# What are plans and packages

_Understand the difference between a plan (a renewing subscription) and a package (a one-off purchase of sessions with an expiry date), why both are the same record, where you set them up and how not to confuse them with a combo or with a credit package._

> **💡 Tip**
>
> In a package charged **every N appointments**, changing the appointments later also changes the invoices — cancelling an appointment reorganizes the cycles and pushes the freed slot to the end of the package. Learn the difference in [Track plans and packages](/en/operacao/planos/acompanhar-planos/).

> **💡 Tip**
>
> 💡 Plans and packages are your two levers for **recurring revenue and loyalty**. Use a **plan** (a renewing subscription) for the loyal customer who gets a bath every week, and a **package** (buying several sessions with an expiry date) to sell quantity up front and guarantee the customer comes back. Both raise the ticket and make revenue more predictable.

**Plans and packages** are how you sell several services at once, at a fixed price, instead of charging service by service. They are the heart of your **recurring revenue**: the customer signs up once and then uses the services over time — which builds loyalty and makes cash flow predictable. Everything that is sold becomes an active plan on the customer's profile and generates the matching invoices in [Finance](/en/operacao/financeiro/cobrancas/).

## Plan vs. Package: the same thing with a different Type

Despite the names, **a plan and a package are the same record** in TecPet. What decides which is which is a single field — the **Plan type**:

- **Plan** — it is **recurring**: a subscription meant to **renew** each period. The Type can be **Monthly**, **Quarterly**, **Half-yearly** or **Yearly**. At the end of the period it **does not charge on its own** — the system flags that it is about to expire and you renew it with one click. It fits the customer who uses the service all the time (the weekly bath, for example).
- **Package** — it is **one-off**: the customer buys **a number of sessions** that are valid for a deadline and run out when they are used or when the deadline passes — without renewing on its own. This is the **Package** Type. It fits whoever wants to buy several sessions at once without committing to a subscription.

In practice you build both on the same screen; only what you pick under **Plan type** changes.

## The 4 things you define

Whether it is a plan or a package, four decisions shape what you sell:

- **Services** — which [services](/en/configuracao/cadastros/criar-um-servico/) are included (they are specific services, not a whole category), and **how many** of each. Each service can also **reserve time slots** automatically, with **Weekly** or **Fortnightly** recurrence and the **quantity per week**.
- **Billing** — the price of the plan/package, built in a **table by Size and Coat** (or **by Breed**, in stores that price that way), plus an **applied Discount**. The payment method is not set here — it is chosen at the moment of the sale.
- **Validity / duration** — comes from the Type. The **plan** renews each period; the **package** has a **Package duration** (1 to 12 months) within which the sessions can be used.
- **Recurrence** — a plan is built to renew each period (you renew it whenever you want, and the system reminds you); a package does not renew. A package also has a **Billing cycle**: you can charge a single time, or charge every N appointments.

## In practice: what happens when you sell

At the moment of the sale, TecPet sets everything up at once: it **generates the invoices** for the period and, when the services reserve time slots, it **creates the appointments** automatically — spread out by the chosen recurrence (weekly or fortnightly). You don't have to issue invoice by invoice or book one by one.

The difference between a **plan** and a **package** is in **how the invoices are split** and **what happens at the end**.

### Plan (recurring): one invoice per month

A plan's invoices follow the **monthly calendar** — one per month of the period, all created at the sale, due month by month:

- **Monthly** → **1 invoice** for the month;
- **Quarterly** → **3 invoices** (one per month);
- **Half-yearly** → **6 invoices**;
- **Yearly** → **12 invoices** (the customer pays month by month over the year).

The number of invoices comes from the **plan type**, not from the number of appointments: a Monthly plan with 1 or with 4 baths in the month is still **one invoice**. At the end of the period, the plan **does not renew on its own**: it shows up in the **Expiring** and **Not renewed** lists on the [Plans](/en/operacao/planos/acompanhar-planos/) screen, and you **renew it with one click** when you want to continue — so you keep control of who stays.

### Package (one-off): you choose how to charge

In a package, the invoices follow the **Billing cycle** you set on the record, not the calendar:

- **Charge a single time** → **1 invoice** with all the package's sessions;
- **Charge every N appointments** → the package is split into **cycles of N appointments**, and **each cycle becomes one invoice**. For example, a 52-bath package charged every 4 generates **13 invoices** (one every 4 baths). Each invoice's due date comes from the **appointment dates** of that cycle.

A package **does not renew**: when the sessions run out or the validity (the **Package duration**) ends, it closes. To continue, you sell a new package.

## Don't confuse it with a combo

A [combo](/en/configuracao/cadastros/combos/) is something else: it bundles **several services into a single sale**, usually with a discount (for example, bath + grooming + conditioning in the same appointment). A combo is settled **on the spot**, in that appointment. A plan/package, on the other hand, gives the right to **several appointments over time**. Use a combo to close a bundle on a single day; use a plan or a package when the customer will come back several times.

## Don't confuse it with a credit package

There is also a **credit package** — but that is a **completely different thing**. Credits are the balance that powers your store's WhatsApp **chatbot and AI**; buying a credit package tops up that balance and has nothing to do with the services you sell to the end customer. Whenever we talk about **plans and packages** in this section, we mean the **services** (bath, grooming, consultation…) the customer signs up for — never the chatbot credits.

## Where you set it up and where you follow it

You **create and edit** your plans and packages under **Settings → Plans** (the item sits next to **Combos**). This area only shows up for stores with the **Plan and Package module** active — without the module, the item leads to an offer screen for you to sign up.

The **Plans** screen on the top menu is something else: it is only for **following** what has already been sold to customers — the plans that are active, expiring or not renewed. For that, see [Track plans and packages](/en/operacao/planos/acompanhar-planos/).

![The Plans screen on the top menu, used only to track the plans and packages already sold to customers, with the expiry filters.](https://help.tec.pet/_md-assets/planos__lista.png)

## Editing later does not touch what is already sold

When you **sell** a plan or package, TecPet keeps a **copy** of the price, services and validity of that moment, attached to the customer. That is why **editing or removing** the plan record **does not change** the plans that were already sold — the changes only apply to future sales. You can adjust the catalog with peace of mind.

## In this section

- [Create a plan or package](/en/configuracao/planos/criar-um-plano-ou-pacote/) — the step by step to build the record: services, quantities, recurrence, price table and discount;
- [Edit or remove a plan](/en/configuracao/planos/editar-ou-remover-um-plano/) — how to adjust or retire a plan or package (without affecting the ones already sold);
- [Sell a plan](/en/operacao/planos/vender-um-plano/) — how to sign a customer up for a plan or package and generate the invoices;
- [Track plans and packages](/en/operacao/planos/acompanhar-planos/) — where to see what is active, expiring or not renewed.

> **⚠️ Heads up**
>
> ⚠️ **A plan and a package are the same record** — the only difference is the **Plan type**. When you build one, pick **Monthly, Quarterly, Half-yearly** or **Yearly** for a plan that renews; or **Package** for a one-off sale of sessions with a deadline. There is no separate "package" record.

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_feature: planos-overview · atualizado em 2026-06-11 · fonte: https://help.tec.pet/en/configuracao/planos/o-que-sao-planos-e-pacotes/ — TecPet Central de Ajuda_