Send pay links and charge saved methods

With a payment provider connected, clients pay invoices from a link in the invoice email, from the client portal, or by autopay. This page covers what you do from the console: send a fresh pay link, charge a method the client saved, and read what happened to each payment.

Before you begin

• A payment provider is connected. See Connect a payment provider.
• Sending a pay link and charging a saved method need psa:invoice.
• Charging a saved method takes money now. Only charge a client who has asked you to, or who has agreed to it in your terms.

The pay link in invoice emails

When you finalize an invoice, or send it again, the email carries a pay link. The client opens it and pays without signing in. The pay page shows the invoice, its balance, and a link to the PDF, branded as your practice. Card and bank details are typed into the processor’s own fields.

• The link works until the number of days after the due date set in Pay links work for, 90 by default. See Payment settings and emails.
• A paid invoice stays viewable through its link until the link expires.
• An invoice with nothing owed, or a client with no provider, gets no link.

After paying, the client can turn on autopay as a separate step on the same page. See Set up autopay for a client.

Email a new pay link

Send a new link when a client lost the email or the link expired.

1. Open the invoice: select Client billing > Invoices, then the invoice.
2. In the Online payments card, select Email a pay link.
3. In Send to, enter an address, or leave it blank to use the client’s billing contact.
4. Select Send.

Any link sent before stops working, so only the newest email can be paid from.

Charge a saved method

1. Open the invoice.
2. In the Online payments card, select Charge a saved method.
3. In Method, choose one of the client’s active saved methods.
4. Select Charge, which shows the balance.

The charge goes through the processor the method was saved with. Charges to a saved method never carry a card surcharge.

If the client has no active saved method, the dialog says so. Email a pay link instead, and they can save a method when they pay.

Read the payment attempts

The Online payments card lists every attempt to pay the invoice online, with the method, the amount charged, and the status:

Status	Meaning
Waiting on the processor	Outpost sent the charge and has no answer yet.
Processing, not yet paid	Accepted but not final, usually a bank payment clearing over 3 to 5 business days.
Waiting on the payer	The payer has a step to finish, such as a card check by their bank.
Paid	The money is recorded on the invoice.
Failed	The charge was declined. The card shows the reason the payer saw, and the processor’s code under Processor said.
Canceled	The attempt was abandoned before any money moved.
Returned	A bank payment came back after it was recorded. The payment is taken off the invoice and the client is emailed.

Only one payment can be in progress on an invoice at a time. While one is, the card warns you not to record a payment by hand, and Charge a saved method is unavailable.

An attempt can also show:

• The card surcharge it included. See Add a card surcharge.
• An amount over the balance, refund it. Money that arrives after an invoice is already settled is recorded, never refused. Refund the excess. See Refund a payment.
• No answer from the processor yet, with Resolve once 15 minutes have passed. See Resolve a payment with an unknown outcome.

What the client is emailed

When	Email
A payment is recorded	A receipt
A bank payment is accepted but not final	A note that it is processing
A payment fails after the payer left, or a bank payment is returned	The reason, and a link to pay again

See Payment settings and emails for every email.

Verify

When a payment succeeds, the attempt shows Paid, the invoice’s balance drops by the amount paid, and the invoice is Paid when nothing is left.

Next steps

• Set up autopay for a client
• Refund a payment