Yes! Depending on your current billing model, you can change how you bill patrons as a Patreon creator. We will bill your patrons with one billing model in a given month, and we’ll honor the billing model you last selected.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- How to switch your billing option
- Going from per creation to monthly billing
- Going from monthly to per creation billing
- Going from monthly to charge upfront billing
Callout At this time, there is no way to switch from charge upfront billing to monthly (non-charge upfront) or per creation billing. Charge upfront billing is a permanent account change and cannot be reverted.
How to change how you bill patrons
We recommend letting patrons know about billing changes well in advance. Giving patrons a heads up allows them to make necessary changes, and they typically appreciate the transparency.
Here’s how to change how you bill your patrons:
- While logged in to your creator account, click on the Page button and then Edit page
- Then click on the Getting paid link from the top menu bar
- Under Payment schedule, choose the billing option you prefer
- If you are switching to per creation, type in what you are creating (i.e., photos, songs, videos, episodes, etc.)
- Then click the Save changes button
Going from per creation to monthly
If you’re going from per creation to monthly (non-charge upfront) billing, we recommend that you wait until the 1st of the month to switch.
When you switch from per creation to monthly, paid posts you’ve published will convert to regular posts. Patrons will be billed their subscription amount x 1 on the 1st of the month. So if you’ve made paid posts, waiting until the 1st of the month processing completes will ensure that we charge your patrons for those posts.
What happens to my patrons' monthly maxes?
Patrons' monthly maxes no longer take effect when you switch to monthly. The monthly maximum is a per creation billing feature. With monthly and charge upfront billing, patrons are charged their subscription amount x 1 on the 1st of each month.
Letting your patrons know about billing changes in advance is most important when switching from per creation to another option. Patrons may want to upgrade their subscription if they know that their pledged amount will be x 1. Say Patron F is at your $5 tier with a monthly max of 2 creations per month. When you switch to monthly, their subscription amount defaults to $5 a month -- they may want to increase to $10 a month to account for the change.
Going from monthly to per creation
When you go from monthly to per creation, your patrons are no longer automatically billed on the 1st of every month. With per creation, you'll have to turn on the charge for this post option when you publish new posts. This option tells our system to generate bills for your patrons for that post.
Will patrons be charged for every paid post I make when I switch to per creation?
No. Because switching to per creation billing is a significant change to how your patrons pay, we give them a monthly maximum of 1. The default monthly max of 1 ensures that we don't charge patrons more than they’ve agreed to when they signed up.
Existing patrons can log into their accounts to adjust their monthly max if they’d like to pay more than their pledge amount x 1.
You can learn more about what to expect with per creation billing in this help guide: How per creation billing works
Going from monthly to charge upfront
Right now, creators can switch from monthly to charge upfront billing. Both operate on a 1st of the month billing schedule, with a couple of key differences:
- With charge upfront billing, new patrons pay upon signing up to unlock membership access. With monthly billing, there’s no signup payment required to unlock access
- With charge upfront, patrons’ 1st-of-the-month payment is for the current month (e.g., March 1st for March). With monthly billing, patrons’ 1st-of-the-month charge is for the previous months’ membership access
When you switch to charge upfront, patrons who joined before the change will experience no billing change unless they upgrade. New patrons pay when they sign up. After your first month with charge upfront billing enabled, all patrons will pay for that month's membership on the 1st of each month.
We go into further detail about charge upfront billing in this help center overview: How does charge upfront billing work?