Where this shows up: Analytics > Accounting Overview (accrual recognized revenue, deferred liability) and Analytics > Product Sales Breakdown when you switch to the Accrual basis. The setup choices described here live on each membership product under Settings > Memberships.
Two questions per membership
Each membership product carries two settings that together decide how its cycle revenue gets recognized:- What members get at renewal — the mechanic. When a member’s monthly billing runs, what does the clinic owe them in return?
- When the revenue gets counted — the recognition. As benefits are used? Spread over the cycle? At the moment of billing?
What members get at renewal
The pattern: pick Service credits when the membership specifies which services; pick Account credit when the membership specifies how much spend; pick None when there’s nothing the clinic owes the patient on the platform.
When the revenue gets counted
Not every combination is meaningful. The next section shows which pairings make sense.
Valid combinations
A few notes on the table:
- Per redemption requires service credits to track against — there’s no per-redemption stream for the other mechanics.
- As credit is spent only applies to account-credit plans — it follows the actual spend.
- At renewal counts the whole cycle immediately. It’s the simplest option but only matches the accounting principle of “recognize as delivered” when there’s nothing further to deliver. Use it cautiously for service-credit and account-credit plans; the cycle billing still represents future services the clinic owes.
Worked examples
The four most common setups, walked through one cycle.Service credits, per redemption
Plan: $119/month, 4 facials included. Patient uses 3.
Total counted across the cycle: $89.25. The remaining $29.75 stays in deferred revenue until the unused entitlement expires.
Service credits, spread over the cycle
Plan: $250/month, unlimited 10% off everything (or “up to 100 services” — a cap that’s there for safety, not what members actually use). 30-day cycle.
Total counted across the cycle: $250, smoothly distributed.
Why this is the right choice for unlimited / high-cap plans: a “4 facials” plan can run out — the clinic’s obligation is bounded by how many entitlements it’s selling. An unlimited discount plan can’t run out — the clinic owes the discount for every day of the cycle. The right way to count revenue is to follow time, not redemption events.
Account credit, as credit is spent
Plan: $250/month, member gets $250 in account credit to spend on anything. Member spends $200 on a facial mid-cycle, with the remaining $50 unspent.
The membership program “earned” $200 this cycle through the spent credit; the unspent $50 will recognize when it’s used. This is the cleanest accrual treatment because the clinic only counts revenue as services are actually delivered.
None, at renewal
Plan: $50/month flat clinic membership. No included services, no credit. Members just get access (priority booking, member-only events, status).
No deferral, no per-visit math. This is the simplest setup and the right shape when there’s no service obligation behind the fee.
How refunds behave
Refunds reverse only what was actually counted as revenue. The mode determines the shape of the reversal:
Across all four modes, the principle is the same: recognized revenue follows delivered value, and refunds reverse only what’s been recognized — never beyond it. Cash collected and recognized revenue won’t always match at cycle end, though: unused entitlements (Per redemption) and unspent credit (As credit is spent) stay as deferred revenue, and partial cycle refunds under Per redemption are a current exception that can leave recognition out of step with cash. Those gaps appear in Deferred Revenue on Accounting Overview.
Picking the right setup
A short checklist for setting up (or auditing) a membership product:1
Identify what renewal delivers
Look at the membership’s benefits in Settings > Memberships. Does it grant a specific entitlement (X services per cycle), a dollar credit ($X account credit per cycle), or neither (flat fee)? That answers the first question.
2
Pick a recognition shape that fits
- Specific entitlements that members typically use up → Per redemption.
- Specific entitlements with a high cap that’s there for safety, not utilization → Spread over the cycle.
- Unlimited benefits / continuous access → Spread over the cycle.
- Dollar account credit → As credit is spent.
- Pure access / flat fee / signup fee / no real obligation → At renewal.
3
Confirm with your accountant for external reporting
If your clinic reports to outside auditors, banks, or tax advisors, At renewal is generally only acceptable for products with no future obligation. For service-credit and account-credit plans, the principle of “recognize as delivered” usually applies — so Per redemption, Spread over the cycle, or As credit is spent are the right options.
4
Audit one cycle in Accounting Overview
After saving the configuration, run Analytics > Accounting Overview for a recent cycle and confirm the deferred-revenue and recognized-revenue numbers behave the way you expect. If you’re migrating a product from one mode to another, only future cycles pick up the new mode — past cycles keep the recognition they were created with.