Gravity Perks: PayPal One-time Fee 2.0.beta1.1

Gravity Perks PayPal One-time Fee is a WordPress plugin designed for PayPal Standard subscriptions created through Gravity Forms. It solves a common billing gap: PayPal Standard doesn’t support a true one-time fee on subscriptions, even when you need to charge a setup charge on the first payment. This perk adds a one-time setup fee to the initial PayPal subscription payment by using PayPal’s trial period mechanics as a workaround. It’s useful for hosting plans, onboarding fees, and other “first charge now, then recur later” scenarios where payment totals must stay consistent.

Note: because the perk simulates the one-time fee using the trial period, you can’t combine a trial period and a one-time fee at the same time—activating the perk disables trial options in the PayPal feed.

Main Features

• Adds a one-time fee to the first PayPal Standard subscription payment — Charges a setup amount on the initial transaction while keeping the subscription recurring.
• Simulates one-time fee via PayPal trial period functionality — Uses trial-period behavior to represent a first-payment-only charge.
• Configurable one-time fee source — The One-time Fee can be set from a product field or from Form Total.
• Configurable recurring amount source — The Recurring Amount can be set from a product field or derived from Form Total.
• Corrects first-payment and subscription totals — Applies the appropriate calculation rules for the first payment vs the subscription amount.
• First payment vs subscription amount handling — Supports scenarios where the first payment includes One-time Fee plus the recurring portion.
• Disables trial period options after activation — Prevents conflicts with trial settings by turning off trial options in the PayPal feed.

Benefits

• Accurate initial charges — Ensures setup fees are collected on the first payment without manual adjustments.
• Reliable subscription billing — Keeps the recurring subscription amount consistent with your intended plan pricing.
• Fewer checkout friction points — Makes “first fee + recurring” billing work inside a single payment flow.
• Predictable totals — Reduces billing errors by applying clear first-payment and subscription calculations based on your field selections.
• Better UX for customers — Provides a straightforward, transparent initial charge tied to onboarding or provisioning.

Who is it suitable for?

• WordPress sites using Gravity Forms to collect subscription payments via PayPal Standard
• Web hosting and managed service providers that charge a setup fee upfront
• Agencies selling onboarding, implementation, or configuration packages tied to subscriptions
• Businesses running subscription-based services with initial one-time fees
• Teams building custom checkout flows for digital or online service offerings