How to Use Parent Payment Methods for Children

Learn how to set up and use parent/guardian payment methods for children's purchases. This feature allows parents to pay for their children's class registrations, event registrations, appointments, and products using their own saved payment methods.

Before You Begin

• You must be logged in to your account at https://app.joinzipper.com
• You need permission to manage customers (typically organization owners and admins have this permission)
• Both parent and child customer accounts must exist in your roster
• A guardian relationship must be set up between the accounts

Steps

Step 1: Verify Guardian Relationship

1. Log in to your account at https://app.joinzipper.com/auth/login
2. Navigate to CRM in the left sidebar
3. Find and open the child's customer profile
4. Scroll to the Family Accounts section
5. Verify that a guardian is linked to this account

If no guardian is linked:

1. Click Add guardian
2. Search for and select the parent's account
3. Configure permissions (ensure payment permissions are enabled)
4. Save the relationship

What happens next: Parent payment methods become available for child purchases.

Step 2: Using Parent Payment Methods at Checkout

When booking or purchasing on behalf of a child:

1. Select the child as the customer/registrant
2. Proceed to checkout/payment
3. In the payment method dropdown:
   • Child's saved payment methods (if any) appear first
   • Parent's saved payment methods appear with a label like "Parent: [Name]"
4. Select a parent payment method
5. Complete the purchase

What happens next: The purchase is processed using the parent's payment method, and both parent and child receive receipts.

Step 3: Using Parent Payment Methods at Point of Sale

When processing a sale at Point of Sale:

1. Search for and select the child as the customer
2. Add items to the cart
3. Proceed to checkout
4. In payment method options:
   • Credit card (new card)
   • Child's saved payment methods
   • Parent's saved payment methods (labeled)
5. Select a parent payment method
6. Complete the transaction

What happens next: Payment is processed to the parent's card.

Step 4: Charging Cancellation Fees to Parent Payment Methods

When a child's booking is cancelled with a cancellation fee:

1. Navigate to the booking to be cancelled
2. Click Cancel and select Cancel with fee
3. In the payment method selection:
   • Parent payment methods are available
   • Select the appropriate payment method
4. Confirm the cancellation and fee charge

What happens next: The cancellation fee is charged to the selected parent payment method.

How Parent Payment Methods Work

Behind the scenes:

1. When a guardian relationship is established, the parent's Stripe customer ID is linked
2. During checkout, the system retrieves payment methods from both child and parent accounts
3. Parent payment methods are clearly labeled to distinguish them
4. Charges are processed to the selected payment method's account
5. Receipts are tracked for both parent and child

What gets charged:

• Class registrations for the child
• Event registrations for the child
• Appointment bookings for the child
• Product purchases for the child
• Cancellation fees for child's cancelled bookings

Tips

• Ensure guardian relationships are set up before attempting to use parent payment methods
• Use clear naming for family accounts to easily identify payment methods
• Parent payment methods work for both online checkout and Point of Sale
• Multiple guardians can be set up, and all their payment methods become available
• Parents can manage their payment methods through the Stripe customer portal

Troubleshooting

Problem: Parent payment methods aren't appearing at checkout Solution: Check that:

• A guardian relationship exists between the accounts
• The guardian has saved payment methods in their account
• Payment permissions are enabled for the guardian relationship

Solution: Go to the child's profile > Family Accounts and verify the guardian is linked with payment permissions.

Problem: Payment failed using a parent's method Solution: The parent's card may have expired or been declined:

• Contact the parent to update their payment method
• Try a different payment method
• Have the parent log in and update their card

Problem: Parent says they weren't notified of the charge Solution: Check that:

• Parent's email is valid in their profile
• Email notifications are enabled
• Check spam/junk folders

Solution: Both parent and child receive transaction receipts. Verify email addresses are correct.

Problem: Can't find the option to charge cancellation fee to parent Solution: Check that:

• Guardian relationship is configured
• You're viewing the child's booking (not parent's)
• The booking has a cancellation fee policy

Solution: Ensure you're cancelling from the correct customer's booking and that a fee is applicable.