***Update 7/7/2010***
The ALPHA version of this module is set for official release within the coming days / week. Just a few loose ends to tie up. The current version is pre-integrated with the following payment gateway: Authorize.net. If there are any additional payment modules that are not on the list please let us know and we’ll look at adding them.
The initial payment modules were determined based on past feedback from interested parties and also based on the most popular processing systems in place (not to mention those that allow the processing of recurring billing transactions — not all do.)
Those on the list (see the form below in this post) will be notified via email as well as here when the package is available for sale. This is a commercial module and will come with support via forums.
***Update 2/24/2010***
Ok, so many requests for this and new abilities through a few gateways means that we’re back in development with this. We’re working hard to get a “plug and play” type module together for complete and seamless two-way recurring billing for zen cart. By two-way I mean all recurring orders show in zen cart admin each time they are billed.
Some of the mods out there currently enable recurring payments but the problem is that it is all “one way communication”. The cart sends the information to the payment processor but subsequent recurring transactions are never reported back to zen cart (so you have no good management system for them.)
Again, working hard to get a commercial mod out and hope to have an initial release ready for purchase soon. Will post a link to that here when ready.
If you want to get on the list to be notified when this is ready you can use the form below and I’ll send you an email when it is ready:
I have been working on a recurring billing module and follow-up system for Zen Cart. The initial tests are going well. Since there are so many users looking for this type of feature in Zen Cart, I wanted to dedicate a single category to it on this site as well.
Although the current module is basically “complete” (but is being tested extensively before any type of release to the general public) I welcome your comments and suggestions on what your ideal recurring billing module would have.
Tell me what payment gateways you are looking to integrate with and if they are not already included, I’ll work to get them in there.
The Zen Cart Recurring Billing category will be the place I will post updates to the progress of the module. I hope those interested will join in posting comments as well. Without your input, I don’t know what you are looking for on your “Wish List” and it if I don’t know what you are looking for, how can I add it! :)
While you’re at it, make sure you subscribe to my rss feed here to keep up-to-date on my postings.
INM says
Hi!
Thanks so much for creating this, I look forward to seeing it. We are on ZenCart 1.2.7 right now. And we use Optimal Payments for our payments, do you think it will work with them? (due to other reasons, we want to stay with them, so we wouldn’t consider changing payment gateways).
Thanks!!
-n
econcepts says
I have not currently got the Optimimal Payments gateway worked in, but I certainly will look into adding it. I am highly considering making this contribution available at the “1.3.6 +” version level but that is not definite.
I originally built it for an older version of zen. It seems to work best on newer versions. Having said that, I may make the 1.2.x version available, but not heavily support it. That is still just a thought though. I have to finish testing on both levels here to see what makes the most sense.
Neil says
So looking forward to installing this mod, any idea on timeframe?
I am an SEO guy who has adopted Zen as the best open source ecommerce site and have a variety of versions of Zen running, from 1.2.7 to 1.3.7. Reapeat orders, correctly implimented would be hugely beneficial, I encourage folk to select a biweekly or monthly repeat, that I have setup through attributes, when purchasing, but from there everything is manual and no onpoing data gets generated in the admin – makes analysis a little difficult!!
Neil says
Sorry, so exited I forgot to mention, I use VCS, Pay Pal and a variety of bank transfer payment mods.
econcepts says
Thanks for the info Neil. I agree and saw a huge need for a site we run for repeat orders. I have it setup currently to allow the creation of various “time frames” that can be set in the admin. It is “product based” meaning you can set recurring order options for a particular product (some products in your inventory may not be “repeat” worthy). The user is able to select the time frame they want to “auto-order” in as well.
As far as time frame, I have been hoping to get it out here for a while now. I will bee testing it actively on a live site here (at least that is the plan) within the month (but don’t hold me to it :) ). I don’t want to send it to a live site to test until I am sure it is doing what it needs to do.
The plan with this site is to not only hook it up on repeat orders, but to integrate it into an “auto-responder” / “customer follow-up” system as well (so customers can be notified of the pending re-order (or need to re-order) at various intervals.
Thanks for the payment information as well. I am writing down all those that I get, and again, those not included, I will try to integrate.
Lesli Richardson says
I have a few subscription sites for various embroidery software programs. People sign up for the first year and I bill at a discounted renewal rate for every year after that.
I use PayPal exclusively for my credit card processing (I’m not doing enough volumn to justify the expense of anything else, and it serves my needs. I use Virtual Terminal when I need to.)
