Event payment plans
Take a booking deposit today and collect the rest automatically before the event date. One checkout link, a schedule the customer sees before paying, and every payment lands in your own Stripe account.
Short answer
An event payment plan splits a booking into a deposit paid at checkout plus one to four scheduled instalments, with the final payment collected 14 to 30 days before the event. PlanPacer runs this on Stripe without subscriptions: you set the dates, the customer approves the schedule at checkout, and each instalment charges automatically with retries on failure.
Who uses event payment plans
- Private and corporate event organisers: weddings, milestone parties, company events booked months ahead.
- Event suppliers: caterers, marquee and AV hire, planners and stylists holding a date for one client.
- Experience hosts: supper clubs, multi-day festivals, group trips where the ticket price justifies spreading.
If you run a venue, the venues and event suppliers page covers date-holding deposits in more depth.
Example schedules
£3,600 wedding catering, 8 months out
- £1,080 deposit (30%) at booking
- £1,260 at the halfway point
- £1,260 thirty days before the wedding
£800 group event booking, 3 months out
- £200 deposit (25%) at booking
- £300 next month
- £300 fourteen days before the event
Deposit percentages and timing rules are covered in the Deposit Playbook.
How it works
- Enter the total, the deposit, and the instalment dates. Anchor the final payment 14 to 30 days before the event.
- Send one checkout link. The customer reviews the full schedule and pays the deposit. No account needed.
- Instalments collect automatically through your Stripe account, with failed payments retried and the status visible to both sides.
Frequently asked questions
How do event payment plans work?
The customer pays a deposit at booking through a hosted checkout link, then the remaining balance is collected automatically in instalments on dates you set, with the final payment landing before the event.
Can I take instalment payments for event bookings through Stripe?
Yes. PlanPacer schedules one-off Stripe charges on your dates through your own Stripe account. It does not use subscriptions, so the plan ends when the event is paid for. See Stripe payment plans without subscriptions for the full comparison.
When should the final payment be due?
14 to 30 days before the event. That leaves time for automatic retries and a conversation if a payment fails.
Is this buy-now-pay-later for events?
No. PlanPacer is not a lender and does not pay you upfront. You are collecting your own booking payments over time.
What happens if an instalment fails before the event?
The charge retries automatically and you are told what happened, so you can follow up while there is still time.
Does it replace my event booking system?
No. Keep your booking form, ticketing tool or email process, and send a PlanPacer link when the customer is ready to reserve.
Set up your first event payment plan
€199 to launch with your account, branding, first live plan and emails configured. Then 1% per collected payment. No monthly fee.
Set up a plan