Payment plans are useful for any client fee you want to split — "50% at booking, 50% at birth" being the classic doula structure, though you can set up any number of installments on any schedule.
How it works at a high level
You pick a total and a number of installments. Cradled creates N invoices, each for a portion of the total, linked together as one payment plan. Your client sees them as one commitment with a progress indicator; you see each installment separately for tracking.
Full concept explainer: How payment plans work.
Creating a plan
- Go to Invoices and click New invoice.
- Build the line items as you would for any invoice — the grand total becomes the plan total.
- Toggle on Split into payment plan.
- Choose the number of installments (2, 3, 4, etc.).
- Set a due date for each installment. Cradled can auto-space them evenly or you can set each one manually.
- Save.
Cradled generates N draft invoices, each labeled internally as part of the same payment plan.
Sending installments
Installments are drafts by default — they do not auto-send. You decide when each one goes out.
Common patterns:
- Send the first immediately (so the client pays at booking) and send the rest closer to their due dates.
- Send them all at once if you want full visibility upfront.
On the client side, connected clients still see it as a single payment plan card even if all N installments have been sent.
Editing a plan mid-way
You can cancel any unsent installment and create a new one if the plan structure needs to change. Edits to one installment don't affect the others.
Refunds on payment plans
Refund any installment individually. Refunding installment 2 of 3 doesn't affect installments 1 and 3.
What your client sees
One card on their home screen with "3 of 5 payments made" progress and a button pointing to the next unpaid installment. Full mom-side experience →