Payments

Collect money in advance with paid event tickets on Heylo.

Leaders use paid events on Heylo to organize volleyball tournaments, running challenges, brunches, parties, and family picnics. Not only do the extra resources enhance the event experience, but payment in advance also reduces no-shows. Paid events hold everyone accountable and help members show up.

Furthermore, all events on Heylo, paid events are social. Members can see who is hosting and attending, and the event chat builds momentum before the event starts. Making group events social on Heylo typically increases payment volumes beyond leader expectations, especially when paid events are utilized in an active group.

On Heylo, leaders collect money anytime before the event. Members sign up with payment info, and then their payment info is billed at the designated event collection time. The timing can be controlled by setting a cancellation period as described below.

Payments are paid out automatically when money is received via the linked bank account. There is no waiting for a manual payout or after the event ends. Hosts often need the money in advance of the event, anyways!

Creating a paid event

To create a paid event, add a price to the event registration. You can offer multiple registrations with different prices. A member can only sign up for one registration.

Multiple prices help make the event more accessible and increase revenue.

Here are ways groups use paid events:

• Donations. Offer a donation option to collect voluntary contributions for your event! Members can opt to donate and pay the higher amount.
• Premium. Add a “VIP” or higher-end experience for members who want to join and receive extra benefits
• Member benefit. Drop your price for members and add a higher price for the general public
• Add-on. Don’t stop once the event ends! Use an add-on to keep bringing people together, whether it’s an after-party or post-event meal.

The event host can decide who pays the fees for the event. If the group absorbs fees, the exact event price is the final price paid. If the member absorbs fees, the member pays the listed price plus service fees, and the group receives the exact event price upon payout.

A bank account must be linked for the paid event to be published.

Cancellation period and refunds

The host of the event can determine the cancellation period for the event. The cancellation period is set when the payment is collected. For example, if an event is at 6:00 pm with a 12-hour cancellation period, payments from signed-up attendees will be collected at 6:00 am that same day. To collect payment immediately, set a payment cancellation period greater than the time to sign up for the event.

A member can change their event sign-up any time before the cancellation period without charge. After the cancellation period, sign-ups cannot be changed and the event becomes non-refundable. Anyone who signs up after the cancellation period is charged immediately. If there is an issue with refunds during this period, get in touch with the Heylo team.

By default, events have a 12-hour cancellation policy prior to the start of the event.

Early bird tickets and changing event price

Event hosts can change the price of the event over time. Members are charged for the price at the moment in which they sign up which gives the host ultimate control over event pricing.

For example, if a host wants to encourage early sign-ups, they can use an early bird pricing structure. The event can start at $10 per ticket, and then increase to $20 at the host's discretion. Anyone who signs up at $10 is charged $10 no matter the cancellation policy.

Once an attendee signs up for a paid event, an admin can adjust the price for that specific person on an individual basis until the cancellation period expires.

Signing up for a paid event

When a member signs up for a paid event, they must have valid payment info for their account. A preauthorization charge confirms their payment amount. Thereafter, their card is charged according to the payment terms of the event.

Paid events are the ultimate way to ensure attendance and deliver a great experience for members.

To receive payments collected on Heylo, simply link a bank account! It only takes a few minutes to set up. Both personal and business bank accounts are acceptable.

Deposits to the link bank account are automated. They occur weekly, every Friday, via ACH. The money you receive is net of platform and payment processing fees.

There is a two-day collection period offset to payouts. For example, if money is collected on Thursday the 10th, it will be paid out the following Friday, the 18th.

Bank accounts and all payment info are securely stored with our partner Stripe, a certified PCI Service Provider Level 1 - the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry. https://stripe.com/docs/security.

Admins can use Heylo to collect a required membership from members. Because the group organizes and engages on Heylo, Heylo will create a paywall around the group that requires dues to be paid upon joining and revokes access when memberships are canceled. Admins can always make exceptions.

Unlike manual, one-time payment collection, memberships on Heylo are automatically recurring. Furthermore, members can sign up anytime, and Heylo will record the appropriate billing date and automatically bill for the future billing date. Admins no longer need to dread the due collection cycle! They can sign up new members throughout the year, and Heylo will manage all payments on their behalf.

Admins can create several payment options for members through membership plans. For example, a group may have the following visible membership plans:

• Annual membership
• Monthly membership
• Scholarship

A member can select which plan is best for them and can change or cancel their membership directly in Heylo at any time.

In addition, a group can set a free trial time period, like 7 or 30 days, for members to experience the group before being required to pay. After the time period, Heylo displays a paywall and members must pay to access the group. Admins can still contact these members, but the members cannot access the group. Free trial periods can be edited by an admin at any time.

