What is automatic billing for memberships?

Choose a billing mode when you enroll the member — automatic or manual. It's set per enrollment, not on the plan itself, and once the subscription is created there's currently no control to change it, so pick it carefully at signup.

Set it in the Subscribers (or Members, depending on your industry) tab on the Memberships page (Operations > Memberships), in the same step where you enroll the member.

Automatic billing runs through Stripe. Nassima charges the card on file at each renewal, creates the invoice, takes the payment, records it, and sends the receipt, without you doing anything. It needs a fully onboarded Stripe Connect account behind it, so confirm that's in place before you enroll anyone on automatic billing.

Manual billing creates an invoice each period and leaves it to you to send. The member then pays it the way they'd pay any other invoice you issue — see Invoice payment links, Online checkout for invoices, Record manual payments on invoices, and Payment reminders for how that payment and any follow-up actually works.

There's no automated flow yet for a failed automatic charge — nothing currently marks it past due, retries it, or moves it to manual on your behalf, so if a renewal charge fails, follow up with the member directly.

Pick the mode once, at enrollment, and every invoice, payment, and receipt for that membership follows the same record from there.