When new members are first charged

On a club where everyone is on the same schedule, there's a gap between when someone joins and when their first order actually goes out. If a member joins after your signup cutoff, their first cycle might be weeks away.

This setting decides whether they pay now or pay when that cycle bills.

The two options

In the club editor, on the When and how will you bill and fulfill? step, under the signup cutoff question:

When they sign up — the member pays for their first cycle the moment they join, even if that cycle is weeks away. This is how every club has always worked, and it stays the default.
When their first cycle bills — the member pays nothing for the membership today. They're charged when their first cycle bills, in the same run as all your existing members.

Either way the member is active immediately and keeps their spot in that cycle.

Only the membership price moves. Signup fees and any required first purchase are still collected when they join, on both options.

So a club with a $25 signup fee and a $60 tier, with the second option on:

	At signup	When their first cycle bills
Signup fee	$25	—
Membership	—	$60
Shipping and tax on the membership	—	charged with it

Checkout tells them exactly this: a total due today, then "First charge of $60 plus fees and tax on April 1". The welcome email, the kiosk screen and the member's confirmation page all name the date too.

Which members this affects

Only members whose first cycle hasn't started yet. In practice that's:

Members who join after your signup cutoff for the current cycle.
Members who join while Defer new signups to next cycle is on.

A member who joins in time for the cycle that's already running pays at signup regardless — that cycle is happening now, so there's nothing to wait for.

There's also a practical floor: if the member's first cycle starts within about two days, they're charged at signup. Moving a charge that close isn't something the payment processor allows, so it falls back to the normal behaviour.

Why you might choose each one

When they sign up keeps cash in the door immediately and means every member has paid before you allocate wine to them.

When their first cycle bills is easier for members to understand — they pay when they get something — and it puts your whole club on one billing day. It also avoids the awkward conversation where someone pays in February and their first shipment arrives in April.

The trade-off is real: between signup and that first cycle, the member has paid nothing for the membership. If their card fails on the cycle date they're flagged Past Due and held out of fulfillment, same as any renewal that fails.

Turning it on

It's per club, and it's safe to change at any time:

It only affects new signups. Existing members are untouched and keep billing exactly as they do today.
Turning it back off likewise only affects later signups. Anyone already waiting for a first charge keeps the date they were given.

It's only available on clubs where everyone shares a schedule. Clubs that bill each member on their own join anniversary, and release clubs, don't show the option — there's no shared cycle for the charge to move to.

Changing one member instead of the whole club

When you add a member yourself, the Billing Schedule options on the Add Member form let you pick per member:

Bill immediately — follow whatever the club is set to.
Defer fulfillment to next cycle — push their first order to the next cycle but charge them today.
Defer first charge to next cycle — push their first order and their first charge to the next cycle.
Schedule for a future date — clubs that bill on join anniversaries only.

Each option shows what will actually be charged before you confirm.

Comping someone's first charge

This setting moves a charge; it doesn't forgive one. If you want a member to get their first cycle free, use the first-charge waiver when adding them — that's a separate choice, and it always wins. A comped member is never charged for that period by a later renewal.

What you'll see

On the Orders page, members waiting on their first charge appear in their cycle as normal.
On the member's profile, the billing date is labelled First charge rather than a renewal, so you can tell the two apart.
If you pause a member before that charge, the pause stops the charge too, and the pause dialog says so instead of claiming they're paid through the date.
If you schedule a cancellation for the same date as their first charge, the charge never happens — so they're taken out of that cycle rather than being sent wine nobody paid for.