Membership plans can be visible or hidden by the admin at any time.

Membership plans provide ultimate flexibility by offering multiple ways for members to contribute back.

Membership plans provide admins complete control and flexibility to collect recurring membership payments. Admins can create as many membership plans as needed to meet their members' needs.

Membership plans can either be visible to members, or hidden. Members can view and select between all visible membership plans. Hidden membership plans require an admin to add a member. Hidden membership plans can be used for special, restricted pricing or VIP members. 

Each membership plan can be customized:

• Name
• Description
• Price
• Initiation fee (one-time charge added to the first payment)
• Frequency (monthly, quarterly, annually)
• Visibility
• Admin approval (requires an admin to approve members on that plan)

For annual membership tiers, paid members will receive an email and push notification reminder 30 days before their annual billing period renews.

Admins can designate which membership plan to be the default. Thereafter, membership plans are sorted by price, with the highest price first. There is no limit to the number of membership plans; however, the Heylo team recommends no more than 3 visible plans to avoid member confusion. Membership plans can be added anytime, even after the membership is launched.

To edit a membership plan, tap the plan in the membership plan section of the admin settings, and select “edit”. Everything can be edited with the exception of price and frequency (see increasing membership prices). An admin can also delete a membership plan if no one is on that plan.

Each membership plan has a special link that an admin can share to invite someone to the group on a specific membership plan.

Launching membership

To launch a membership, link the bank account and double-check the membership plans. Once everything looks good, launch! Congrats, your membership is live!

Head over to your membership analytics to see who signed up.

Once launched, membership can be managed by moving members across plans. To get help unlaunching a membership, get in touch with the Heylo team.

A supporting membership provides leaders the benefit of membership dues without the rigidity of a mandatory payment. The group stays open and free, but members can choose to join the membership and support the group at their option. Many groups on Heylo collect supporting memberships without any benefit other than helping offset the costs of the group. However, an admin can ascribe benefits to the membership plan with a role.

Best practices

• Be transparent! Help the leadership team and members understand WHY there is a supporting membership
• Don't be shy. Include the supporting membership in group communications, both on Heylo and in person
• Reiterate your mission. Remind members why they are here. They are more likely to contribute.

Setting up supporting membership

To set a supporting membership, navigate to membership type in the admin settings. Members can still join the group without payment, but they can sign up for a paid membership at their discretion anytime from the group tab. Supporting memberships are automatically recurring and cancellable anytime.

Add a message to the supporting membership to clarify the mission and why the membership helps support the group.

Member communications

After launching the membership, Heylo will automatically prompt membership reminders to free members after 1 week of joining and every 2 weeks thereafter. Supporting membership is also available for members to join from the group tab or events.

Groups should occasionally increase prices. Members react better to less frequent, larger price increases as opposed to many small increases. The emotional stress of paying more is often higher than the financial burden.

To increase prices on Heylo, create a new membership plan with the new price. If the price increase is uniform for all members, move the existing members to the new plan. They will be notified and charged accordingly.

If the price increase is only for new members, make the existing membership plan hidden and make the new membership plan visible. New members will only be able to see the new membership plan and price when signing up.

When a member’s credit card fails, they have 7 days to add a new payment card. The new payment card is automatically charged for the past balance, and there is no change to the billing period.

If the member does not pay in the 7-day grace period, they are considered a canceled member.

For groups coming from another membership platform, the group’s data can be transferred to Heylo seamlessly. Member info like payment timelines, check-in counts, or names can be uploaded with customized invites for each member. Existing payment dates and frequencies can be respected in Heylo.

There is no cost associated with a transition. The Heylo team will assist with customized member uploads. Get in touch with the Heylo team - we’re happy to help!

A paid member can change membership plans if multiple are visible. Navigate to the group (the group logo will be on the left header) and select my membership. Then select the option to change the plan. Members are charged pro rata for any discrepancy in billing. There is no limit to the number of membership plan changes.

An admin can also adjust a member’s membership plan by either visiting the member's profile and tapping “manage member”, or by selecting “membership plans” from admin settings, viewing members, and selecting members to move to another plan.

To cancel a membership, navigate to the group tab of the membership group. Under “My membership”, select “cancel”. When canceled, payment info is no longer charged, and membership can be restarted at any time. Access to the group may be revoked in accordance with the group membership.

Heylo’s fee to process payments is 3.7% + $0.59 USD + payment processing fees from Stripe.

Heylo makes money by helping leaders collect member payments. There are no other fees to use Heylo. Our business model aligns our incentives with leaders. Heylo only gets paid when groups get paid.

Why payments on Heylo

To survive over the long term, groups need a path to financial freedom. Payments help group leaders get the resources they need. Plus, when members pay, member engagement increases. People show up for what they pay for.

