Upgrade or downgrade a membership
Guests may occasionally need to switch to a different membership tier based on their preferences or changing needs. Front desk staff can easily upgrade or downgrade a guest’s recurring membership while ensuring a seamless transition. Additionally, guests or students can upgrade or downgrade their memberships directly from the webstore if the business has enabled the configuration.
Find and access the required guest profile.
On the guest profile, click the Memberships tab.
Click the name of the recurring membership you want to upgrade or downgrade.
Select the Type of transaction for the membership.
For membership upgrade, select the Upgrade option.
Enter the date from which the change is effective.
This date will be in the future. By default, this is set to the current membership's next scheduled date.
Select a membership from the Upgrade to list. This is the membership to which the guest wants to upgrade.
From the Price of new membership options, select the price to apply. You can choose to apply the List Price or give the Discounted Price. If you choose the latter, enter the discounted price in the $ box.
Define the Annual Fee fields. For more information, refer to the Configure Annual Fee section.
Select the Default Payment Type from the list. All saved payment methods are listed here. You should also select the Backup payment Type.
Note
Click on the Add new link to add new cards or payment methods for default and backup payment types.
A backup payment method is an alternative card or payment option used if the primary method fails. It ensures uninterrupted membership access and avoids service disruption due to payment issues.
The Setup Fee refers to a one-time charge that is applied when the new (upgraded or downgraded) membership becomes effective. To add a setup fee, enable the Setup Fee toggle. You can disable the toggle to exclude the fee from the invoice amount. The member is then only required to pay the prorated membership fee and, if applicable, the annual fee.
A set-up fee is typically charged in addition to the recurring membership price and annual fee. It is charged at the time of upgrade or downgrade, not on future recurring cycles.
Pro-rate means calculating a partial charge based on how many days of the billing cycle are used. This ensures payment matches the actual time the membership is active. Switch on the Pro-rate toggle to enable charging for days when membership benefits are used.
Toggle the Pro-rate off to charge a flat fee for the membership.
To assign the employee making the sale or upgrade, select the correct option from the Upgraded By list.
Click Upgrade
For membership stepdown, select the Downgrade option.
Enter the date from which the change is effective.
This date will be in the future. By default, this is set to the current membership's next scheduled date.
Select a membership from the Downgrade to list. This is the membership to which the guest wants to downgrade.
From the Price of new membership options, select the price to apply. You can choose to apply the List Price or give the Discounted Price. If you choose the latter, enter the discounted price in the $ box.
Define the Annual Fee fields. For more information, refer to the Configure Annual Fee section.
Select the Default Payment Type from the list. All saved payment methods are listed here. You should also select the Backup payment Type.
Note
Click on the Add new link to add new cards or payment methods for default and backup payment types.
A backup payment method is an alternative card or payment option used if the primary method fails. It ensures uninterrupted membership access and avoids service disruption due to payment issues.
The Setup Fee refers to a one-time charge that is applied when the new (upgraded or downgraded) membership becomes effective. To add a setup fee, enable the Setup Fee toggle. You can disable the toggle to exclude the fee from the invoice amount. The member is then only required to pay the prorated membership fee and, if applicable, the annual fee.
A set-up fee is typically charged in addition to the recurring membership price and annual fee. It is charged at the time of upgrade or downgrade, not on future recurring cycles.
Pro-rate means calculating a partial charge based on how many days of the billing cycle are used. This ensures payment matches the actual time the membership is active. Switch on the Pro-rate toggle to enable charging for days when membership benefits are used.
Toggle the Pro-rate off to charge a flat fee for the membership.
To assign the employee making the stepdown or downgrade, select the correct option from the Downgraded By list.
Click Downgrade.
Impacts and considerations
You can transfer and undo service credits as required.
Benefits such as service credits, discounts, credit amounts, credit conversions, and special member pricing remain active until the upgraded or downgraded membership expires.
Guests can be added to the upgraded or downgraded membership.
Changing the status of an upgraded or downgraded membership to Freeze, Waive, or Cancel is not supported.
Auto-renewal is not available for upgraded or downgraded memberships.
