Payments & subscriptions

How payment works

1. You choose a product on the shop and click Buy now.
2. For term registrations, you're routed through a 5-step wizard that captures your child's details, medical consent, and emergency contacts.
3. You're redirected to Stripe Checkout — a hosted payment page run by Stripe.
4. You pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or any method the academy enables.
5. You land on a confirmation page and the order shows up in your parent portal.

Where does the money go? Directly to your academy's bank account via Stripe Connect. Your card statement will show the academy's name, not "AcademyOS".

Discounts and promo codes

Promo codes

If the academy gives you a code, enter it in the Promo code field on the checkout form. Codes are case-insensitive — EARLYBIRD, earlybird, and EarlyBird all work.

Sibling discount (automatic)

If you've already bought one product for any of your kids at the academy, a sibling discount may apply automatically to your next purchase. You don't need a code — the discount appears in the price summary at checkout.

Where to see your orders

Sign in to the parent portal. You'll see recent orders, downloadable Stripe receipts, and any outstanding payments.

Managing a recurring subscription

If you signed up for a monthly, quarterly, or annual plan, you can manage it yourself from Parent Portal → Subscriptions:

• Cancel — takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Sessions remain available until then; no refund for unused time.
• Update payment method — change the card on file. Useful if your card is lost, expires, or fails a charge.

Both run through Stripe's hosted Billing Portal — your full card details are never seen by us or your academy.

Cancelling and refunds

When the academy refunds a one-off order:

• Money returns to the same card you paid with.
• UK card refunds typically arrive in 5–10 business days.
• Your portal shows the order as refunded or partial_refund.
• You receive an automatic refund emailwith the amount, whether it's partial, the academy's reason (if given), and how long the card refund takes.

If a payment fails

Stripe will tell you immediately on the checkout page if your card is declined. The most common reasons:

• Insufficient funds
• 3D Secure verification timed out
• Card not enabled for online payments

Try again with the same or a different card. The academy can also email you a manual payment link if you ask.

Your data — UK GDPR

When you pay, we store:

• Your name and email so the academy can contact you
• Your child's details for term registrations — name, DOB, medical notes, consents
• The order record for the academy's accounts and HMRC
• Your Stripe customer ID — your card number is never stored by AcademyOS or the academy. Stripe is the only place that holds it.

You can export everything we hold or request deletion via the Privacy Policy. Player and parent data is removed within 30 days of a deletion request, except records we have to keep for legal/tax reasons (typically 6 years for orders).

Common questions