Autopay & Recurring transactions not compatible

seounpacked · ‎September 12, 2024

TLDR: you can not set up autopay on existing recurring transactions. I am partially posting so that others are aware and partially because I would like to turn off the option for autopay for some customers to prevent the issues I'm having now. Is that possible?

This all started when a customer set up recurring payments, but they weren't withdrawn as they should have been. Neither I nor the customer was alerted of the issue.

This help article says, "If you already have a recurring invoice setup, you don’t need to create a new one.

Important: You can edit ‌recurring templates with Autopay setup. If you change any of these fields, Autopay will be canceled..."

However, after a 3 hour chat with QBO support and backend support I was advised, "Setting upa payment method to a old recurring invoice can process one timepayment and that will be the date the customer authorized andsetup. But, it does not mean that after they setup autopay it will gothrough on the next month as the recurring invoice got affected tothe changes. They suggest that when a customer wants to setup anautopay merchant should cancel or create a new recurring invoicetemplate and then let their client to enroll to autopay. That way,payments will be processed on the setup date and invoice willnever encounter issue."

To make sure I was understanding correctly, I asked, "are you saying every time someone sets up autopay, I have to cancel their recurring invoice and cancel their autopay. Then create a new recurring invoice, and have them set up recurring payments again?" The answer was "yes" that is what they are saying.

The capabilities of autopay and recurring transactions are being misrepresented in the help article and the website. Not only is it not saving me time, it's creating even more work and frustrating my customers.

Anonymous · ‎September 12, 2024

I appreciate you for providing the details of your concern, @seounpacked. Let me assist you in canceling the autopay option for recurring invoices in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Here's how:

Sign in to your QuickBooks Online account.
Go to the Gear icon, then choose Recurring Transactions from the list column.
Locate the specific recurring invoice you would like to pause or delete.
In the action column, choose either Pause or Delete.

Additionally, let your customers know that they can cancel their automatic payments by following the instructions in their confirmation email. Keep in mind that individual payments cannot be canceled.

Here's how:

Click on Manage payment in the confirmation email.
Sign in to their Intuit Account.
Select Cancel autopay.

Moreover, you can set up automatic reminders for invoice due dates. These reminders can be customized to be sent a few days before or after the due date, eliminating manual tracking and ensuring timely communication with customers.

If you have further questions about autopay, feel free to hit the reply button. We're glad to assist you anytime. Have a good one.

FishingForAnswers · ‎September 12, 2024

@Anonymous "Let me assist you in canceling the autopay option for recurring invoices in QuickBooks Online (QBO)."

My brother in Christ, I realize that they are providing you with next-to-useless scripts, but at least try to read what the OP is saying because that is not it.

tjwconsulting-ou · ‎October 04, 2024

100%! This autopay fiasco has been such a waste of time and energy. Nearly a third of my customers were on autopay before the big design change, and they were all removed with no warning. Now they can't rejoin and I have had so much frustrated feedback. I have talked to Quickbooks multiple times and their customer service either don't get it or mindlessly reiterate the same unhelpful script. Incredibly frustrating.

seounpacked · ‎October 10, 2024

I don't want to cancel existing recurring payments. I want to remove the option Quickbooks gives on invoices that allows them to create new recurring payments without my knowledge.

According to QB customer support, if customers set up automatic monthly payments, depending on how long that recurring invoice has been going on, the monthly payments may not work.

Since I'm not alerted if a client has set up automatic payments, I won't know if those automatic payments are not working. Since they think they have recurring payments, they are understandably confused when they see late fees and past-due notices.

I would rather them not have the option. They can contact me directly and I can set it up in a way that I am confident will not create issues.

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Autopay & Recurring transactions not compatible