March 14, 2025
Many parents dream of providing the classic childhood experiences for their kids, like sending them to summer camp. For many families, the cost of providing that experience can be a problem. This is especially true for families with several kids on a budget.
As operational costs keep going up, payment plans can help with affordability, among other benefits.
But how do you know if payment plans are the right solution? What types of payment plans should you consider? Keep reading to explore these questions!
Paying in full up front can present difficulties for some families with strict budgets. Camp payment plans allow families to split fees into structured installments, keeping costs more manageable.
Common benefits of offering payment plans include:
With more families registering, your organization can meet its goals faster while building a lively community. Ultimately, creating opportunities for your camp to grow.
Helping camps grow is an important part of our mission.
With several types of payment plans out there, each offers unique advantages.
Some benefit both families and your organization.
Let's go over a few common examples!
Pictured: Payment plan selection during checkout in the iCampPro Registration Portal.

This option breaks tuition fees into equal payments on specified dates or on a schedule such as weekly or bi-weekly. By aligning payments with parents' pay schedules, installment plans can make tuition more manageable.
This type of option adds the benefit of steady cash flow leading up to the busy seasons. Smaller payment amounts can lead to fewer payment declines. While higher checkout totals can trigger fraud checks from card companies and banks.
Pictured: Example weekly installment plan selected in the iCampPro Registration Portal.
Similar to other installment plans, monthly installment plans divide camp registration or tuition fees into equal monthly amounts. The payment period is defined by a start month and an end month.
With one payment per month, the camp can standardize which date the payments are due, such as the 1st, the 5th or the 15th. Alternatively, the camp may allow the family to choose which date is best from that list based on their pay schedule and other bills.
Pictured: Example monthly installment plan selected in the iCampPro Registration Portal.
This type of plan will require a small deposit upfront, with the remainder due closer to the start of the event. This gives the responsible party time to save up for the final payment, while making registration more immediately accessible.
With this method, you secure an early financial commitment to help recoup admin costs. The deposit can be a significant enough amount to deter those who cannot afford the tuition. Plus, to avoid last-minute dropouts, you may choose to make the initial deposit amount a non-refundable portion of the event’s cost. 
Pictured: Example deferred payment plan selected in the iCampPro Registration Portal.
Camps can encourage early registration with limited-time discounts or exclusive payment plans. Options include:
Early bird options help secure registrations quickly. They also create excitement and urgency. This can increase your chances of reaching important registration goals and desired event capacity.
Pictured: Example of an Early Bird discount coupon code applied at registration.
For camps that focus on inclusion of disadvantaged groups or minorities, these plans allow for customized pricing and discounts.
With this type of plan, family income or other qualifying factors may influence fees. The pricing difference is often covered by scholarship funds or donors. Some camps may accept parent volunteer hours in exchange for reduced camp tuition. While impactful, this type of plan also requires additional administrative support for reviewing eligibility and managing available funds.
Need-based payment plan initiatives can be extremely beneficial to underprivileged campers and are highly marketable. However, this type of payment system is more complex to manage. Without guidelines and proper oversight for the initiative, it is easy for camps to accumulate losses.
While payment plans provide great benefits, they also introduce key operational challenges, including:
Teams using iCampPro camp management software can enjoy built-in payment plan features. These features give families flexibility and help keep billing and communication organized
Key features to support payment plans include:
If you’re already using iCampPro and you have questions about payment plans,
reach out to our team for assistance.
If you’re
not using iCampPro yet, schedule a demo for more about payment plans.
If camp families have to pay the full registration fee upfront,
think about these options to make camp more affordable:
Allow individuals to purchase a registration as a gift for specific campers. Provide a branded gift certificate for the event with a unique identifier for your team. The gift recipient can then reach out to redeem their gifted registration.
🎬 iCampPro Actionable Takeaway: Issue specialized camp codes assigned to a category to discount event pricing for a camper that was paid for using alternative means.
Partner with local businesses to sponsor a portion of camper fees in exchange for marketing opportunities – such as hosting an activity, sending home a special offer or informational flyer, or being an exclusive provider of certain equipment or store merchandise.
🎬 iCampPro Actionable Takeaway: Set up sponsors as organization to link them to events and coupons!
Discount registration for weeks that struggle to reach full capacity, such as those before or after major holidays. This can broaden the demographics you’re serving while also increasing the odds of meeting event capacity goals.
🎬 iCampPro Actionable Takeaway: Edit specific events to change prices, set promotional rates, or adjust payment plans.
Another way to offer more affordable rates is by strategically reducing operational costs. Try reducing staffing needs by scaling back high-cost activities. You may also try putting high-cost activities on a scheduled rotation. This can also provide a window of time to do inspections or needed maintenance.
🎬 iCampPro Actionable Takeaway: Use camp headliners to highlight attractions and add key details to camp registration.
Your camp, your rules. Ultimately, you decide. No matter what you choose, we hope we have provided useful insights into how payment plans can help you achieve your goals and keep camp affordable.
With flexible camp payment plans and strategic affordability measures, the experiences you offer can remain accessible, inclusive, and financially sustainable. Whether you choose payment plans or an alternative approach, iCampPro’s camp management software can help!
