Set up Autopay for recurring invoices

Learn how to set up automatic payments for recurring invoices.

QuickBooks Online's Autopay lets customers automatically make payments for recurring invoices. Customers sign up for Autopay, then enter their payment information through an invoice. Their future payments will process automatically for recurring invoices.

If you'd like to let your customers set up autopay for recurring invoices, check out QuickBooks Payments rates and apply.

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Schedule invoices ahead of time and manage all your payments in one place with QuickBooks Payments.

Prerequisites

• QuickBooks Payments is required to use Autopay. 
• Autopay is available on pay-enabled recurring invoices. 
• Autopay is available for invoices that total $5,000 and below.

Step 1: Set up recurring invoices

If you already have recurring invoices set up, move on to step 2. 

If you don't have recurring invoices set up, follow these steps. 

1. Create an invoice, then select Make recurring. You can also create a recurring template.
2. Go to Interval and select how often the invoice should recur.
   Note: Autopay isn't available for recurring invoices with a daily interval.
3. Enter the start and end date of the recurring invoice. 
4. Fill in the rest of the invoice then select Save template.

If you already have a recurring invoice setup, you don’t need to create a new one.  

Important: After Autopay is set up, you can edit recurring templates as needed. Though, Autopay will be canceled if you change any of the following fields. 

• Total amount
• Frequency
• Terms
• Payment options
• Email address
• Customer name

If Autopay is canceled, your customer will receive a cancelation email for future Autopay transactions.

Step 2: Help your customers set up Autopay

After you set up recurring invoices and send one, your customers will receive the invoice email as usual only now, they have the option to set up Autopay.

Here are some requirements for your customers to set up Autopay.

• Autopay can only be used for the full invoice amount. If your customer edits the invoice amount, the Autopay option disappears. 
• To use Autopay, your customer needs an Intuit account. If they don't have one, they'll need to create an account.

Here are the steps your customer needs to take to set up Autopay. 

1. Open the invoice, then select Set up autopay to enroll. 
2. Use your Intuit user ID to sign in (also used for TurboTax and Mint). 
3. Make sure the Autopay checkbox shows as selected. You’ll always want to check the frequency and start date. 
4. When you’re ready, select Autopay to pay the current invoice. You’ll receive a confirmation email that Autopay is set up.

Step 3: Check the Autopay status of your customer

You can check if Autopay is set up for an invoice in the Activity Tracker.

To check this, follow these steps. 

Follow this link to complete the steps in product

1. Find the invoice you wish to check for payment status. 
2. Select the Status of that invoice to open the activity tracker panel .

If your customer sets up Autopay, you’ll see Autopay Scheduled status under the Invoice activity section. 

Learn when Autopay payments are processed

• 3 days before the invoice due date
• Immediately if it's less than 3 days. If an invoice is due on receipt 
• As soon as the invoice is created by the recurring template, if the invoice is due on receipt.

You’ll also receive an email confirmation for each successful Autopay payment.

Common Autopay questions