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One-time pricing

One-time pricing gives you the flexibility to charge setup fees, sell standalone products, and add one-time items to any subscription — all managed through Recurly's item catalog.

  Available on all Recurly plans
1 Definition 2 Key benefits 3 Key details 4 Set up one-time billing

Definition

Recurly's one-time billing model lets merchants charge a one-time fee — or sell non-recurring items — in addition to their regular subscription charges. It's also designed to support standalone purchases entirely outside of a subscription context. Whether you're a gym charging an equipment fee at signup, an IoT company bundling a device with an annual service plan, a web store selling exclusive items to subscribers, or a SaaS company invoicing flat fees for professional services, one-time pricing handles all of it through a single, consistent billing model.

Key benefits

More revenue streams Charging a setup fee or selling additional items — physical goods, events, courses — creates new revenue opportunities without rebuilding your billing infrastructure.
Versatile by design Works across industries — IoT, fitness, web commerce, and SaaS — wherever you need to mix recurring and one-time charges in a single checkout flow.
Catalog-driven management The item catalog centralizes your one-time products with default pricing, SKU, accounting code, and tax configuration — ready to sell via API or UI.
Better customer engagement Giving subscribers access to exclusive one-time purchases — limited products, events, or services — deepens engagement and increases order value.

Key details

One-time billing in Recurly is built on two capabilities: plan setup fees and the item catalog. Used together or independently, they cover the full range of one-time charge scenarios.

Setup fees are configured at the plan level and charged once at the time of subscription creation — ideal for activation fees, onboarding charges, or initial hardware costs.

Item catalog handles everything else: standalone products, add-on purchases, and any one-time item you want to sell to subscribers or non-subscribers alike. Each catalog item stores a default price and common attributes (SKU, accounting code, tax category) so you don't have to re-enter them at the point of sale.

Examples by industry

IndustryOne-time billing example
Web storeRocksbox offers members the option to purchase additional jewelry from their web store — billed as a one-time charge alongside their subscription.
SaaSTheHealthyBack charges a flat fee for professional services or one-time events through a purchase adjustment, not a recurring plan.

Set up one-time billing

1

Add a setup fee to your plan

Each plan supports one setup fee, charged once when a customer subscribes. This is the right option for businesses that require an upfront investment at signup — gyms, IoT device activations, or SaaS onboarding charges.

Setup fee configuration in Recurly plan settings
2

Create your items in the catalog

If your business sells one-time items, add them to Recurly's item catalog. For each item, set a default price and fill in any commonly used attributes — SKU, accounting code, and tax information. This makes it straightforward to sell items through the Recurly API or directly from the UI without re-entering product details each time.

3

Implement one-time purchases at checkout

In your checkout flow, create an adjustment on the customer's account for the product using the Purchases endpoint. This endpoint supports billing both recurring subscription charges and one-time purchases together in a single transaction — so your customers see one clean invoice.


Updated about 20 hours ago