How to set up Automatic Payments

How to set up Automatic Payments

Creating Automatic Payment Rules

This article will outline how to create Automatic Payment Rules. These are necessary in order to enrol your customers in Automatic Payments. This article will review the five different types of rules you can create and how to create them.

1. Navigate to Automatic Payments Settings. It is the second tab in the Automatic Payments and is located at the top left-hand side of the screen. See below:

You will be brought to the page below:

2. Choose what day you want invoices to be charged. To do this you will use the drop-down menu shown above. Please note: all invoices in automatic payments must follow the same rule, you cannot create different charge dates for different customers.

3. Next, you must choose what type of rule you want to create. There are five different types of rules you can choose from:

All Invoices: This option will charge all open invoices for customers whose stored payment methods are enabled and on file. To choose the rule click the option below:

Next, ensure the client-stored payment method is enabled for automatic payments. You can do this by clicking the "Click to Enable Automatic Payments" button next to the customer's payment information. See below:

If the button is green automatic payments are NOT enabled. When automatic payments are enabled the button will turn grey.

Specific Customers/Customer Groups/Invoices: These options are all set up similarly. The difference between them is whom you want to create the rule for. You can create a rule for an individual customer, a customer group or an individual invoice. To create a rule for any of the groups first click the option below:

And then click the green "Add New Rule" button:

Using the drop-down menu choose what type of rule you want to create (Customer, Customer Group or Invoice). Next type whom you want the rule for. For example: if it is for a Customer Group, search the group name.

Once you click "Save Rule" your rule will be created. All of your rules will be displayed in "Automatic Payment Settings." See below:

Once the rule is created, you must also ensure that their stored payment method is enabled for automatic payments. You can do this by clicking the "Click to Enable Automatic Payments" button next to the customer's payment information.

The final rule is for invoices marked recurring in your Accounting Platform. In order for this rule to work the invoice must be marked as "recurring" in your Accounting Platform. See below for which field to put the word "recurring": 

• QuickBooks users need to add the word "recurring" in the "message on invoice" box.
• Xero users must input it in the reference field of the invoice.
• Clio users must input it in the memo field of the invoice.

These invoices will be recognized as Automatic Payments after your first sync. To select this rule choose the option below:

When the invoice is marked as recurring in your Accounting Platform it will also be marked as recurring in InvoiceSherpa. See below:

As with the previous rules, you must ensure the customer has an enabled stored payment method on file. You can do this by clicking the "Click to Enable Automatic Payments" button next to the customer's payment information.