How Invoice Processing Works with Stored Payment Profiles
How your invoices are processed depends on the configuration of your system:
- If you have configured your system to automatically generate invoices for renewals, the system will charge the payment profile on the next bill date.
- If you are manually generating invoices and Invoice Before Auto Payment is not enabled, the system will charge the payment profile on the date the invoices are generated.
- If you are manually generating invoices and Invoice Before Auto-payment is enabled, the system will charge the payment profile on the next bill date.
Scenario 1: System Automatically Generates Invoices for Renewals
If the finance setting Use Automated Scheduled Billing is enabled — found at Finance > Billing > Settings > General Billing Settings — stored payment profiles will be charged on the next bill date defined on the contact's Billing Setup tab. See Setup System to Automatically Generate Invoices for Scheduled Billing.
Scenario 2: Manually Generating Invoices — Invoice Before Auto-payment NOT Enabled
When invoices are generated for members with stored payment profiles and who have agreed to automatic charges, if Invoice Before Auto-payment is not enabled, the invoice date is the day the card will be charged. You will be required to acknowledge this when you click Run.
If you do not wish to charge profiles immediately, use the option to list invoices without a payment profile assigned. Then, on the date you wish to charge payment profiles, run upcoming billing for those with assigned payment profiles.
Scenario 3: Manually Generating Invoices — Invoice Before Auto-pay IS Enabled
With Invoice Before Auto-pay enabled — found at Finance > Billing > Settings > General Billing Settings — when invoices are manually generated, the system will automatically charge the stored payment profile on the next bill date. When running Upcoming Billing, you will have an option to change the scheduled date if needed by enabling Advanced Options on the Run Upcoming Billing screen.
Autopay Automated Messaging
- When a stored payment profile is charged, the automated message 'Auto Payment Receipt' will be sent to the member when the payment is processed.
- If the charge fails, the automated message 'GrowthZone Pay Charge Failed' will be sent to the member. This email contains a link for the contact to pay or update their payment information.
- Staff members who have subscribed to the Auto-payment Failed notification will also receive an email.
Common Pitfalls
- Unexpected same-day charges: If Invoice Before Auto-payment is not enabled, running upcoming billing will immediately charge stored payment profiles. Always confirm your setting before running billing.
- Wrong charge date for manual billing: Review whether Invoice Before Auto-pay is enabled before running your billing batch so you can set the correct expected charge date.