# Recurring Card Payment Set-Up in Plus2

HTML version: [Recurring Card Payment Set-Up in Plus2](https://support.gladstonesoftware.cloud/plus2/recurring-card-payment-set-up-in-plus2)

## Problem
Administrators need to create a subscription in Plus2 that is collected by Recurring Card Payment (RCP), with the right duration, renewal, price levels and contract rules, so it collects correctly every period.

## Resolution

1. **Open Subscription Types in Plus2**
   - Go to `Configuration > Financial > Subscriptions > Subscription Types`.

2. **Create the subscription with RCP as the payment method**
   - Create the subscription as you would a Direct Debit one (same department and price-level structure, an ordinary price product behind it), but set **Payment method** to **RCP**.

3. **Set the duration and renewal**
   - Use a **one month** (monthly rolling) recurring duration, with **automatic renewal** ticked.
   - A long fixed duration (for example 99 months) doesn't work. Check with Gladstone Support for the exact duration setting on your system (see Notes).

4. **Restrict price levels**
   - Untick every price level the subscription shouldn't be sold against. Plus2 doesn't pick the right price level at sale time, so restrict it on the subscription.

5. **Schedule future price changes (if applicable)**
   - Where the monthly price is recalculated each year (for example annual course fee ÷ 12), enter a future-dated price on the price product (for example a new price from a set date) so it changes automatically.

6. **Use separate subscriptions per programme (if applicable)**
   - Use a separate subscription per programme or sport (for example gymnastics and tennis) so each can be stopped separately and priced differently.
   - Give holders the course at £0 with a price level override. The override stops applying if the subscription fails to pay.

7. **Save the subscription**
   - Click **Save**, then sell it as described in [Selling RCP and Registering the Customer's Card in Go](../gladstone360/selling-rcp-and-registering-the-customers-card-in-go.md).

## Notes

- **Duration**: some guidance describes the RCP duration as fixed at "31 days from today" (a rolling monthly charge) rather than one month. Either way, an RCP can't bill on a fixed calendar period (for example the 1st to month end). Check the subscription's duration setting in Plus2.
- **Fixed dates**: RCPs can't have a fixed start and end date. Payment is tied to duration: one payment per period rollover.
- **Instalments**: the Plus2 **instalments** option (an annual fee split into, for example, 11 or 12 payments, or paid over the first 3 months) doesn't work with DD or RCP on Go. Don't use it for new subscriptions; the box still appears in Plus2.
- **Front-loading an annual fee**: collecting a full year's fee in only the first few months via RCP is not confirmed as possible; an attempt to front-load an annual fee into the first 3 months via RCP didn't work. The DD equivalent (a 12-month fixed-end subscription with price products at one third of the fee for 3 months, then £0) is untested and complicated by price rises. Both need confirmation from Gladstone's data and product team before being offered.
- **Old wizard set-ups**: monthly rolling subscriptions previously forced to a 365-day end date by old wizard set-ups should be rebuilt as proper monthly rolling or 12-month committed subscriptions.
- **Contract cost**: consumer legislation requires the total contract cost to be shown up front when joining, as well as the pro-rata and monthly amounts. A 12-month committed membership shows its earliest end date (for example 11 months ahead with a one-month notice period) in Go and in 360.
- **Selling**: sell RCP through Go where possible: Go takes the first payment and registers the card automatically. Selling at a Plus2 or 360 till registers **no card**; the customer must add one in their Go wallet or the next collection fails.
- **Collection**: collection runs daily through the GMC RCP service, and RCP must be enabled on your merchant ID. See [Configuring the RCP Service in the GMC](../gladstone360/configuring-the-rcp-service-in-the-gmc.md).
- **Cancelling and testing**: see [Cancelling, Freezing and Refunding RCP Subscriptions](../gladstone360/cancelling-freezing-and-refunding-rcp-subscriptions.md) and [Testing Recurring Card Payments](../gladstone360/testing-recurring-card-payments.md).
- Related: [Recurring Card Payments (RCP)](../gladstone360/recurring-card-payments-rcp.md); [RCP Compared with Direct Debit](../gladstone360/rcp-compared-with-direct-debit.md); [Using RCP Subscriptions for Courses](../gladstone360/using-rcp-subscriptions-for-courses.md); [Price Level Override (PLO)](price-level-override-plo.md); [Direct Debit Set-Up in Plus2](direct-debit-set-up-in-plus2.md); [RCP Reverification FAQ](../gladstone360/rcp-reverification-faq.md).