These two terms describe how a climbing wall handles memberships start date and billing cycle.
Your billing date is your "Anniversary" date.
In a rolling subscription, the customers billing cycle begins on the day they signed up. If they sign up on the 14th of the month, their next bill will always be on the 14th.
How it works: A customer pay the full price immediately for a full month of service.
How it works: If a customer sign up on the 14th of the month, customers will be billed on the 14th of every month moving forward.
The Benefit: Customers always get a full 30 days of service for every payment they make. There are no partial charges or "catch-up" bills.
Click to expand the above diagram.
In a pro-rated subscription, subscriptions have a fixed billing date for everyone (ie the 1st of every month). If a member signs up in the middle of the month, BETA will "pro-rate" (proportionally adjust) the cost.
How it works: If a Pro-rated recurring subscription (membership) costs $30/month and a customer joins on the 15th, the customer will be charged $15 for the remaining half of that month. On the 1st of the next month, you will be charged the full $30.
BETA will bill pro-rated subscriptions on the [1st] of the month.
Your first pro-rated bill: If new customers sign up mid-month, new customers will only be charged for the remaining days of that month.
Subsequent bills: On the 1st of the next month, you will begin your regular full-price billing cycle.
Upgrades/Downgrades: If a customer changes the plan mid-month, BETA will apply a credit for your old plan and only charge the difference for the new plan for the rest of the month. The existing pass will be set to expire today, and the new pass will begin tomorrow.
BETA supports two billing models for recurring subscriptions: rolling and pro-rated. Understanding the difference helps you choose the right setup for your gym.
Summary Table
Rolling Subscription
Pro-rated Subscription
Billing Date
Based on your first signup date
(e.g., the 14th).Fixed for everyone
(e.g., the 1st).First Payment
Full price for a full cycle.
Partial price for the remaining days till he 1st.
Mid-Month Changes
Usually restarts the cycle on that day - allowing for simpler and clear changes.
Adjusts the price for the current month.
Simpler for members to understand If a member pays $50 on May 12th, they expect access until June 12th. There's no partial charge, no confusing math on their bank statement. What they paid is what they get.
No perceived double billing In pro-rated systems, a member might pay a small amount today and then receive a full charge just days later. This is technically correct — but it consistently generates "why was I charged twice?" support tickets. Rolling eliminates this entirely.
No exception rules or policy headaches Pro-rated billing forces you to create workarounds. If someone cancels mid-cycle, do they get a refund? What if they cancel in their first billing period before their full charge even hits? You end up writing rules — no cancellations in the first cycle, minimum terms, partial refund policies — that then need to be communicated, enforced, and explained. Rolling has none of that overhead.
Plan changes stay clean If a member wants to upgrade or switch plans, rolling makes it simple: the change applies at their next renewal date or immediately. Pro-rated systems require calculating credits or charges for the remaining partial period, which creates more room for error and more support requests.
Spread cash flow: Because members join on different days, revenue flows in steadily across the entire month rather than hitting all at once on the 1st. This makes your income more predictable and easier to manage.
Spread payment failures too With pro-rated billing, if payment fails on a fixed date, you can get dozens of failures in a single day. Rolling spreads billing across the month, so failures are isolated and retry logic is far more manageable. One bad day doesn't affect your whole membership base.
Churn doesn't cluster Fixed billing dates mean cancellations also tend to cluster. Rolling spreads churn risk evenly across the month, making retention trends easier to spot and less volatile to manage.
You don't need to manage any of this manually. BETA runs subscription billing in the background every day, handling the full cycle automatically:
Daily billing checks: BETA checks each day which subscriptions are due for renewal and processes them automatically.
Payment collection: Charges are sent to the payment provider on each member's individual renewal date.
Access control: Member access is updated automatically based on their subscription status. No manual intervention needed.
Failed payment handling: If a payment fails, BETA flags the subscription and can trigger automated retry behaviour and member notifications.
Renewals and continuity: Subscriptions roll forward automatically unless cancelled. There's no manual renewal step for staff or members.
Pro-rated billing can make sense if your gym operates on a strict monthly reset.
For example, if class allowances, bookings, or benefits refresh on the 1st of each month and need to align with billing. Some businesses also prefer fixed billing dates for accounting or reporting purposes.
If that's your setup, pro-rated may be the better fit.
The start date (13 Aug) is included in the pass. If the pass also expired on 13 Sep, it would add an extra day. Instead, the pass is valid from 13 Aug up to (but not including) 13 Sep, ensuring the correct length while allowing check-in on the first day.
Billing happens on the next billing date, not the day the pass is issued. This allows payments to run during normal waking hours, giving members time to resolve any billing issues before the next pass period starts. Note: You can adjust your billing automation time if you prefer it to run at midnight.
With delayed payment methods (ACH or bank transfer), payment confirmation may take time. During this period, the pass remains active and the next billing date is set as normal. If the payment does not succeed within the allowed timeframe, the pass will be revoked.