I would like to see the following:
ability to specify frequency of billing (once, weekly, monthly, yearly, bi-annually, etc.)
ability to change billing rate (ie discounted rate) at any point in the cycle for future billings
email notification in advance on both front and backend to tell the customer and remind me when their billing is due
ability to make the renewal manual or automatic, or to make it semi-automatic (put it on hold but send me a reminder or pop-up an admin screen reminder) to activate it
That’s all I can think of right now.
Thanks!
econcepts says
Thanks for the info Lesli,
A few of those items are already built. I’ll add the others to the list. :)
Cbrknight says
My boss has really been hounding me for this feature. I hope try your module soon… One thing I would like to see is the ability to reorder manually… Our customers order custom print jobs. We would like to automatically reorder a completed job when the customer calls or emails us requesting more flyers, postcards etc…
Thanks
econcepts says
Yes, we had a big need for it so we simply had to get it done. I see a lot of potential uses for it with Zen Cart users.
As for the “manual” re-order ability, I am working on integrating that into the system as well. So, it is in the works. :)
Pascal 55 says
Hi, any chance I could take a crack at installing and playing with it? I just started writing a recurring billing module today (5/29/07) but it’s more worth my time to deploy something ready or almost ready than to take the time to write one myself. I realize yours is still BETA so I totally understand it might not be 100% complete and I understand the risks of unknown bugs.
If I can play around with it though, that would be great!
Thanks!
econcepts says
I’d prefer to make sure it is working before I release any code. I have a pretty hefty list of features that it does, and more on the way. The other thing I want to avoid is the problem of the code being changed even before release and a support forum is setup. I’ve seen it happen in the past, and it only makes headaches for the users (trying to figure out which version is current) and it only makes my job of supporting it tougher.
It shouldn’t be too long before I make a public BETA available. I anticipate within the coming month or two.
John says
Great! Just today I started to look over the Zen-Cart code in hopes of hacking in recurring billing for the Linkpoint API. Good luck with your module.
Michael Fox says
I use authorize.net to process most of my orders. I would like to offer my customers the option to have my products shipped to them on a monthly basis without the need to reorder.
econcepts says
Michael,
Yes, in fact Authorize.net is the processor I had first integrated with it as that was the gateway we were using at the time. You’ll be happy to know that one is already built in to this module.
Robyn says
My plan is (not sure if it’s going to be final or not yet…) to have a recurring monthly payment plan to a separate members only area of my site store /members for example. I use paypal for my payments. My question is, is your contrib going to send passwords to the customer after they make payment? and is this going to work immediately in the members area for someone to log in?
Before what I had been doing, it charging one month payment by paypal. emailing the customer a log in and password that I personally generated, and then giving them a URL to a different site (the store is .com and the members site is .info). I’d like to have it all on the same site, just under /members. It would help my customers a lot rather then having to wait for me to give them an email with the log in and password and me having to go into paypal and adjust the one time payment to a recurring payment and having the customer confirm again.
Bek says
I would like my customers to have the ability to “Lay-By” their orders. With options to pay a certain amount off of their order, by either a percentage or desired amount (that’s not less then “$–”). Also at any time, I would like my customers to have the option to “pay the remaining balance”.
It would be great to be able to set a specific time frame in which their order has to be paid off, in my case I would like these to be set as: Weekly (max 8 weeks) or Monthly (max 2 months).
For example: CUSTOMER A has a lay-by totaling $150 and chooses to pay this off weekly. They pay their first immediate installment of $18.75 (calculated rate per week for the 8 weeks) by their selected payment method. CUSTOMER A can then pay any desired amount weekly without exceeding the 8 week payment period. At any time CUSTOMER A can choose to pay the remaining balance and have their package sent.
Additionally, CUSTOMER B has a lay-by totaling $350 and chooses the monthly payment plan. Their first payment of $175 is either immediate or within the first 30 days. CUSTOMER B then has the final 30 days to pay the remaining balance and have their package sent.
Sorry if I sound confusing… I couldn’t quite word it properly.
Will your module be able to do a lay-by/lay away function like this? Is it possible to have this module using bank deposit as the only payment method? (I would prefer not to use credit cards or pay pal if I can). I can’t wait to see when this module comes out!
econcepts says
This system is currently more like an “auto-ship” / “auto-rebill” for products that were purchased through the online store. It is not a “membership” type system so it does not personally send our or even generate passwords (that is left up to Zen Cart which already does that).
