How can I handle one-time purchases with Chargebee?

Modified on: Wed, 1 Mar, 2023 at 5:25 PM

Note: This article is valid until February 2021. We have released a new feature for one-time payment checkout on February 2021. Refer to this link to know more


This article covers:
Can I use Chargebee to charge one-off/one-time purchases?

How can a customer sign up online for a one-time charge?


Solution
Chargebee is primarily designed to manage recurring billing, so one-time purchases are not something we directly support.

However, we have listed a few solutions you can implement to collect one-time customer charges.

Solution #1 -  Set the No. of Billing Cycles for plan/subscription as 1 


This will charge the customer only once and automatically cancel the subscription at the end of one term. The one-time charge can be set as the plan price.

Notes:

  • Subscriptions will be created in the “Non-Renewing” status.

  • Since this is a one-time purchase, you can set the billing frequency to a minimum (1week)

  • This method cannot be used to manage returning customers. If a returning customer uses the checkout page again, they will be listed as a separate customer in Chargebee.

  • Your Churn Report can get affected as all the one-time customers will end up as canceled subscriptions.



Solution #2: Use a $0 plan + Non-Recurring Addon


Create Non-Recurring Addons for each product you’re selling. The price of the addon should be equal to the one-time charge. Customers can be redirected to the checkout link of the $0 with the non-recurring addon included with the URL when they select the product on your website.

Notes:

  • Here’s a solution article that explains how to pass the Non-Addon with the $0 plan during checkout.

  • To hide the $0 plan details on the checkout page and invoice, enable Hide Zero Value Line Items under Settings > Configure Chargebee > Billing LogIQ. This ensures that only the  Addon details are shown under the order summary on the checkout page.


If you are an API user you have more flexibility, our support team can help you with a suitable API setup based on your use case.


Related articles and documentation:

Non-recurring Addons

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