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One‑time payments let you sell lifetime access, downloads, or single‑use services with a single charge. There are no renewals, proration rules, or billing cycles. Just a clean, instant purchase experience.

License Keys

Issue unique license keys after purchase.

Digital Delivery

Automatically deliver files and content after payment.

Payment Webhooks

React to payment succeeded/failed and receipt events.

Refunds API

Create full or partial refunds programmatically.

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What Are One‑Time Payments?

One‑time payments are fixed, up‑front purchases - ideal for:
  • Software licenses: Lifetime or major‑version unlocks
  • Digital downloads: E‑books, templates, graphics, or plugins
  • Services: Audits, onboarding packages, or one‑off consulting
  • Courses and tickets: Courses, workshops, or live sessions

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Key Benefits

  • Simple checkout: No renewals or proration logic
  • Instant fulfillment: Deliver licenses or files right away
  • Flexible pricing: Discounts and taxes supported
  • Developer‑first: Clear APIs for creation, refunds, and webhooks

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Creating One‑Time Products

Create products in your Dodo Payments dashboard, then sell them via hosted checkout, payment links, or your API.
One-Time Payment Products

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Product configuration

Configure the fields in the dashboard to define how your product appears and sells.

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Product details

  • Product Name (required): Display name shown in checkout and invoices
  • Product Description (required): Clear value statement customers see before paying
  • Product Image (required): PNG/JPG/WebP up to 3 MB
  • Brand: Associate the product with a specific brand for theming and emails
  • Tax Category (required): Choose the correct category to determine tax rules
Pick the most accurate tax category to ensure correct tax collection per region.

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Pricing

  • Pricing Type: Choose Single Payment
  • Price (required): Fixed charge with currency
  • Discount Applicable (%): Optional percentage discount displayed in checkout and invoices
Changing product pricing affects only new purchases. Existing customers aren’t impacted.

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Advanced settings

  • Tax Inclusive Pricing: Display prices inclusive of applicable taxes
  • Generate license keys: Issue a unique key after purchase. See License Keys
  • Digital Product Delivery: Deliver files or content automatically. See Digital Product Delivery
  • Metadata: Attach custom key–value pairs for internal tagging or integrations. See Metadata
Use metadata to store identifiers from your system (e.g., orderId) to reconcile events and receipts later.

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API Management

Use POST /checkout-sessions/create to create one‑time charges from products.

API Reference

View the create payment API.
Use POST /refunds to create full or partial refunds.

API Reference

Learn how to refund a payment.
Use GET /payments to list payments and GET /payments/{payment_id} to retrieve one. Retrieve line items with GET /payments/{payment_id}/line-items.

List Payments

Browse the listing API.

Get Payment Detail

See the retrieval API.

Retrieve Line Items

Inspect purchased items for a payment.
React to events like payment.succeeded or payment.failed in your backend.

Webhook Guide

Handle payment lifecycle events.

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Common Use Cases

  • License‑based tools: Unlock features with a one‑time key
  • Digital assets: Themes, templates, icon sets, or media
  • Professional services: Fixed‑fee implementation or setup
  • Education: Course tickets and one‑off workshops

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Integration Examples

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Checkout Sessions (single payment)

Create a checkout session with a one‑time product in the cart: 
const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [
    { product_id: 'prod_one_time', quantity: 1 }
  ]
});

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Best Practices

  • Clarify deliverables: Tell buyers exactly what they get and how it’s delivered
  • Deliver instantly: Use license keys or digital delivery for immediate access
  • Track with metadata: Store your IDs for easy reconciliation
One‑time payments are the fastest path to selling fixed‑price products. Start simple, verify delivery, and iterate your offer based on conversion and feedback.
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