Pro-rated Membership Charges
When Pro-rate is enabled for a membership, membership charges are adjusted according to the start date. For example, if a membership begins in the middle of the month, only the cost for the remaining days is billed. This approach avoids overcharging and provides fair pricing during upgrades, downgrades, or mid-month starts.
When Pro-rate is disabled, the full fee is charged no matter when the membership starts or changes. Even if a membership begins near the end of the month, the entire monthly price is billed. This method is simpler but may not be effective for partial usage.
New membership starting mid-month
A membership is effective in the middle of a billing cycle, such as starting on June 10 with the next invoice due on July 1, the charge applies only from June 10 to June 30. That covers 21 days of service. This avoids charging for the full month when the membership did not cover the full period.
Upgrading during the cycle
If a membership is upgraded on June 15, only the difference in price between the old and the new membership is charged for the remaining time from June 15 to June 30. This ensures the member pays only for the enhanced value received during that period.
Cancelling Mid-Cycle
When a membership is cancelled before the end of the billing period, some setups allow for a refund or adjustment. The exact outcome depends on the membership cancellation rules and configurations. In some cases, the unused portion may be refunded or converted to credit. In other cases, no refund is given, and the member retains access until the end of the cycle.
Prorated charge calculation
The charge is based on the time used compared to the total billing period. Here is the formula: Pro-rated charge equals the number of days used or remaining divided by the total number of days in the billing cycle, multiplied by the full membership price.
Example calculation: The full monthly membership price is $120. The membership starts on June 10, and the billing cycle runs until June 30. That means 21 days are used out of a 30-day cycle. Pro-rated charge equals 21 divided by 30, multiplied by 120. The result is $84. Only $84 is charged for that first month instead of the full 120.
Configure Annual Fee for membership actions
The annual fee is a once-per-year charge that guests pay in addition to their monthly membership dues. It's usually applied to cover administrative, platform, or premium service access costs.
The annual fee is set up while creating a recurring membership. For more information, refer to create a recurring membership.
While upgrading or downgrading a membership, your staff has control to decide the annual fee amount and payment date. The following fields can be set up to provide a customized annual fee collection for your business.
Annual fee
Select from the available options to define the annual fee that applies after the upgrade or downgrade.
Listed annual fee: Uses the annual fee defined in the setup of the new membership. This value is pre-configured by your administrator when creating the membership.
Discounted annual fee: You can set a custom annual fee, different from the defined amount. Use this if you are offering a reduced rate for promotions, exceptions, or loyalty handling.
Listed annual fee of previous membership: Applies the annual fee from the guest’s current membership. Use this when you want to retain the existing membership fee for the new membership during the upgrade or downgrade.
Annual fee renewal date
Select from the available options to decide when the next annual fee should be charged.
As per current membership: Retains the existing renewal schedule from the guest’s current membership. Use this if you don’t want to change the annual fee date.
New membership configuration: Applies the annual fee schedule defined in the new membership. Use this if the renewal should align with the new membership’s billing cycle.
Add a new payment method for membership upgrade or downgrade
You can add a new payment method while upgrading or downgrading a recurring membership. This option is available for the front desk staff on the web interface and the Zenoti Mobile App (ZMA). To add a new payment method:
Navigate to the guest’s profile and go to the Memberships tab.
Select the required membership and click the Upgrade/Downgrade button.
Navigate to the Default Payment Type or Backup Payment Type field. These are the fields where you can add a new payment method.
Click the Add New option next to the respective field.
For adding a Credit or Debit Card:
In the Add New Payment Account window, select Credit Card from the Select Payment Type dropdown.
Enter the required details such as Card number, Expiry date (MM/YY) , and Name on card.
Click Add Card to save the new payment method.
For adding an ACH Bank Account:
In the Add New Payment Account window, select ACH from the Select Payment Type dropdown.
Enter the required details such as the Account holder's name, Account number, and ABA routing number.
Click Add Account to save the bank details.
After adding the payment method, you can select the same from the Default Payment Type or Backup Payment Type fields and complete the membership upgrade or downgrade action.