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. 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.

[All4Chiro]

Awesome - worked perfectly.  Thank you!

[cub1960]

Can you setup the recurring invoice to be on the first of each month?  Would that be setting it up as 1 and MONTHS?

[Tom]

Hey @cub1960, welcome to the seller community!

Yes, you can set up an invoice to repeat monthly on the 1st. To do so, you'll want to make sure that you first select the charge date to be on the first of the month, then enter in "1" and "Months" for the Repeat Every setting:

Hope this helps clear things up! Please let us know if you have any further questions. 🙂

[Katrina1]

Once I set up a recurring payment for a customer can I cancel the series of payments?   For example a customer wants to pay their yearly dues in 4 month installments so I set them up for auto payments.  They come to me in two months to pay the remaining balance off with a different payment type (check/cash).  How do I stop the recurring payments?

[Chad]

Great question @Katrina1, you can cancel a recurring invoice at any time. You can do this from your Square Dashboard. Just click on the Invoices tab. Then select Recurring at the top of the screen. 

You will then see a list of your active invoices, just click on the one you wish to cancel. You will see the option to end the recurring series! 😀

[ElevatedWellnes]

Is instant deposit still available if I set up recurring invoices? Also, what are the fees for charging a card on file via recurring invoices? 

[Russell]

Hey there @ElevatedWellnes - thanks for making your first post to the community. 😎

You can use Instant Deposit if your Square balance is above $50 (after fees) and can instantly deposit payments up to $2,500. 

Recurring and repeating payments using Card on File are priced at 3.5% + 15¢.

[EnergyDance18]

We have lots of families we deal with and have like $15,000 dollars come in as we are a dance and tumbling studio.  Is square able to handle that amount of money on a recurring invoice?  We deal with at least 175 families and like 145 of them are on an Automatic Withdrawal program we partake with the bank. We are looking in changing payment process next year to square completely if Square can handle it.  Can you give me some insight on it?

[katsturtz]

 Is there an easy way to look at a customer's recurring payments setup and tell how many payments are left on the agreement?
Finding this shouldn't be hard ... but I've yet to discover the secret without resorting to checking the start date and manually adding (or subtracting) the invoices sent and paid.

The recurring payments feature has been very helpful when setting up my private clients who pay monthly or weekly. I wish each recurring invoice stated what number in the recurring sequence it was, or at least how many payments are remaining.

[Helen]

Hello @katsturtz!

You can view the active recurring series from the Invoice tab of your online Dashboard:

1. Click Invoices > Recurring (top right).
2. Click on an active series.
3. Select View Invoices in Series (in blue) from the screen that opens on the right.

You'll then see a list of the invoices that have been sent to your customer and you also the status of each invoice, e.g. Paid / Overdue. If you've just set up the recurring series it will only show the first invoice (to be sent out at 10am in your timezone on the date selected) and the status will be Recurring.

I definitely agree that it would be useful to have a number that indicates exactly how many invoices are left in a series and I'll share that feedback with the Invoices team directly! 

[Lisa444]

I am having tourble with a client invoice. It states that thier card will be retained on file for reoccuring payments. I never set this up for them! The client was understaably upset. How do I get rid of this??

[Tom]

Hi @Lisa444, I'm so sorry for the confusion and for the frustration this caused. It sounds like your client received a notification that their card was saved on file. For more information on how to edit this, have a look here: Save Your Payment Card with a Square Seller.

If you haven't already, I would suggest touching base with our Support Team directly—they'll be able to take a deeper dive and make sure that your client and this invoice are set up properly.

[EnergyDance18]

Is there a limit on how many reoccurring invoices we can do?  I am wanting to do about 150 of them.  

[puka]

Hey @EnergyDance18 - There is no limit to how many Invoices you can send as long as you are within the $50K transaction limit. In other words, each individual Invoice amount cannot exceed $50K.

If you have any further questions, let us know!

[EnergyDance18]

What If I already have their card information to keep on file, How do I put that in with out them getting an invoice before I put there card in?  I have roughly 115 families that are doing Automatic withdrawal via credit or debit card.

[pfab]

Hi, I love that customers can do this with their debit/credit card

can this also be done if they choose ACH Check?  Some of our customers are larger companies and they pay by check.  

PFAB

[Laurie_]

Hi there @pfab,
 

Thanks for reaching out with your question!

If your business has to process paper checks regularly or has recurring customers, it would save you time to accept ACH payments, which you can enable in your Square Invoices settings. Please keep in mind that ACH payments can take between 3-5 business days to process. 

To accept ACH bank transfer as a payment method for an invoice:
 

1. From your Square Invoices Overview page, select Send an invoice.
2. Select or add a customer, then select a Frequency.
3. Add items to your invoice, then choose to charge immediately or schedule for a future date.
4. Under “Payment method”, enable ACH bank transfer.
5. Choose to share via Email or Manually, and add additional recipients as needed.
6. Use the default reminders or click Edit reminders to change.
7. Preview, Save as Draft, or Send the invoice.

To learn more about the different ways to accept payment via Square Invoice, visit this page. 😊

[ArtLaunch]

I have a client that I set up a recurring invoice for $85 a month, to occur at the 1st of each month.

With the first invoice, he Paid Invoice and checked the box to save his card on file.  Now it's the second month.  He was just invoiced via e-mail again and with a button to Pay Invoice.

This isn't what I thought was going to happen. The client's and my desire is at the beginning of each month, his card will be charged the $85 without any extra action needed by him or me.

Is this possible? Please help, thanks!

The title of this post has been edited from the original: How do you change a recurring Invoice series to charge a Card on File?

[gdel]

I believe it is not possible at the moment. Once the card is recorded, you will have to go manually to your Square account apply the charge to the card on file.