A paid trial is the "7 days for $20" offer many academies run: a small payment up front, a week of classes, then a membership. DojoMesh sells it from your website, keeps the card on file, starts the clock at the person's first class, and emails them a one-click link to choose a membership when the trial ends. Nothing more is charged unless they choose a plan.
How a paid trial works
- They buy it on your website. A trial link opens a page that takes their details, your agreements and a card. They pay the trial price once, and the card is kept on file.
- They come to class. The trial starts the first time they sign in at your kiosk, and runs the number of days you set from that day. Until then the kiosk lets them in; after the last day it shows them as past due.
- They get the ending email. On the last trial day, and again the day after, DojoMesh emails them a button that opens your membership plans. Confirming charges the card on file, makes them an active member with automatic renewal, and closes the trial.
- You follow up with the rest. People who never came in, or who let the email go by, stay on your Leads page with their trial state showing, ready for a call or a text.
The card is stored and charged through whichever you have set up under Settings Payment Settings. Set up Square or Stripe first; a trial cannot be paid by e-transfer, because the card on file is the point.
Create the trial offer
Go to Settings Membership Plans Add Plan and fill it in like this:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Plan Name | What the buyer sees, for example 7 Day Trial |
| Description | One line shown on the trial page, for example Seven days of unlimited classes for new students |
| Plan Type | One-Time Purchase |
| Purchase Price | The trial price, for example 20.00. Taxes are added from your tax settings as with any plan |
| Trial offer: days of access | How many days the trial lasts from their first class, for example 7. This field is what makes the plan a trial offer |
| Show on website | Ticked. The trial link only works for plans marked for the website |
Save it, then note the plan's id. It is the number in the address bar when you open the plan to edit it, for example admin_edit_plan.php?id=47, and the Trial offer badge on the Membership Plans page shows it when you hover.
A plan with trial days is only sold through the trial link. It does not appear in the regular online checkout, the member portal, the sign-in kiosk's pay screen or your website's plan list, so existing members cannot buy a trial by mistake. Staff can still record one at the front desk.
Put the link on your website
The trial page lives at your academy's address with the plan id on the end:
https://your-academy.dojomesh.com/platform/checkout.php?trial=47Link a button to it from your website, your social bios or a QR code at the front desk. On a custom domain (see Your website and domain) use that domain instead of the dojomesh.com address.
The page is the same secure checkout you may already use for memberships, in trial mode: one person, the trial price, your waivers and agreements, and a card. Keep my card on file is always on and the wording tells them nothing more is charged unless they choose a membership.
Someone who already has a trial, or any payment on file with you, is told to contact you instead. That stops a current member buying a $20 week.
Check the ending email
Open Settings Message Templates Payment Reminders and find Paid Trial Ending Email. It is switched on by default, so there is nothing to turn on; read the wording and change it if you like, as with any template.
The email goes out in the morning, your local time, on the last day of the trial and again the day after, to anyone who has not chosen a plan yet. The button in it, Choose my membership, opens a page that lists every membership plan you have marked for the website, with tax, and the card they left on file. One confirmation charges that card and starts their membership.
Variables you can use beyond the usual {{first_name}} and {{gym_name}}:
| Variable | Becomes |
|---|---|
{{trial_ends}} | The last trial day, e.g. Monday, November 9 |
{{trial_days}} | The length you set, e.g. 7 |
{{choose_plan_button}} | The Choose my membership button |
{{choose_link}} | The same link as bare text, for use inside your own wording |
{{description}} | The trial plan's name |
Use Send me a test to see it in your own inbox. The link in a test opens the real page but says the link is invalid, because a test is not for a real member. Every real link is personal to that member and works for 30 days.
Try it yourself
Open your trial link in a private browser window and buy the trial with your own card and an email address you do not already use with your academy. You will see the receipt, a new lead on your Leads page marked Paid trial, and a Paid trial card on their profile. Sign yourself in at the kiosk and the profile shows the real end date. Refund the $20 from your Square or Stripe dashboard afterwards and archive the lead.