What this system does is take a previous order that was placed and allows the user (or admin) to set it as “auto-bill” (I like to call it “auto-ship”). Then, when the time interval comes for that shipment to take place, the module generates the order (just as if the user had checked out using the Zen Cart checkout process), bill the card, and if the transaction is successful, sends out the email confirmation of their order (as the cart does already) and then places the order in the “new orders” section for the Admin to process (ship).
I’m sure this module, once released will have a lot of ideas and additions in future versions, at this moment though, it does not generate and assign passwords (and I don’t foresee it ever doing so).
econcepts says
I like this idea. Currently, the system that is built does not do calculations as such for lay-aways etc… but it is something that I would look into for future releases.
There is a “time frame for rebill” function built into the current module. It is able to be set form within the admin, and then selected by the customer upon checkout.
Webomat says
Wonderful news, thanks for taking this project on!
I use Linkpoint for payment processing. Hope this will work with this contrib.
Thanks!
Joe says
This is perfect! I can’t wait for it to be ready. Question: how does it bill the card? Does the merchant need to store the card info somewhere, or is that stored in the payment gateway?
What I would like to see is the ability for the customer to login into their account and modify their info: shipping address (I guess that’s already in Zen), credit card info (so they can add in a new credit card of their choice), and auto-ship interval (so, they can change auto-ship from once every 4 weeks to once every 8 weeks. Or, to put it on hold for a while).
In addition to that, based on your comments here, it sounds like you have in mind exactly the features / process I would love to see.
econcepts says
Joe,
The way I have it billing the card requires the store owner to store the credit card information on file. It can be stored off site with the payment processor, the problem with that is the “backwards” integration with Zen is not present (which is a critical element I wanted).
You are correct in your assumption that this system allows both the Admin and the Customer to alter the shipping intervals as well as “put it on hold”). There are a ton of plans for it in the future, but I am simply trying to make sure this “first BETA version” is ready for public testing. That testing (non-public) is underway right now and I anticipate it lasting a little while longer.
It is a pretty comprehensive system to say the least. And as stated, the future holds big ideas for it. Thanks for your feedback.
Hal says
Hello, we are just looking at Zencart as a possible solution for our new online store. We definitely need to have recurring payments for a product of the month that our customers will subscribe to. We are planning to use the PSIGate module as a payment gateway for Visa and MC, does your module specifically need to support each payment module or will it work with any?
econcepts says
Hal,
At this moment, it is actually shaping up to potentially be used with ANY payment method supported by Zen Cart. It was not that way originally, but I have taken a turn with it in testing recently that may enable it to integrate with any supported payment method offered by Zen (third party or not).
Again, that is in testing, but it is the goal. I will know more here as that phase moves on.
I’m not sure what other carts you are comparing with Zen, but in my opinion, you won’t find a more robust open source cart with as active a community as Zen. Don’t know if that helps you in your decision making, but I thought I’d throw it out.
Alex says
Can I get an idea of how soon you might go public with this? And how much it will be? I’m in desperate need of this…
econcepts says
I’m hoping soon. It is the current “top project” on my list of modules.
Jan says
my interest is an annual e-mag subscription
I’d want the std Zencart-Paypal payment
a secure area with access automatically sent to the new/renewing subscriber, limited to the sub period
and an auto emailed reminder to renew say 60 days before the end of the sub period, with the renewal link embedded in the email
rafiki says
i recently began work on a site development for a membership-based fitness and adventure club. i was soooo, hoping that i could just surf the web and find a module, add-on or the like to process recurring billing for the monthly dues. i am able to offer recurring billing with paypal, do you know if i can somehow send the customer to that function in paypal from zen cart? and of course, do you know when your work will be complete on this module … i had to ask… **smiling**?
econcepts says
What about using the PayPal IPN part of Zen for that? Zen can already talk to paypal without a problem (passing data between the two). I would look in to that route for the time being.
mike says
Looking forward to the release of this module…
econcepts says
Yeah, I’m working on it. I told another user that I went back and re-wrote it (kinda from the beginning) because there were so many requests for integration with different payment gateways, that rather than make plug-ins for each (or leave users out), I wanted to get it working with as many payment gateways as possible.
Thus, I re-wrote it to work in any that are around.
It’s in development here, and I really hope to have it out in the near future. I know there are a lot of users looking for this.
