When a customer pays the same storage or membership fee every month, that charge usually lives on their recurring billing plan in Payments. Linking that plan to a car record helps your team see which vehicle the charge belongs to without opening separate screens.

What you will accomplish

You will open a car that already has a linked customer, choose the customer's active recurring plan from the Payments section, and save so the car shows a Recurring plan badge.

Expected outcome: The Payments block on the car record shows which subscription is tied to this vehicle.

When to link recurring billing on a car

• The customer already has an active recurring charge for storage or membership.
• One customer has more than one stored vehicle and you need to show which car each monthly fee covers.
• Your team asks "is this car on monthly billing?" and you want the answer on the car record.

Before you start

• The car has a linked customer on its record. Open View and edit vehicle details to link one if needed.
• Payment processing is connected if you bill online—see Connect payment processing.
• The customer already has at least one active recurring plan in Payments > Recurring. If not, create one first with Manage recurring billing.

Step 1: Open the car and confirm the customer

1. Open the vehicle

   Go to Cars and click View on the car you need.

2. Check the Customer section

   Scroll to Customer inside Vehicle Details. The owner's name should appear.

   If you see No customer linked, click Link customer, choose the correct person, and save before continuing.

   Why this matters: Recurring plans belong to customers, not to anonymous car records.

Step 2: Link the recurring plan

1. Find the Payments section

   Scroll to Payments below the customer block.

   Expected result: You see Recurring plan text and either a dropdown or "No recurring plan linked."

2. Open the dropdown

   Click the dropdown (placeholder Link recurring plan or the current selection).

3. Choose the correct subscription

   Select the plan that matches this vehicle's storage or membership fee. Each option shows the product name and current price.

   Choose None to remove a link without canceling the customer's actual subscription.

   Expected result: A Recurring plan badge appears when a plan is selected.

Step 3: Verify on the customer record (optional)

1. Open the customer in Contacts

   Click the customer name on the car record, or find them on All Contacts.

2. Review billing

   Open the billing area on the customer record and confirm the recurring plan is still active.

   Expected result: The car link on the vehicle record matches the plan you expect to charge each month.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Do not link a recurring plan before the customer exists and is linked to the car.
• Do not confuse linking (which car the plan is for) with creating a new recurring charge—use Manage recurring billing to set up the plan itself.
• Do not assume None cancels billing. It only removes the visual link on this car record.

Troubleshooting

What to do next

• Assign care work with Assign service plans on a vehicle when the monthly fee includes scheduled maintenance.
• Send one-time invoices with Create an invoice for charges outside the recurring plan.
• Review the customer's full billing history from Manage billing on a customer record.