Updated Aug 7, 2023
You have the ability to require your clients to enroll in automatic payments for recurring invoices. Once enrolled in autopay, your client is automatically charged on the date of each invoice!
For information on payment plans, please see autopay on payment plans.
Autopay eligibility requirements and limits
For autopay to work on a recurring invoice, you must have your payment processor (Stripe or Square) set up to Accept Credit Card Payments in Settings >> Payments and invoices.
If you don't see Settings >> Payments and invoices, click Settings >> Receive Money instead.
If you want to require your clients to enroll in autopay, we recommend turning off PayPal and ACH (bank transfer) as payment options — clients can bypass a required autopay using these. To prevent clients from bypassing autopay, only allow Accept Credit Card Payments.
Payment plans on a recurring invoice
If you have a payment plan within your recurring invoice, you can’t set up autopay on that payment plan. This is because a payment plan on a recurring invoice is used to create reminder emails and due dates, not for payment installments.
To create payment installments, don’t use a recurring invoice, and use a payment plan on an invoice instead. Please go to autopay on payment plans for more information.
Edit autopay settings
Change your autopay setting in Settings >> Payments and invoices. For detailed information, see autopay enrollment settings.
If you don't see Settings >> Payments and invoices, click Settings >> Receive Money instead.
Changing autopay enrollment settings won’t interrupt or change current recurrences. Any changes will take effect on the next invoice.
What stops autopay on a recurring invoice
If autopay is stopped, both you and your client will get an email. The email is auto-generated by Dubsado and can’t be edited.
The following actions will turn off autopay. Your client must manually re-enroll to go back on autopay:
You disconnect your payment processor (Stripe or Square) from Dubsado.
You end a recurring invoice by clicking End Recurrence. You can’t edit a recurring invoice after it has started.
Your client’s credit card fails for two consecutive overdue invoices. See failed payments.
Your client manually stops autopay.
Client view of a recurring invoice
If autopay is set to Required, the following changes occur on the client’s recurring invoice:
The client can’t type in a custom amount to pay.
The Pay Now button next to an installment is removed.
Tipping is disabled.
Clients must accept the autopay enrollment terms before they can pay.
If you set autopay to Optional, the autopay enrollment terms will appear, but the client is not required to accept the terms to pay.
Client changing their payment method
Your client can go to an invoice at any time and click Change payment method to update the credit card on file. Payment changes won’t disrupt or cancel autopay.
Failed payments
Please see what happens with failed payments while on autopay.
Autopay emails
To customize your emails, go to Templates >> Canned Emails >> Edit Templates.
Send Invoice: Emails client of each new recurring invoice.
Autopay Failed: Emails client if an automatic payment fails.
Autopay Enrollment Confirmed: Emails client after enrolling in autopay.
Both you and your client will get an email if autopay is stopped on a recurring invoice. The email is auto-generated by Dubsado and can’t be edited.
Notification settings
Change your system notifications under Settings >> Notifications.
View the client’s autopay status
Client autopay status appears inside the client’s project under Invoices >> Recurring Invoices.
Override brand autopay settings
You have the option to override the autopay preference you chose in Settings. Override is useful if you want specific recurring invoices to have different autopay settings.
To override a recurring invoice within a project:
go to Projects.
choose your specific client.
click on Invoices.
click on the Recurring Invoices tab.
click Override.
Reset autopay back to brand settings
If you no longer need an overridden invoice, you can revert it back to what you have set in Brand Settings.
Go to the section containing the overridden autopay.
Click Edit.
Check Reset to brand setting.
Click Update autopay.