Rich says
I use Paypal and Moneybookers for payment. I also accept direct bank deposits. My customers are billed for a monthly subscription.
Andy says
We’re developing a site for a business coach with a member area (to access mp3 downloads). We were told by our sub-contractor programmers that monthly billing, automatically debited from customer’s credit card, is possible using Zen Cart but they’ve failed to deliver. This module in development sounds like it will do the job. Any news on when it will be finished? Our merchant is Moneris, in Canada.
ash says
looking forward to this.
econcepts says
Quick Update for all those who are asking ETA on tis mod.
This mod has been a tough one, but is still very much alive and moving. Just slow. You see, in the US, it is illegal to keep Credit Card information in your own database unless highly encrypted so, it is not recommended. The legal ramifications of it being compromised are risky.
In any event, having see that, we are working to get a viable solution that keeps within standards and also relieves you the user of as much liability as possible.
That is where we stand right now with it. It’s moving, but not at a rabbits pace. I have started to integrate custom solutions for Recurring Billing into Zen cart for a few users who have specifically requested certain payment gateways to be supported. This is being done an a contract basis and is only because they are looking for a solution at a more rapid pace than can be provided using “all payment gateways”.
Chris says
Zen cart current stores 8 of 16 numbers on file and CVV.
How much of a compromise would it be to store the middle 8 into side tables, which are called upon to create the batch orders, credit card prossessing?
Eric Leuenberger says
I wouldn’t risk putting any cc information (even where it can be pieced back together) into your own database unless you are willing to take on the extreme liability that goes with it.
I recommend keeping the sensitive information with the proper financial institutions and saving yourself the risk. It’s just not worth it.
South Raven says
Still waiting for some kind of public beta on this. How are things going?
Eric Leuenberger says
Public BETA was tossed out due to new laws regarding Visa, MC etc.. information and how it is held on a server which rendered the original code “obsolete”.
I posted to the following board:
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36447
But never did post an entry here.
I do (and have) built recurring systems for Zen Cart on a per project custom basis which do work within the new laws of where customer data is held.
If you are interested in that option, contact me about it and let me know what gateway you have. We can start there.
Thanks!
JohnB says
Hi Eric,
I am interested in the membership (recurring) billing module. I don’t run ZenCart (we wrote our own) but plan to get a shopping cart b/c of adding products beyond memberships. I am looking for a platform where I can buy or get development help with the recurring billing module.
Our current system, written in cgi-perl, allows monthly, quarterly, S-A and annual billing, and members can change their info, cancel, upgrade their membership or reactivate. I’m wondering how your recurring module is coming along, whether it incorporates or could incorporate these features and whether the CC data would be encrypted. Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Eric Leuenberger says
John,
See the entry above.
Karrie says
Hi there, My client wants to move thir current ecommerce solution to a new solution. I am looking for a solution with recurring ordering/payment feature. Does Zen Cart offer this or did you ever release this on Zen Cart yet?
Gaurav says
My reqiurment is i will save credit card info in my database and pass this info in payment gateway when payment are required .. Is any payment gateway support this concept
Eric Leuenberger says
Zen Cart out of the box does not offer recurring billing. Do to new laws with regard to where Credit Card information is held, the previous mod became outdated and was abandoned.
I can, and have, built recurring billing into a number of Zen Cart sites on a project by project basis. It’s a custom type thing that is on a case by case basis, but it can be done as long as your payment gateway allows for some type of “recurring transaction”.
Eric Leuenberger says
Do to new laws enacted by credit card companies, you definitely do not want to hold the credit card information on your own server. Doing so opens you up to total liability that can cost you dearly.
The better way is to hold the data on your gateways secure system (such as Authorize.net, etc…) as they are able to protect it as needed. In doing so, it is still possible to “talk” with the gateway under the right circumstances and providing they enable you to do so.
They best I found so far is Authorize.net.
Brad says
Is this module ready yet?
Eric Leuenberger says
Brad,
This module was abandoned a while back due to new visa / mc laws.
Here is the post to that.
http://www.zencartoptimization.com/2007/05/28/zen-cart-recurring-billing-module/#comment-1260
Chris says
Hey there…
I just want to know if you managed to play with PsiGate’s API and if so, the next question is: did u manage to make a recurring payment?
I can’t seem to find anywhere anything about it, except for documentation of how to use PsiGate’s admin panel.
Eric Leuenberger says
Chris,
No, I have never worked with that one.
