Using Stripe subscriptions as payment plans
A subscription that cancels itself after six payments is the most common Stripe payment plan workaround. It works until the plan needs a deposit, a change or a balance.
How the workaround is usually set up
- Create a recurring price equal to one installment.
- Start a subscription for the customer and charge the deposit separately.
- Set the subscription to cancel after the final installment, or use a subscription schedule with a fixed number of iterations.
- Track the total, what has been paid and what remains in a spreadsheet.
Subscription vs. payment plan
| Question | Subscription workaround | Payment plan in Cadence |
|---|---|---|
| Designed to | Renew until canceled | Finish when the total is paid |
| Deposit up front | Separate invoice or one-off item to remember | Part of the plan |
| Agreed total | Implied by price × number of cycles | Stored with the plan |
| Remaining balance | Work it out yourself | Shown for every customer |
| Uneven amounts | Needs schedule phases | Any leftover cent handled |
| Move one payment | Edit billing dates or phases by hand | Preview the new schedule first (drafts today) |
| Customer agrees to the schedule | Not built in | Customer accepts the exact terms |
Cadence’s collection features are in a sandbox pilot. Changing a plan a customer has already accepted is planned.
Signs you’ve outgrown it
- You keep a spreadsheet to answer “how much do I still owe?”
- A subscription billed one month too many because the end date was missed.
- A customer asked to skip a month and you weren’t sure how to change it safely.
- You can’t say at a glance what’s outstanding across all plans.
Cadence keeps the plan and its balance, and uses Stripe invoices on your account to collect. See how Stripe payment plans work in Cadence.
Questions
Can I set a Stripe subscription to end after a number of payments?
Yes. You can set a cancellation date on a subscription, or use a subscription schedule with a set number of iterations. Both stop billing after the last payment.
What are Stripe subscription schedules?
A subscription schedule lets you plan changes to a subscription over time in phases, such as a different price for the first months or an end date. It is flexible, but it models billing cycles rather than a balance owed.
When is a subscription good enough?
When every payment is the same amount, there is no deposit, you rarely change dates and you have few customers on plans. Past that, the bookkeeping moves into a spreadsheet.
How does Cadence collect instead?
Cadence issues each installment as a Stripe invoice from your account, tied to one plan and one balance. Automatic charging of a saved card is planned; today the customer pays each invoice on Stripe.
Offer the plan. Know the balance.
Stripe collection is in a sandbox pilot. No live payments yet.