How can a customer automatically pay for a recurring invoice series using a Card on File?

[All4Chiro]

I use the recurring payment feature frequently and many of my customer save their card to file.

However, many have requested an automatic feature so they don't have to manually approve the payment every month.  Is there a way to do this or is this a feature that's in the works?  Thank you!

The title of this post has been edited from the original: Is there a way for a customer to auto-pay recurring invoices?

[EJ_ · Accepted solution]

We're happy to inform you that this is possible!

Head over to the Invoices tab in your Square Dashboard, click on Recurring, and select the Recurring Series that your customer added a payment card on file to > select Edit. You can choose to repeat the invoice series for a specific number of days, weeks, months, or years.

From here, you will need to edit the Recurring Invoice Series and change the payment method from Do not charge a payment method on file to Charge XXXX ending in XXXX.

Read more about using a card on file with Square Invoices here.
If you're curious about learning more, here's a video that covers setting up recurring payments and Card on File: 

This post was edited by a moderator in October 2021 to include updated steps and screenshots.

[EJ_ · Accepted solution]

We're happy to inform you that this is possible!

Head over to the Invoices tab in your Square Dashboard, click on Recurring, and select the Recurring Series that your customer added a payment card on file to > select Edit.

From here, you will need to edit the Recurring Invoice Series and change the payment method from Do not charge a payment method on file to Charge XXXX ending in XXXX.

Learn more about using a card on file with Square Invoices here.

This post was edited by a moderator in October 2021 to include updated steps and screenshots.

[EJ_ · Accepted solution]

We're happy to inform you that this is possible!

Head over to the Invoices tab in your Square Dashboard, click on Recurring, and select the Recurring Series that your customer added a payment card on file to > select Edit.

From here, you will need to edit the Recurring Invoice Series and change the payment method from Do not charge a payment method on file to Charge XXXX ending in XXXX.

Learn more about using a card on file with Square Invoices here.

This post was edited by a moderator in October 2021 to include updated steps and screenshots.

[wbcats]

Is there a way to be informed when a customer adds a card on file? People are getting upset with us because we don't know they've switched to card-on-file and so I don't set it that way on their receipt. Why can't this happen automatically if they check the box?

[Helen]

Hi @wbcats, there isn't a notification sent to you when your customer adds their card on file. I do see how that would be useful and I'll share that request with our team. Very sorry to hear it's upsetting your customers!

For now, as a workaround, when the customer pays their invoice you can check if they've added their card on file from the Customers tab of your online Dashboard:

1. Sign into your account online at squareup.com/dashboard.
2. Click Customers.
3. Click Filters in the upper right > select Card on File.

From this list you'll be able to see if your customer did add their card, and you can also click on your customer's name for additional information about your customer. I hope this helps in the meantime! 

[DocMeg]

Hello, I followed the step-by-step you outlined and when I go to edit the recurring series, it already has selected Delivery Method as “Charge card on file” and Payment Method as “Credit or Debit Card”.

So it looks like my client already selected automatic payment, but for some reason it is not charging the card.

[Joe · Accepted solution]

Hi @DocMeg 👋 Thanks for reaching out to us here on the Seller Community!

Just a quick note of clarification here, when a customer adds their card on file, this does not automatically enroll them in recurring payments over a set course of time. Once the card is saved on file, you can choose to manually process it at any time, or you can set-up recurring automatic payments by creating an Invoice Series.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any clarifying questions.

[DocMeg]

Yes, this was helpful. Thank you @Joe 

[Joe]

Perfect! Good to hear, @DocMeg! Please don't hesitate to reach out if anything else comes up!

📈🍻

[bradenzimmett]

Is there a way that the seller can be notified when a customer selects "Save card on file"? As I had a client who did that for three or four months before letting me know. Seems like a notification to me that the client "has elected to save their card on file" would make that process much smoother and effective (and I'd certainly welcome it as the seller). 

[frances_a]

Hello @bradenzimmett

And welcome to our Seller Community, we're thrilled to have you as a part of the conversation! 

There's unfortunately no way to get notified as of right now. It would be a feature request. 

The Ideate boards would be the best place to post your Feature Request, since other sellers can add their voice to your post and our Product team has direct visibility of it and considers all requests when planning for future updates. 

Let me know if you have any questions, thank you!

[anoll]

If we offer a payment plan for a customer invoice, how can we make sure the customer completes their payments on time? Will it charge their card automatically? How does it work?

[JustinC]

@anoll - With Invoices, you're able to store and automatically charge a card on file on a cadence you and your customer agree on. 

This article should help you out 🙂

[anoll]

Is the customer required to keep their card on file in order to utilize a payment schedule? 

[JustinC]

Not necessarily - only if you require invoices to be debited automatically from the customer's card. If not, the invoice will just send per the cadence set for the recurring series and the customer will have to manually pay the invoice. 

@anoll

[CompuPane]

I just want to clarify before I use the recurring invoice option: If I send a client a recurring invoice and they choose to save their card on file, will future invoices in that recurring invoice series automatically be charged to their card on file or do we have to create a new recurring invoice that is set to charge their card on file? 

Secondary question: will there eventually be an option to require a client to save their card to a recurring invoice series to, in effect, create a subscription that only happens if they allow their card to be charged automatically? 

[Sean]

Great question! You wouldn't have to create a new Recurring Invoice, but you would need to go back and edit it so you could designate "Card on File" as the payment preference.

As for your second question, while I can't make any promises about future product releases - this does sound like it could definitely be a useful feature. I'll be sure to pass along your thoughts to our product liaison team!  

[rclebcandy]

So, if I set up a recurring charge, what does it look like for the customer when they receive my notice? It appears I only see my end, not theirs?

Thank you

[Sean]

@rclebcandy - They'd get a notification that their card was charged, like a receipt. It would indicate it was a results of a recurring invoice.  

[diypetgrooms]

I have a question...I saw somewhere that for recurring payments, the customer would receive kind of like a "dashboard" and that they could remove their saved card at any time on their end - is there any way to disable them from removing cards? Or do we get notified when they remove their card? We offer monthly memberships and it would most likely be easier for us to have the customer go through us if they want to cancel their membership..

[Spenser]

Hi @diypetgrooms, welcome to the Community. 

Definitely see why it would be useful to manage the subscriptions yourself, however that is correct: We offer customers the ability to manage how their card information is stored and can be used with Invoices. This is intended so the ability to disallow that permission in not something we're developing at this time. 

In any case, I appreciate the feedback and will pass it along to our developers. Let us know if you have any other questions.

[kandeegirl]

Hi, 

  So just adding the card on file does not make it recurring correct?

[Sean]

You've got it! You'd have to set up a recurring invoice to make that happen.