Free Trial Period

Link: https://support.brilliantdirectories.com/support/solutions/articles/12000046572

Overview

Free trial periods are an excellent way to build trust with new potential customers and boost conversion rates.

The Free Trial Period add-on allows the admin to define a number of free trial days for each paid membership plan. Credit card info is collected upon signup and if the user does not cancel then they will automatically be charged after the free trial period ends.

How To Get This Add-On
  1. Websites with the VIP Add-Ons Club automatically have this add-on available: 
    Join The VIP Add-Ons Club
  2. Purchase Individually: Free Trial Period Add-On

Features and Benefits:

  • Increase paid membership signups
  • Add a free trial period to individual membership packages.
  • Choose how many days the trial period lasts
  • Trial info is automatically displayed on checkout pages
  • Customers are still required to provide credit card info
  • Customers are automatically charged once their trial ends
  • Customers are not charged if they cancel before their trial ends

Enabling the Add-On

1. Go to the admin and navigate to Finance >> Membership Plans.

2. Choose the Membership level and click on "Edit".

3. Go to the Sign Ups & Upgrades tab.

4. In the Set Pricing Options for This Plan section, find the "Enable Free Trial Period"  and click on "Yes".

5. In the option "Number of Free Trial Days",

enter the number of FREE TRIAL days before billing starts.

For example: If want to give them 7 days, then type "7":


6. In the "Free Trial Additional Options", select the desired type of credit card authorization when a member signs up as a Free Trial.

>> Supported Payment Gateways: On-Site and Off-Site Payment Gateways

These are the options that are available when the site is connected to an Off-Site Payment Gateway: 

  • No credit card required for free trial

These are the options that are available when the site is connected to an On-Site Payment Gateway:


  • No credit card required for free trial
  • Just add cc on file without any authorization 
  • Authorize $1.00 charge when cc is required 
  • Authorize full subscription amount when cc is required

When selecting the option "No credit card required for free trial", the system will hide the card fields from the checkout form (See the screenshot below) and the member needs to manually add a card on file when the trial expires or the listing will become past due.

When selecting the authorization charge, the system will automatically add this text to the checkout form:

The title and message can be edited under Settings >> Text Labels:

  • Credit Card Authorization Message
  • Credit Card Authorization Title

To verify that the Free Trial was set up correctly, go to Finance >> Membership Plans >> Edit and click on the "Sign Up Page" button at the top:

If everything was set up correctly, the Free Trial information will appear in the "Select a Payment Option" section:

Important Information

  • If the user does not request the cancellation of the listing (During the Free Trial period) then he/she will automatically be charged after the free trial period ends.
  • Free trials apply only for new signups, this does not apply to upgrades from other membership plans.
  • If the credit card fails when the free trial ends, the member will be set as "Past Due" automatically and the admin will see the member by going to Billing >> Transaction History >> Past due.  

  • If need to edit the information displayed in the Free Trial box (See image below) follow the steps below:

1. Go to "Settings".

2. Click on "Text Labels".

3. Type "Free Trial" in the search bar and hit enter. Now 5 options will appear (Highlighted in red):

These 5 options will appear:

  • Free Trial Period - Line 1 Before Days:
    Variable: free_trial_period_line1_before
    Text: This plan includes a.
  • Free Trial Period - Line 1 After Days:
    Variable:free_trial_period_line1_after
    Text: DAY FREE TRIAL.
  • Free Trial Period - Line 2 Before Start Date:
    Variable: free_trial_period_line2_before  
    Text: Your payment will start on.
  • Free Trial Period - Line 2 Before After Date:
    Variable: free_trial_period_line2_after
    Text: Type additional text if needed. It will be shown in the same line after the date.
  • Free Trial Period - Line 3:
    Variable: free_trial_period_line3
    Text: Type additional text if needed. It will be displayed in a new line under the date.

To learn how Stripe shows the payment intents of the free trials, visit this article: Free Trial Payment Intents - Stripe