear description of what's wrong. A person reads every ticket and replies by email.