Recurring Payments Overview

Recurring payments ‌automatically charge your customers on a scheduled basis (daily, weekly, monthly, or annually). One-time fees, like initial setup fees, can be added to the first charge. You select which payment methods to accept, including cards and ACH bank transfers. When you create a recurring payment, your customer receives an email from QuickBooks to review the details. They enter their preferred payment information and accept the recurring payment. They’re automatically charged on schedule every period and sent a receipt for the payment by email.

If you regularly charge customers for the same services on a monthly basis, recurring payments can help you get paid faster with automatic monthly charges. You save time, because you don’t need to create and send a monthly invoice.

To create a recurring payment: 

1. Go to Sales
2. Select Recurring Payment.
3. Select create recurring payment.

You can choose the frequency of Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Annually to customize your recurring payment according to your business needs.

1. Select the gear then Recurring Payment Settings.
2. Select when to charge:
   • Immediately: the first charge will happen on the day of payor consents, the next charge will happen on the next occurrence of the interval. Your customer must consent to the recurring payment within 30 days, or the recurring payment will expire. If it expires before they consent, you will need to send your payor a new recurring payment.
   • Future date: the recurring payment will begin on a specific date and repeat as per the defined interval. Your customer must consent to the recurring payment by the start date, or it will expire. If the recurring payments expire, you will need to send them a new recurring payment.
3. Set the interval frequency (For example: If you need a recurring payment every first day of the month, the interval is Monthly every 1 month.)
4. Enter the start and end dates.
   1. If you select Never, then it will repeat without end.
   2. If you select By, enter the end date.

This functionality is useful when you need to charge an additional amount only for the first payment in a recurring series.  

1. In the Product or Service list in the recurring payment form, locate the item to which you want to add a one-time fee.  
2. Check the column labeled One-time for that item. 
3. This will add a one-time fee to the first payment in your recurring payment series.

No, at this time, invoices and estimates can’t be converted into recurring payments.

No, at this time, recurring payments can’t be duplicated.

To use recurring payments, you need an active Merchant Services Account. QuickBooks Payments rates apply to each payment made under a recurring payment plan. There are no separate costs to create or setup a subscription.

Subscriptions and recurring invoices are similar but have some key differences.

In both cases, you never have to manually enter your customer’s payment info. And, payments made through QuickBooks are automatically matched.

Active: The recurring payment consent is accepted by your customer and payments are successful.

Canceled: You or your customer has canceled the recurring payment.

Completed: The recurring payment was active and has passed the end date that was set by the merchant when the subscription was created.

Not paid: Current billing period hasn't received payment. A new payment method is required to return the recurring payment to Active status.

Not accepted: The recurring payment consent wasn’t accepted by the expiration date (start date set by merchant, or 30 days after Charge Immediate)

Pending: Recurring payment is created but not accepted by your customer and the subscription hasn’t expired yet.

Payments fail when there’s an expired or invalid payment method. If the recurring payment is already activated when the payment fails, the invoice is created in your QuickBooks Online account but it isn't marked as paid. Both ‌you and your customer will be notified by email. Your customer is asked to update their payment method. If they don’t update the payment method by the next charge date, the recurring payment is automatically canceled.

Customers manage their payment info with the link in the recurring payment confirmation email.

• Credit card; Apple Pay and Google Pay (on mobile devices)
• ACH
• PayPal and Venmo aren’t currently supported

All admin and standard user roles can create, manage and delete recurring payments.

Additionally, any preset role that provides full access to sales, including the ability to send invoices, record payments, record sales receipts, process payments on invoices and receipts, and send payment links, can create, manage and delete recurring payments to customers.

The recurring payment customer has the ability to cancel on their end. 

Learn how to

• add and manage users in QuickBooks Online
• add and manage custom roles in QuickBooks Online Advance.

You can only cancel an active recurring payment. 

1. Open a recurring payment. 
2. Select View/Edit, then select Cancel.

Recurring invoices and recurring sales receipts are still available in QuickBooks. To start getting paid automatically, you'll need to cancel the current recurring transaction, then send a recurring payment to your client. They'll then enter their payment information and accept the payment.