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Set Up Automated Scheduled Billing

Updated

What this does: Has GrowthZone create (and optionally email) your recurring renewal invoices automatically, and shows you how to turn it off.

Applies to: GrowthZone associations that bill recurring fees. New customers should run at least one billing cycle by hand first: see Run Upcoming Billing.

Before you start: Automated Scheduled Billing is not autopay. It creates invoices, while autopay charges stored cards (see Set Up and Manage Autopay). All settings are on General Billing Settings: go to Finance, Administrative section, click Billing Settings and select General Billing Settings.

Time needed: About 10 minutes.

Turn on Automated Scheduled Billing

  1. On General Billing Settings, select Use Automated Billing.
    General Billing Settings page with the Use Automated Billing check-box selected
  2. Enter Lead Time Days: how many days before each member’s Next Bill Date the invoice is created. This gives you time to review invoices and apply credits and unapplied payments before they go out. Stored payment profiles are still charged on the actual Next Bill Date.

  3. Review the related settings:

    • Months Back Allowed: how many months back you can look for invoices still to be created when you run upcoming billing manually.
    • Auto Apply Credits to Newly Created Invoices: applies a contact’s credits and overpayments to new invoices. IMPORTANT: it ignores the credit’s fee item, so an event credit could be applied to membership dues.
    • Invoice Before Autopayment: creates invoices for autopay members in advance and charges their card on the Next Bill Date. See When stored payment profiles are charged.
    • Automatic Invoice Emails: emails invoices as soon as they’re generated. See Email invoices automatically.

    General Billing Settings page scrolled to Invoice Before Autopayment and Automatic Invoice Emails, with the Email Template dropdown boxed

  4. Click Save.
  5. Deliver the invoices yourself from Unsent Invoices (see Deliver invoices by email or print), or have them emailed automatically.

Choose one: Invoice Before Autopayment and Automatic Invoice Emails can’t both be on.

  • Invoice Before Autopayment if autopay members should be charged on their renewal date, with an invoice first.
  • Automatic Invoice Emails if invoices should go out without anyone sending them. Autopay cards are then charged when invoices are created.

Options greyed out? If billing is still disabled from onboarding, Run Upcoming Billing and Use Automated Billing can’t be selected. The Upcoming Billing page shows a banner asking you to complete the Billing Setup Guide and contact Support.
General Billing Settings page showing the Run Upcoming Billing and Use Automated Billing options grayed out

Email invoices automatically

You’ll need an email template categorized as billing finance. Remember: this can’t be combined with Invoice Before Autopayment.
General Billing Settings page with the Invoice Before Autopayment checkbox boxed, showing it cleared

  1. On General Billing Settings, in Automatic Invoice Emails, select Enable Automatic Invoice Emails.
  2. Choose the email Template. Only billing finance templates are listed.
    Automatic Invoice Emails section of General Billing Settings with Enable Automatic Invoice Emails checked and the Template dropdown boxed
  3. Click Save.

How it works:

  • Automatic billing: invoices are emailed as soon as they’re generated. With a 30-day lead time, members without Autopay get their invoice 30 days before the next bill date.
  • Manual billing: the Run Upcoming Billing window shows Invoices to Email before anything is sent. Under Advanced Options you can change the Email Template for that run. See Run Upcoming Billing.
    Run Upcoming Billing window with Advanced Options ticked, showing the Next Bill Date Range and the Email Template override boxed
  • No email address: the invoice is placed in Unsent Invoices instead.
  • Autopay members aren’t included; they get only a payment receipt or failure notice, per your Automated Message settings.
  • IMPORTANT: payment profiles are charged on the scheduled invoice date. If that date is already past, they’re charged as soon as you click Run.

Turn off Automated Scheduled Billing

  1. On General Billing Settings, in Automated Scheduled Billing, clear Use Automated Billing.
    Automated Scheduled Billing section of the General Billing Settings page with the Use Automated Billing check-box boxed and cleared
  2. Click Done. No recurring invoices are generated automatically until you turn it back on; run billing manually instead.

Common pitfalls

  • Expecting cards to be charged: Automated Scheduled Billing only creates invoices. Autopay does the charging.
  • Autopay cards charged early: Automatic Invoice Emails is on, so Invoice Before Autopayment is off.
  • Event credit used on dues: Auto Apply Credits ignores fee items.
  • Template not in the list: categorize it as billing finance.
  • Change didn’t save: click Save or Done.

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