How To Auto Charge Monthly Fees Using Skool In 2026
Recurring billing should work like a steady clock, not a smoke alarm. When you set up Skool monthly fees, you want members charged on time, access tied to payment status, and no manual chasing. Skool can handle this without a pile of add-on...
Recurring billing should work like a steady clock, not a smoke alarm. When you set up Skool monthly fees, you want members charged on time, access tied to payment status, and no manual chasing. Skool can handle this without a pile of add-ons.
This guide explains what you set inside Skool, what runs through Stripe Express, how annual pricing fits, and where owners usually trip. Confirm each step inside your own admin settings, because screens and rules change. The text names the official Skool page for each topic.
Where recurring billing lives in Skool
Skool documents subscription pricing in its pricing setup guide. Payout setup appears in the Skool subscriptions and payouts article. For a standard monthly membership, you do not need a second billing platform.
| Task | Where you handle the task |
|---|---|
| Add a monthly or annual price | Skool admin settings, Pricing tab |
| Connect bank payouts | Stripe Express flow opened from Skool |
| Review payment topics | Skool Payments help category |
| Track churn and recurring revenue in depth | Optional outside analytics tool |
Inside Skool, you control the offer. The pricing article lists free groups, subscriptions, freemium, tiers, and one-time payments as options. Inside Stripe Express, you complete identity checks and connect the bank account.
Outside tools matter only when you want deeper finance reporting. If you later want better revenue reports, an analytics tool can help. For example, see launching Baremetrics for SaaS analytics. This step is optional and not required to charge members each month.
Check plan costs and transaction fees first
Monthly fees reduce your take, so check the cost of the platform before you set a price. Skool lists its plans on the official Skool pricing page. At the time of writing, the page shows two plans.
| Plan | Monthly price | Transaction fee |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $9 per month | 10% |
| Pro | $99 per month | 2.9% |
Both plans list unlimited members, unlimited courses, unlimited videos, unlimited live calls, a custom URL, and affiliates. Prices and fees can change, so confirm the numbers on the pricing page before you decide.
Run a simple calculation. Multiply your monthly price by the number of members. Apply the transaction fee. Compare the result with the extra monthly cost of the higher plan. A group with many paying members often saves money on the plan with the lower fee. A small group may prefer the lower monthly price. Do the math with your own numbers.
Set up payouts and a monthly price step by step
Work through the setup in one pass. Then test the result as a stranger would. The Skool payout article lists these steps.
- Open your profile picture, choose Settings, and open the admin settings for the correct group.
- Go to the Payouts tab and click the settings gear.
- Select the country where your bank account is located, then continue.
- Complete the Stripe Express signup. Skool states this is a new connection and not your existing Stripe account.
- Complete identity verification. The article calls this step legally mandatory for payouts.
- Connect your bank account. The article recommends a local regional bank account.
- Open the Pricing tab and click Add Price.
- Enter the monthly amount and save.
- Open the group About page in a private browser window and confirm the paid join flow shows the right offer.
Choose the bank country with care. The country must match the location of your bank account. Skool also states Skool does not directly support Wise, Chime, or other fintech bank accounts. US payouts arrive in USD. Payouts outside the US arrive in the local currency. Non-US regions have a separate article, so check the help center if you sit outside the US.
If the Stripe connection stays pending, wait a short time and check again. The article says the connection usually activates right away. You can also disconnect and reconnect from the Start again here link.
Add annual pricing next to monthly pricing
Many owners offer both options. Skool explains this in its annual payments setup article. Do not fake an annual plan with invoices or reminders. Add the supported option in Skool and let checkout do the work.
- Open the admin settings and go to the Pricing tab.
- Click Add Price.
- Choose Monthly and annual, or Annual only.
- Set both prices when you choose both options.
- Save. The new price becomes the current price.
To add annual pricing for existing monthly members, open the three-dots menu on the current monthly price and choose Add annual. Set the annual price, ideally at a discount, and save. Existing members then see an upgrade path.
The article gives an upgrade example. The upgrade costs the annual price minus the current monthly payment. At 9 dollars per month with a 90 dollar annual plan, the upgrade costs 81 dollars.
Free trials and plan changes
The pricing article mentions a 7-day free trial for subscription groups. Confirm the trial options inside your own Pricing settings before you promise a trial on a sales page. Keep the first offer plain. One monthly price is easier to test than a stack of options.
Members can change plans when the group offers more than one plan or annual pricing. Skool explains the flow in its article on changing plans. Members on a free trial can skip the trial from their profile settings by choosing the skip trial option and clicking Upgrade Now.
Proration rules cover partial charges when a plan changes. Skool places those rules in a separate article. Read the article before you answer billing questions from members.
Handle cancellations and failed payments
After billing goes live, the quiet details matter most. Good recurring revenue does not come from the first charge alone. The result depends on what happens when a card expires, a member cancels, or a renewal fails.
Skool does not publish every rule on a single page. Cancellation timing, payment retries, and refunds appear in the member and admin help categories. Read the current articles in the Skool Payments category and the Skool Billing category before you write your policy. Do not quote a retry window or a refund rule from memory.
Write your cancellation policy in plain language on the sales page. When billing rules are fuzzy, support tickets pile up fast. State what happens to access when a member cancels and point members to the official Skool article for the current rule.
Test the full path with your own account. Start a paid subscription, cancel the subscription, and watch what the account shows. Repeat the test after any pricing change. A real test beats a guess.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Payouts were never finished, so a price exists but money cannot flow.
- The wrong group was edited.
- The bank country was chosen incorrectly during Stripe Express signup.
- The owner assumed a regular Stripe account was already connected.
- A fintech bank account was used where Skool does not support the account type.
- Pricing changed without a test of the public join page.
Quick fixes when a charge does not go through
Start small. Check whether payouts were approved, whether the monthly price still exists, and whether the member sees a card update prompt. Then compare the member billing status with the plan and the access rule.
Revenue tracking helps here. To see how failed renewals affect your numbers, pair Skool with a tool for calculating SaaS churn rate in Baremetrics. For standard Skool monthly fees, start with the native setup first.
Pre-launch checklist
- Payouts show as connected and the bank country is correct.
- The monthly price exists and matches the sales page.
- Annual pricing, if offered, shows both options in checkout.
- A private browser test shows the right join flow.
- The cancellation policy appears in plain language on the sales page.
- You compared plan fees on the official pricing page against your expected member count.
Run the list before you invite paid members. A short check prevents most launch problems.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Stripe to charge Skool monthly fees?
Yes, for payouts. Skool uses a Stripe Express connection opened from admin settings. The official article states this is a new connection and not an existing Stripe account.
Can I offer monthly and annual prices together?
Yes. Choose Monthly and annual when you add a price in the Pricing tab, then set both amounts.
What fees does Skool charge?
The pricing page lists a transaction fee for each plan. Check the official page for current numbers, because fees can change.
Does Skool support Wise for payouts?
The payout article states Skool does not directly support Wise, Chime, or other fintech bank accounts. Use a local regional bank account.
Where do I read the current cancellation and refund rules?
Use the Skool Payments and Billing help categories. Those pages hold the current rules for admins and members.
Conclusion
Recurring billing feels magical when the setup works, but the setup is really a row of small doors. Each door must latch. In Skool, the doors are payouts, pricing, and testing.
Connect Stripe Express first. Add the monthly price second. Test the join flow before you sell anything. Do this once and your Skool monthly fees stop feeling like a gamble.