Heylo helps group leaders collect payments such as membership dues, supporting memberships, or paid events.

The best experience for group leaders and members alike is adding payments to Heylo. Because payments are integrated into the Heylo group, Heylo utilizes paywalls and social incentives to collect member payments. Admins no longer need to juggle multiple systems. Members can pay without friction by credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, right where they engage with the group.

Tailor who pays fees

Admins can select who pays fees for paid events. To pass fees onto members upon checkout, toggle "Abosb fees." If members pay fees, the group receives the full amount of the paid event ticket with no deduction.

Seamless payouts

All payment processing fees are automatically deducted from payouts so leaders don’t have to add yet another bill to pay. Payments are collected and automatically sent to your linked bank account every Friday.

Cheaper than alternatives

Heylo’s fees are less than alternative payment platforms. Eventbrite charges 3.7% + $1.79, a full $1.20 more than Heylo with no need for leaders to pay organizer fees. Meetup is even more expensive at 7% + recurring organizer fees.

Members can pay on the Heylo mobile app or website using debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. Paypal and Venmo are not accepted.

Tax depends on specific dynamics of the group, like legal structure and jurisdiction. We recommend speaking to a tax advisor for specific questions.

For groups in the United States, Heylo will send 1099 forms when annual payment volumes exceed a threshold in accordance with local regulation.

To view the latest threshold for 1099 forms, see Stripe's documentation.

Anyone can access their payment information and payment history on Heylo under “My account” in the top right, and then “My payments”.

If a receipt is required for a payment, get in touch with the Heylo team.

Heylo only issues refunds at the request of a group admin or event host. If a payment was made incorrectly, please contact the event host or admin to inquire about a refund.

Event hosts and admins request refunds by contacting the Heylo team.

Heylo supports groups around the world and can collect payments in over 10 currencies including:

• Australian Dollars AUD
• Canadian Dollars CAD
• Columbian Pesos COP
• Euros EUR
• British Pounds GBP
• Hong Kong Dollars HKD
• Japenese Yen JPY
• Mexican Pesos MXN
• Swiss Francs CHF
• US Dollars USD

International payment conversion

Heylo can collect international payments and convert them into the group's currency. If a group has a bank account currency that differs from payment collection currency, payments are converted to the bank currency at a 2% Stripe conversion charge.

Stores on Heylo provide a platform for groups to showcase and sell branded merchandise or products from partner brands directly to their members. These stores are prominently displayed on the content tab, making it easy for members to discover and make purchases.

Group leaders can leverage stores in two primary ways:

1. Branded Gear Store: Group leaders can link their own store to offer branded merchandise to their members. This allows members to easily shop for items that represent and promote the group's identity.
2. Partner Brand Store: Group leaders can also link partner brands that support their group and feature their products in the store. This provides an opportunity to offer exclusive discounts or promotions to group members and drive them to the partner brand's shop.

Stores are designed with a name, cover photo, and description, allowing leaders to provide information and create an appealing shopping experience. Additionally, discount codes can be added to incentivize purchases, and they can be easily copied by anyone in the group.

Heylo can integrate with Shopify to make the buying experience seamless for members and painless for admins. For example, Heylo can pass your paid member information automatically to your Shopify store, or your sponsor, and instantaneously offer discounts to paid members. If a member cancels, Heylo will automatically remove the discount.

Learn how to set up the integration in 60 seconds.

Member emails are automatically created in the linked Shopify store (or, automatically updated if their contact already exists). They are allocated the appropriate tags to verify store discounts to members. If a member cancels, their tag is removed but their information remains.

No more copying and pasting from CSV exports… Heylo alleviates the admin work and enables members to get timely access to all the benefits associated with joining the group.

Please complete this form to set up your integration.

Paid groups get a special payments dashboard at the top of their admin settings. Any admin in the group can view the dashboard. The dashboard is updated in real-time.

The dashboard contains two views: first, a chronological feed of member payment status including new members, canceled members, and members past due. Second, a list of payment history.

The dashboard can be sorted across various comparison times by selecting the date on the top left.

At request, payment details can be exported to CSV as well. Get in touch with the Heylo team.

Any person can update or remove payment info from Heylo at any time.

To update payment info, visit My Payments in account settings and press the "edit" icon on top.

When payment is removed, any upcoming paid event registration that has not yet been charged for will be canceled. Any active membership will be canceled at the next billing date. For example, if an annual membership is paid on January 1, 2024, and payment is removed on January 2, 2024, the membership remains active through January 1, 2025 but does not renew after until updated payment info is added.

To remove payment info, please contact the Heylo team.