Flexible Payment System

The flexible payment system is one of several payment options in Bookicorn. Your customers can purchase credits and use them to book classes flexibly.

Note: The flexible payment system is optional. Bookicorn offers four payment methods in total: Credits (balance), Direct payment (Stripe: credit card, SEPA, Apple Pay, Google Pay), Cash payment (book online, pay cash at the studio) and Manual payment (bank transfer/PayPal, studio confirms receipt). You can combine these as you like. Learn more under Choosing payment modes.

When does the flexible payment system make sense?

The flexible payment system is particularly well-suited for:

Regular visitors: Customers who come multiple times per week
Predictable revenue: You receive money upfront
Customer retention: Credits motivate regular use
Flexible pricing: Volume discounts through packages

When to use other payment methods?

Direct payment may be a better fit if:

Your customers tend to book spontaneously
You offer individual workshops or events
You prefer a simpler system

Cash payment is suitable for:

Walk-in customers without an account
Studios that prefer cash revenue

Manual payment (bank transfer/PayPal) is suitable for:

Customers without a credit card
Workshops with higher amounts

More about direct payment →

Why credits?

Benefits for you

Predictable revenue: Customers pay in advance
Customer retention: Credits motivate regular use
Flexibility: Different packages for different needs
Easy management: Automatic billing

Benefits for customers

Book flexibly: Choose classes as they like
Price advantages: Packages are cheaper than single bookings
Clear overview: All credits in the wallet
No subscription required: Credits instead of membership

Core concepts

Credits

Credits are the virtual currency in Bookicorn:

Customers buy credits (via Stripe)
Classes cost credits
Credits are deducted upon booking
Credits are refunded upon cancellation

Packages

Credit packages are predefined bundles:

Package	Credits	Price	Euro/Credit
Starter	10	€99	€9.90
Regular	25	€225	€9.00
Premium	50	€400	€8.00

Wallet

The wallet is the customer's credit account:

Shows available credits
Shows expiry dates
Shows transaction history

FIFO principle

Credits are consumed using the First-In-First-Out principle.

How does FIFO work?

The oldest credits are used first:

Purchase 1 (Jan 1): 10 credits, valid until Apr 1
Purchase 2 (Jan 15): 20 credits, valid until Apr 15
Purchase 3 (Feb 1): 10 credits, valid until May 1

Booking on Jan 20 for 8 credits:
→ 8 credits from Purchase 1 are used
→ 2 credits from Purchase 1 remain
→ Purchases 2 and 3 untouched

Why FIFO?

Fair usage: Older credits are used first
Expiry protection: Prevents unnecessary expiry
Transparency: Clear logic for customers

More about FIFO →

Activation modes

Credits can be activated in different ways:

Mode	Credits active from
Immediately	Usable right after purchase
First use	From first booking
Fixed date	From a specific date

Examples

Immediately: Standard for most packages

First use: "10-class card" - valid 3 months from first use

Fixed date: "January package" - valid from Jan 1

More about activation modes →

Validity

Credits have an expiry date:

Validity periods

30 days: For intro packages
3 months: Standard for small packages
6 months: Standard for medium packages
12 months: For large packages
Unlimited: For special packages

What happens when credits expire?

Credits expire automatically
Customer is reminded beforehand (email)
Expired credits cannot be refunded

More about validity →

Credit packages

You define which packages customers can purchase:

Package properties

Name: e.g. "10-class card"
Number of credits: e.g. 10 credits
Price: e.g. €99
Validity: e.g. 3 months
Activation mode: Immediately, First use, Date

Best practices

Offer 3-5 packages
Volume discounts for larger packages
Introductory package for new customers
Premium package with longer validity

Create packages →

Intro offers (trial packages)

Win new customers with discounted or free intro offers:

What are intro offers?

Credit packages marked as intro offers
Automatically restricted to new customers (configurable)
Limit per person - e.g. redeemable a maximum of once
Free packages (€0) are activated directly - no checkout required

Benefits

Low barrier: New customers can try for free
Automatic check: System automatically detects whether someone is a new customer
Prominent display: Dedicated section on the studio page
No abuse: Limit system prevents multiple redemptions

Create intro offers →

Trainer-bound credits

Optional feature for special scenarios:

What are trainer credits?

Credits that are only valid with certain trainers
Example: "Personal training with Max" - only usable for classes with Max

When is this useful?

Personal training
Specialist sessions
Exclusive workshops

More about trainer credits →

Credit management

Adding credits manually

As an admin you can:

Open a customer
Click Add credits
Choose a package or enter manually
Optionally add a note

Correcting credits

In case of errors:

Open the customer
Click Adjust credits
Change the amount
Document the reason

Credit history

For each customer you can see:

All purchases
All bookings (deductions)
All cancellations (refunds)
Manual adjustments

Payment integration

Stripe

Credit purchases are processed via Stripe:

Credit card
SEPA direct debit
Apple Pay / Google Pay

Invoices

Automatic invoice generation:

PDF download
Email delivery
Automatic invoice number

Reporting

Credit statistics

In the dashboard you can see:

Credits sold per month
Average package price
Credit revenue
Expired credits

Popular packages

Which packages are purchased most often?
Which have the best margin?
Where is there room for optimization?