Michael says
I use Authorize.net for my gateway solution and would be thrilled if you could come up with a customized solution for recurring billing and Zen Cart. If I am reading the comments correctly, you want to store the data on Authorize secure server? Is that right?
Eric says
That is correct. I will email you (in response to yours) here with some more info.
Ara says
I recently downloaded the Authorize.Net ARB module for our ZenCart site from http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?main_page=product_contrib_info&cPath=40_48&products_id=612 Haven’t setup Authorize.Net account yet, but will be doing so soon. We are intersted in selling both Websites (1-time fee or split up into payments) and Hosting (Annual Recurring). Just curious on how close you are to completing this module or if the one I downloaded includes the changes you mentioned above? Thanks
Eric says
That module is not mine. It was made after our initial release about 2 years ago. That is a “one way” communication module (meaning it does not interact and talk back with the cart on future recurring payments.) Also, the ARB method is an older method (replaced by newer technology by authorize.net) and is not the preferred method for developing a module of this type.
Our solution has a number of must have features.
I anticipate being able to start my own testing sometime within the next two weeks. Once I test and refine a bit we’ll put it up for sale as a commercial module. Details on that will follow hopefully soon.
My plan is to have a working solution ready within the next 6- 8 weeks or so.
Kerry Crawford says
This would be EXTREMELY useful for several of my clients and also for me! I look forward to being able to test the module when you get to that point.
Kerry
Samar says
Did this module got ready/ launched. I’d love to try it.
Please reply.
Thanks.
Eric Leuenberger says
It is very close. Currently being tested on a few sites.
Chris Kelm says
Excellent news Eric!!! Let us know if you need any beta/testing sites!! Our interest would be in the most common payment gateways – PayPal, Authorize.net, etc…..
cris says
Eric,
Hi. I’m reading through this and hoping it’s a potential solution for my site. Sounds really awesome. I’m curious if it’s complete…?
Here are my variables… ZenCart 1.3.9h. Authorize and PayPal. And I sell downloadable products.
What I’m needing/hoping for is to bill monthly at various price points. For example if customer A desires 4 downloads per month, I might charge $20. If customer B desires 6 downloads per month Im might charge $25.
I’m guessing this mod doesn’t allow for the releasing of specific amounts of downloads does it?
At any rate, let me know where you’re at and if it’s modifiable.
Thanks!
Cris
Eric Leuenberger says
I’ve currently got this running on a few test sites and am monitoring that. Looks good so far.
Kerry says
Really??? That is faaaannnnntastic news. Can’t wait to see it in action and would love a chance to test it out.
Kerry
Corinne Collins says
I’m very interested in this module and hope it will be released very soon. I have client that actually needs it now!
I’ve been searching for a module like this… Please let me know when it is available for sale.
Terry Ames says
Any update on this module? I am looking for a module that will allow the client to specify the recurring time based on individual products. It would be nice if the client could go into his account and modify the time span between incidences.
Eric Leuenberger says
The current module does have this ability built in already. What is an address to reach you at?
cris says
Yo, Eric! How’s this coming along? Very interested in this!!!
cris
Eric Leuenberger says
Hi Cris,
Funny you should ask. I have been working on refining this for sometime now. It got over a few new hurdles just yesterday and today the newest test is running on a few sites (my own sites.)
I am really hoping with this latest fix that I can release it within the next two weeks.
Terry Ames says
Any update on progress?
Eric Leuenberger says
Yes. I have a verified working copy running on a site now live with Authorize.net currently. Seems to be working nicely and I expect a release in the next week or two.
Terry Ames says
Any update? It has been several weeks since you last posted.
Eric Leuenberger says
Yes. I’m ready for any authorize.net users looking to give this a go. Will be emailing the list here with related info. This week (9/26/11). If not on the list yet be sure to add your name and email.
Terry Ames says
Count me in. I use authorize.net
Terry Ames says
Did you mail to the list and I wasn’t on it? Never got anything from you,
Eric Leuenberger says
Hi Terry,
I had to get the page in place for users to make the purchase. This week I’ll be revealing that link to the list and also providing a discount to early birds. If you don’t get an email this week let me know and I’ll send you one personally.
Thanks!
Eric
mei says
does this module currently exist?
thanks!
Eric Leuenberger says
I do have a version of this module ready to go for Authorize.net gateways. What gateway are you currently using to process payments? There are a few others I have been working on adding here.