What the member sees
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| They buy | A receipt by email explaining that the trial starts at their first class, that they should come in within 30 days, and that their card is kept on file with nothing more charged unless they choose a plan. You get the usual online-payment alert with a Paid trial note. |
| First class | They sign in at the kiosk like anyone else. The trial becomes active and ends the set number of days later, counting that day as day one. A 7-day trial started on a Monday ends on the Sunday. |
| During the trial | The kiosk lets them in. The Leads page shows them as Attended, with the trial's end date on their profile. |
| Last day | The ending email with the Choose my membership button. |
| Day after | The same email once more, unless they have already chosen. |
| They choose a plan | Their card is charged for the plan's first period, they become an Active member, their membership runs from the end of the trial, and automatic renewal is set up on the same card. They get a receipt and you get the online-payment alert. |
| After the trial, no plan | The kiosk shows them as past due, with your normal pay options if you have kiosk payments on. Nothing is charged to the card on file. |
The choose-a-plan page says so and offers Use a different card, which opens the regular checkout for the same purchase. You also get a note in the alert so you can follow up.
Following up
The two emails are automatic. Everything else is the same lead follow-up you already use, with the trial's state in front of you.
Never came in
Someone who buys a trial and does not attend within 30 days is marked Trial expired, never attended on their profile and gets no ending email, because their trial never started. They are still a lead with a card on file. Call or text them from the Leads page; if they then come in, the trial still runs from their first class, so ask them to sign in at the kiosk as usual.
Came in, did not choose a plan
After the two emails, the profile says Trial ended, no plan chosen and still shows a choose-a-plan link. Send that link yourself by text or email with a personal note, or ask them at the desk and take the payment there: the kiosk pay screen and Take Payment on their profile both work, and either one makes them an active member.
Wants a plan that is not on the website
The choose-a-plan page only lists plans marked Show on website. For a special rate, record the payment from their profile or start the subscription under Financial Recurring Payments, where their stored card is already available.
Most lost trials are people who paid and never walked in. Tell them in your website copy which class to come to first, and that they just give their name at the kiosk. A quick "see you Tuesday?" text from the Leads page the day after they buy makes a real difference.
Where it shows in DojoMesh
- Leads page: the lead's origin reads Paid trial, and their stage moves to Attended once they sign in and Joined once they choose a plan.
- Member profile: a Paid trial card with the state (not started, on trial until, ended, converted or expired), the purchase, the first class date, the card on file and the choose-a-plan link.
- Online checkouts: the trial purchase and the later membership purchase are both listed under Settings Online Checkout like any other online payment.
- Payments: the trial is a one-time payment on the lead's record, and the membership payment is recorded the day they choose a plan.
Troubleshooting
The trial link says "Trial offer not available"
The plan id in the link is wrong, the plan is not marked Show on website, or its trial days are 0. Open the plan to check all three.
The trial link says online payment is unavailable
Your academy has no card gateway set up, or the one you chose is missing a key. See Square or Stripe.
The trial has not started although they came to class
The trial starts from a kiosk sign-in. If staff only noted them on paper, sign them in at the kiosk, or from the Attendance page, and the profile updates the next time it is opened.
They did not get the ending email
Check that the trial shows as active or ended on their profile, that the switch on Paid Trial Ending Email is on, and that they have an email address. The email only goes to people still marked as leads; once they have chosen a plan or been made a member by staff, it stops.
The card on file was declined when they chose a plan
Their page offered a different card. If they did not use it, send them the regular checkout link for the plan, or take the payment at the desk. The trial itself was paid and is not affected.
Common questions
Does buying a trial charge anything else later?
No. The only other charge is the membership they choose on the ending email's page, at the price shown to them when they confirm, and the renewals that follow it. Someone who never chooses is never charged again.
Can a parent buy a trial for a child, or for two people?
Not in one go. A trial is for one person, the one paying. For a child, the parent can register the family with the family registration page and book a free trial class, or buy the trial in the child's name with the child's own details.
Can I run a free trial instead?
Use trial bookings for free trial classes. The paid trial is for offers with a price and a card on file.
What if they want to start on a different day?
Nothing to do. The trial does not start until their first sign-in, any day within 30 days of buying.
Can I change the price or length?
Yes, edit the plan. Trials already bought keep the length they were bought with.
How do I refund a trial?
Refund it from your Square or Stripe dashboard, then record the refund on the payment in DojoMesh as you would for any card payment.