The Payment section in Listdom’s WordPress admin menu is your hub for monetizing your directory. Here you can create listing Plans for paid submissions or memberships, issue discount Coupons, review Orders (transactions), and manage Recurring Payments (memberships). This section appears when you enable Listdom’s built-in payment engine (as opposed to WooCommerce integration) in the Payments settings and have the relevant addons for monetization enabled. Below, we explain each part of the Payment menu and how to use its options.
Payment Plans are the products or packages that users can purchase for listing submissions or memberships. For example, you might set up a “Basic Listing Plan” or a “Premium Membership Plan.” Each Plan can have one or multiple pricing options (called Tiers).
Plan Name: The title of the plan (e.g. Gold Package, Basic Listing). This is what users will see when choosing a package.
Description: The main content or excerpt of the Plan post can be used to describe what the plan includes (e.g. how many listings, features, or duration).
Tiers: Under the Tiers meta box on the Plan edit screen, you can add one or more pricing tiers for the plan. For each tier, specify:
Tier Name: A label for that option (e.g. Monthly, One-Time, Annual).
Price: The cost of this tier in your chosen currency.
Type: Choose One Time for a one-off payment or Recurring for an automated membership payment. The Recurring option is unlocked by Pro, which lets you offer ongoing memberships and billing cycles.
Duration (Expiry): If the tier is one-time, you may set an active period (in days) that the listing or membership lasts before expiring (leave blank or 0 for no expiration). If the tier is recurring, the duration is required – it defines the billing interval in days (e.g. 30 for monthly, 365 for yearly).
Default: Click the ⭐ icon beside a tier to mark it as the default selection. This is useful when a plan has multiple tiers; the starred tier will be pre-selected for the user.
You can add additional tiers by clicking an “Add Tier” button in the plan editor (a new tier row will appear for you to fill in). Similarly, you can remove a tier if needed. After configuring tiers, publish the Plan. These Plans will be used whenever users make a purchase in Listdom’s checkout (e.g. buying a package to post listings). Configure the pages and invoice behaviour for those purchases via the Options section in the Payments settings guide.
The Coupons section allows you to create and manage discount codes that can be applied at checkout (when using the Listdom payment engine). Each Coupon has these options:
Code: The coupon code is taken from the Coupon title. For example, if you title the coupon “SUMMER2025,” users will enter SUMMER2025 to get the discount.
Discount (%): An optional percentage off. If you want the coupon to deduct a percentage of the order total, enter that number here (e.g. 10 for 10% off).
Deduction (Fixed Amount): An optional fixed amount to deduct from the total (in the set currency). For example, enter 5.00 to subtract $5 (or equivalent in your currency).
Usage Limit: The number of times this coupon can be used in total. Leave blank or zero for unlimited uses. (Each use is counted when an order successfully applies the coupon.)
Usage: When a user enters a valid coupon code during checkout, Listdom automatically applies the discounts you configured. You can define both a percentage and a fixed deduction, although most campaigns rely on just one of them. If you enter both values, Listdom calculates the final charge with this order of operations: Final Price = Price – Discount (%) – Deduction ($). The coupon’s usage count increments with each successful order, and once the usage limit is reached, the code can no longer be applied.
After creating a coupon, it will appear in the Coupons list with columns showing its percentage discount, fixed deduction, usage limit, and how many times it’s been used so far.
The Orders section lists all transactions that have occurred through Listdom’s internal payment system. Each Order corresponds to a purchase or payment made by a user (for example, purchasing a listing plan, paying for a booking, etc.). Orders are implemented as a custom post type, and you can click on any order to view its details. In the Orders list, you’ll see columns for:
Items: What was purchased. This will typically show the name of the Plan or product bought (for instance, the plan name and tier name, like Gold Package – Annual). If the order includes any additional fees or taxes, those may be listed here as well.
Amount: The total amount paid for the order.
Gateway: The payment method used (e.g. PayPal, On-site, Wire Transfer, etc.). Gateways are configured in the Payments settings; common options include PayPal (built-in), offline payments (On-site/Wire transfer), and others.
Customer: The name or identifier of the user who made the payment. If the user is logged in, it will show their name; otherwise, it might show the email or other info provided at checkout.
Date: The date when the order was placed.
Each order also has a Status, which is indicated by the order’s post status. Common statuses are Pending, Completed, Canceled, Failed, On-Hold, or Refunded. You can click an order to change its status. For example, if you allow an offline payment (cash or bank transfer), an order might remain in “Pending” until you receive payment and then you (as an admin) can edit that order and mark it Completed. Marking an order completed will trigger any post-purchase actions such as granting the listing package benefits to the user.
When you edit/view an Order, you will see meta boxes for Items and Details:
The Items box shows each item purchased. If the item relates to a specific listing or claim, it will also show references. For instance, a listing ID or title may be linked if the purchase was tied to a particular listing (like a paid Top Up or Label for a listing). It may also provide an Invoice Button. The invoice button is a link that, when visited, displays an invoice page for that order (this is useful if you want to send the customer a receipt link).
The Details box shows customer information (name, email) and additional notes or messages.
The Recurring Payments section is visible if you offer recurring memberships. This section lists memberships or payment plans that charge on a repeating schedule.
Each entry in Recurring Payments has:
Items: The name of the plan and tier that is being billed repeatedly (e.g. Premium Membership – Monthly).
Amount: The recurring charge amount per cycle.
Gateway: The payment gateway handling the recurring charge (e.g. PayPal or Stripe if configured).
Customer: The subscriber (user who is paying).
Date: The start date of the membership or the date of the last renewal.
Recurring Payments have their own statuses to indicate whether a membership is active or ended. Active memberships will typically show as Active, while canceled or expired memberships might show as Canceled or Expired (and refunded ones as Refunded). As an admin, you can click on a Recurring Payment entry to view details or manually change its status (for example, cancel a membership on behalf of a user, which would prevent future renewals).
When viewing a Recurring Payment, you will see:
An Orders meta box listing all payment occurrences (renewal orders) associated with that membership. This provides a history of each time the user was charged.
A Details meta box which may include the member’s info and gateway-specific data (like a PayPal agreement ID or Stripe profile ID, if applicable).
Note: In Listdom’s internal engine, recurring billing is handled by charging the user and generating a new Order at each interval. If a renewal fails or a membership is canceled, the status will update accordingly. Ensure that your payment gateway supports automatic recurring payments (PayPal and Stripe do, when properly set up). You can manage gateway credentials and modes under Gateways. If using WooCommerce as the engine, recurring payments would be managed by WooCommerce’s memberships or other recurring billing system instead.
To better understand how the Payment section works, here is a real-world scenarios using Listdom’s payment features:
Example: Creating a Paid Listing Plan
Imagine you want to charge users for adding listings. First, enable the Listdom payment engine and install the Membership addon. Then go to Listdom → Payments → Plans and click “Add Plan.” Create a plan called “Pro Listing Package” and focus on its billing tiers—price, one-time or recurring type, and duration. Under Tiers, add a tier for a one-time purchase (e.g. Name: One-Time, Price: $10, Type: One Time, Duration: 30 days). You could also add a second tier for a recurring membership (Name: Monthly, Price: $5, Type: Recurring, Duration: 30 days) if you want to offer ongoing billing at a lower rate. Mark one tier as default by selecting the ⭐ icon. Publish the plan, then edit your Membership package to attach this plan and configure the listing benefits there (listing limits, featured access, etc.). Users will see the package as an option when submitting a listing, and after purchase, their listing will follow the package rules while the plan handles payments.
Membership AddonLearn how to enable memberships and recurring listing packages with the Listdom Membership addon.
