Recurring payments with Mollie and WordPress
Offering a subscription model with recurring payments can have a significant impact on your business. Many companies view this as an ideal way to generate a steady income stream. While this may not be feasible for every entrepreneur, if you’re selling online services or courses, a subscription model offers an excellent way to package them. Payment provider Mollie makes it straightforward to set up periodic and automatic payment collection. In this article, we’ll explore the options for receiving recurring payments with Mollie Recurring and WordPress.
Why Offer Subscriptions?
Receiving recurring revenue from subscription sales can be invaluable for businesses. Subscriptions provide a stable and predictable revenue stream, allowing you to focus on expanding your customer base and improving your products or services. For consumers, a subscription can be attractive because they don’t have to worry about whether, for example, their coffee is still in stock or if they have sharp razor blades left. With a good subscription, these items are delivered automatically on a regular basis.
Who Benefits from Recurring Payments?
An increasing number of entrepreneurs are introducing subscription models, whether for coffee, razor blades, underwear, or flowers. People can increasingly subscribe to the delivery of these types of products. Consultants and course providers are also increasingly using subscription models. It’s not just well-known companies like HelloFresh, Bloomon, or BOLDKING that offer subscriptions. This can also be highly beneficial for smaller or lesser-known businesses. For example, consider:
- Coaches: You’re a specialist coach and provide regular advice to your clients. You can offer a subscription so the client knows you consistently have time for them, and you receive recurring income.
- Online Marketers: You help clients on a monthly basis improve their online presence. You can do this with a monthly subscription that allocates a specific number of hours per month to this client.
- Technical Support: You are the technical partner for businesses and, for example, handle the technical maintenance of their websites. You can offer this through a subscription. This subscription includes predefined agreements. This way, businesses know exactly what to expect, and you receive stable recurring income.
- Businesses Selling Consumables: You have a (web)store and sell products that customers need regularly. You can offer a subscription where you ensure the customer automatically receives this product periodically.
- News Media: You have a news website and want to give subscribers access to premium articles.
Non-profit organizations
For non-profit organizations, recurring payments can also be an excellent source of income. Consider offering memberships. This provides a way for people to feel genuinely connected to the organization. They belong to a ‘club’ or ‘group’. You can offer them exclusive information or organize gatherings for your members. The possibilities are vast. From sports clubs to religious communities, foundations, and charities.
Instead of offering memberships, you can also provide a donation option. Here, you can allow for one-time donations as well as recurring donations. This allows people to choose if they want to support you for a specific period. For more on this, also read our article about receiving online donations.
Payment methods for recurring payments
The following payment methods support initiating recurring payments.
Start Receiving Recurring Payments
Want to easily receive recurring payments yourself? Install the Pronamic Pay plugin and connect it to Mollie and a compatible WordPress plugin.
Recurring payments with WordPress plugins
To receive recurring payments with WordPress and Mollie, you can use a plugin. The Pronamic Pay plugin supports four plugins that allow you to sell subscriptions. We’ll discuss them one by one.
WooCommerce Subscriptions
With WooCommerce, you can sell all kinds of products, from physical to digital. With the paid WooCommerce Subscriptions extension (at €228.00 per year), you can create products with recurring payments. These can be used for selling physical or virtual products or services. WooCommerce Subscriptions offers extensive management features for these products. Examples include:
- Free trial periods, allowing customers to try your service or product before purchasing.
- Sign-up fees, enabling you to receive an additional one-time amount upon registration.
- Variable subscriptions, where customers can, for example, set their own recurring payment interval.
- Subscription management, allowing shop owners to manage subscriptions via a clear overview.
- Customer subscription management, allowing customers to manage their own subscriptions (e.g., pause or cancel).
- Synchronized payments, an option to bill all subscriptions at a specific time (e.g., once per calendar year or on the first of each month).
- Upgrades/downgrades, allowing users to switch between different subscription plans (e.g., from smaller to larger, or vice versa).
- Flexible product options, allowing you to specify the product type (physical, downloadable, or virtual).
- Multiple subscriptions, allowing customers to purchase several subscription products in a single transaction.
- Subscription coupons, providing the option to offer discounts on recurring payments or sign-up fees.
- Automated customer emails, sent when a subscription is renewed, canceled, or expires.
WooCommerce Subscriptions is one of the most comprehensive and flexible options for receiving and managing recurring payments. If you also combine it with WooCommerce Memberships, you can offer protected content on your website exclusively for members.
To receive recurring payments with WooCommerce Subscriptions and Mollie, you can consult the following guide.
MemberPress
The name ‘MemberPress‘ itself clearly suggests what this plugin is best used for: namely, setting up a website with membership functionality. Visitors can register on a website and then access protected content. Examples include premium articles or taking an online course. MemberPress offers various features, such as:
- Paywall
- Online courses
- Coupons
- Community features
- Drip content
- Subscription functionality
To receive recurring payments via MemberPress and Mollie, you can consult the following guide.
Restrict Content Pro
Restrict Content Pro describes itself as a ‘simple membership plugin’ for WordPress. It offers various tools to manage a WordPress membership website. The features offered include:
- Simple memberships and subscriptions
- Easy paywall setup
- Discount codes and coupons
- Periodic access to premium content
- Powerful content protection
Consult the following guide to receive recurring payments with Restrict Content Pro and Mollie.
Gravity Forms
Receiving recurring payments with Gravity Forms takes a slightly different approach than the previously mentioned plugins. In this case, subscriptions are initiated using a form. This form can be fully customized to your needs. Since it doesn’t involve extensive member administration or content that needs to be protected, Gravity Forms is also extremely well-suited for receiving recurring donations. Subscriptions initiated with Gravity Forms can be managed in the Pronamic Pay plugin.
Want to receive recurring payments with Gravity Forms and Mollie? Consult the following guide.
You might also find these articles interesting about our integration with Gravity Forms:
