Chip in: where the money goes

Every dollar members chip in goes into your group's balance, and the balance only ever pays your group's Gaggle Mail invoices. You don't have to move any money yourself: it all happens automatically. New to Chip in? Start with Chip in: let members pay for your group.

How the balance is spent

There's one rule: money that members chip in only ever pays your group's Gaggle Mail invoices. Nothing is paid out to you or anyone else, and Gaggle Mail takes no cut. The balance is spent on those invoices, oldest contributions first:

• If your group has a subscription, each renewal invoice is paid from the balance first. Whatever the balance doesn't cover is charged as usual, to your card or on the invoice. Anything left over stays in the balance for the next renewal.

• If your group has no subscription (free, trial or expired), then as soon as it is funded for its goal we upgrade the group to Standard automatically and pay the first invoice from the balance. No card is needed. On a monthly goal that happens when the balance covers a month, and the group moves to monthly Standard. On an annual goal it happens when the balance covers a year (and any sales tax on it), and the group moves to annual Standard. After that, each renewal is paid from the balance first and anything it doesn't cover is invoiced to you. If you'd rather not be upgraded automatically, ask us to turn auto-upgrade off and the balance waits until you choose a plan.

• If your group is part of an Organization, its contributions pool with the Organization's other groups and pay the Organization's invoices. The Chip in tab shows the Organization's balance and target.

What members are aiming for (the target) follows the plan you're on: a month if you pay monthly, a year if you pay annually. To change plan (for example to Premium), use the Billing page and the target changes with it. A group that doesn't pay yet has a goal instead, Monthly by default, which you can change to Annual under Customise.

We keep you posted

You don't need to keep an eye on it. We'll email you when:

• the group is funded: the balance covers a month or a year of its target, or the group has been upgraded;

• an invoice has been paid from the balance, and how much (on a monthly target, only when a month is covered after one that wasn't, so you don't get an email every month);

• a renewal is 30 days away (7 days for a monthly one) and the balance won't cover it. That email has a button to ask members.

Refunds

Whoever chipped in can refund their own contribution, in full, within 30 days of paying, as long as it hasn't been used on the group's invoice yet. They do it themselves from the refund link in their thank-you email. The link is theirs alone: the Chip in page has no refund buttons.

You can refund a contribution too, at any time, as long as it hasn't been used yet: on the Contributions tab, click Refund on its row. The whole payment goes back to their card and comes off the balance. Once a contribution has been used, the money has paid for the group and can't be refunded.

If you delete the group, any contributions that haven't been used are refunded automatically.

Monthly and yearly contributions

A monthly or yearly contribution repeats until the member cancels it. Their thank-you email has a link to manage or cancel it, or change their card. Cancelling stops future payments; what they've already given stays in the balance. Members who set up a monthly donation before Chip in keep giving monthly.

If you turn Chip in off

Turning Chip in off doesn't touch the balance: it's still used on your next invoice. Monthly and yearly contributions made through your page are cancelled. See Turning it off.

More about Chip in

• Chip in: let members pay for your group: what it is, turning it on, your Chip in tab and asking members.

• Chip in: what your members see: the Chip in page, how members pay, who sees their name, and changing the emails and footer line.

Got questions about Chip in or feedback about any aspect of Gaggle Mail? Please contact us.