How to set up Recurring Payments for automated monthly charges in Mews Operations

Recurring Payments automates regular guest charges using billing automation and stored payment methods. Property staff responsible for guest billing can set this up in Mews Operations. You set this up when you want to collect payments automatically each month, for example, for long-stay guests. You complete this task in the guest profile, once the reservation matches a billing automation rule. Before you start, you need a billing automation already set up in your property, see Prerequisites below. This saves time and reduces manual work related to monthly billing and charging.

 

In this article you can learn about:

• Prerequisites
• Step 1: Create the payment plan
• Step 2: Set up the payment request

 

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure the billing automation in your property meets the following conditions:

• Timing is set to monthly.
• The system routes billing items to the guest profile.
• The system groups all items together on one bill.
• Do not edit default bills for unpaid items or deposits, or the default automation bill. Do not move charges to manually created bills. Note: you can restore the Default billing automation bill and Unpaid items / Deposits bill in Mews Operations by following the guide: How to restore the default billing automation bill to unblock billing automation in Mews Operations.

To create the automation:

Note: You can find detailed steps in our guide on creating a billing automation.

1. Go to main menu > Operations > Billing automations.
2. Click Create billing automation.
3. In step 1, click the options to set:
   • Timing to Monthly.
   • Day of the month to a specific date, for example, 1.
   • Time to when you want bills to generate, for example, 15:00.
   • Consumption period to Same month as automation date.
4. Ensure the target profile is set to Guest.
5. In the order item grouping, select Group all moved items on one bill.
6. Complete the remaining steps and click Save.

Note: Verify that the reservation you link to the payment is governed by a payment policy with a manual trigger. This ensures that the automation does not charge a reservation more than once.

Step 1: Create the payment plan

Note:

• You cannot create a payment plan unless a billing automation rule is already linked to the guest's reservation.
• You can only create one payment plan for each billing rule, per guest profile.
• Mews does not recommend creating a payment plan for a Paymaster profile. A Paymaster profile is a customer profile used to consolidate charges onto a single bill for companies or travel agencies — it is not set up for individual guest payments. Paymaster profiles automatically disable stored payment methods, which means the payment plan does not work correctly.

To create the payment plan:

1. In Mews Operations, access the guest profile using one of the following:
   • Go to the main menu > Profiles > Customer profiles, then click the name of the customer whose profile you want to modify.
   • Enter a customer's name into the dashboard search bar, then click their name to open their profile.
2. Confirm there is a reservation that matches your billing automation rule.
3. Click the Payments tab, then click the Recurring section.
4. Click Create plan.
5. In Plan name, enter the name of the plan, for example, Monthly accommodation costs.
6. Click the Link to billing automation dropdown to select the billing rule. The system displays the current reservations the payment plan includes.
7. Set the plan start date:
   • Start with earliest available bill: The plan starts automatically when a bill is available.
   • Start later: The payment plan begins on the start date you select.
8. In payment schedule, select when to collect the payment:
   • On bill creation date. Note: Once the bill is created, the system charges immediately. You cannot modify or cancel the bill manually.
   • Delay after the bill creation: Enter a number of days for the delay, for example, 5 days later. Note: Once the system creates the bill, you can modify it or cancel the payment during the delay. The system updates the amount before payment to include any changes you make to the bill.
9. Click Next.

Step 2: Set up the payment request

1. Click the Enabled payment methods dropdown to select which payment methods the guest can choose.
2. Under Request expiration date, click to enter a date and time.

Note: This is required. The maximum expiration date is either 30 days, or one day before the next scheduled payment.

3. Under Email, enter the guest's email address.
4. Under Additional message to customer, enter a message the guest receives with the payment request.
5. Under Internal note, enter a note for internal purposes.
6. Click Next.
7. Review the details and click Create plan.

The guest receives an email with a link to enter their payment method. Once they submit it, depending on the configuration of the payment plan:

• The system charges the payment method and stores it securely for automatic use in future billing cycles.
• The system stores the payment method securely for automatic use in future billing cycles and takes the payment later.

When you create the payment plan, Mews displays it in the Recurring payments overview.

This sets up Recurring Payments for automated monthly charges to a guest.