View and Pay Now link unavailable

Hi @kriskaza,

I'd like to see if we can get to the bottom of this issue with you.  Could you possibly send a screenshot showing what your customers (who don't see the link) are seeing?  That will help us go forward.

Thanks,

Lucas

I am having this same issue!  I have spent about 3 hours on the phone with support. The first time, the agent couldn’t help me. The second time, the agent determined my invoices were corrupted, so I needed to delete and regenerate the invoices.  That seemed to work!  However, when I sent out invoices yesterday, the View and Pay link was missing.  Tried deleting and resending the email and the View and Pay link was still missing!

Called customer service and the agent told me I needed a support package to address the issue as this is not covered under free support!  How is a glitch in your software not covered under support?

I have attached a screenshot of what the invoices look like in response to the admin request on this original post. 

Let's get the View and Pay Now button display on your emailed invoices, Worm_Return.

Verifying and rebuilding your data is a good start when it comes to fixing transaction-related issues in QuickBooks Desktop.

To Verify Data:

1. Choose Window at the top, then Close All.
2. Choose File.
3. Hit on Utilities.
4. Click Verify Data.

To Rebuild Data:

1. Choose File.
2. Click on Utilities.
3. Hit Rebuild Data.
4. You will receive a warning message to backup your company file, press OK.
5. Click OK when you get the message "Rebuild has completed".

After that, you can send an invoice to your email and see if the option to View and Pay Now button is there.

However, if the problem persists, I'd suggest getting in touch with our QuickBooks Desktop Support. Unlike in this public forum, they have the tools required to perform any escalations in the system whenever necessary on your behalf.

Regarding the support package, there are certain issues that are free of charge regardless of the product. You can go through this article: Intuit QuickBooks Desktop & Point-of-Sale software support policies. This will give you more information about issues that don't have any associated fees.

Please get back to me if you have any other concerns. I'll be around to help you out.

i have the same problem..... from my 20 years experience with intuit it may or may not get fixed  when every THEY decide its a problem.

i was so exited that QB desktop had this feature of sending reminder emails to customers for past due invoices....but whats the point if they cant pay them since there's no link....and then customers reach out and say,  can you send me a link....

two steps forewords one step backwords

Did you ever get this solved?  I have had this problem for over 2 years and none of the people at Intuit seem to have a clue what to do. And rebuilding the database didn't work.  I recently upgraded to QB 2021 hoping the new install would fix the problem....NOPE.  

I understand that you've been through a lot already, Travis14. I can help you get to the bottom of this so you can get back to business.

Since you've mentioned that you've upgraded to QB 2021, you also have to make sure you've set up payments in QBDT 2021. You need to turn on payments in QBDT so that an online payment option will be available. This way, your customers can pay their invoices online using a credit card or ACH bank transfer.

Here are the steps:

1. From the Customers menu select Create Invoices.
2. Select Turn on under Your customer can’t pay this invoice online. 
3. On the Change Invoice Options window, choose the appropriate method.
4. Complete the information on the Create Invoices window.
5. Press the Email option.

The steps should help you get the Pay Now link available in no time!

I have added some resources you can use that provide more information about E-invoicing in QBDT as well as the signing up process for payments:

• Send online invoices in QuickBooks Desktop.
• Sign up for QuickBooks Payments.

I'm always here if you have any other payment concerns.

I am having this same issue.  There doesn't seem to be any reason why some links function and others say 'link unavailable'.  Did you ever get your problem resolved?  Any suggestions?

Hello, @StephMPC.

It's my pleasure to help you figure this out. Thus, you can use the link seamlessly in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT). 

Here are some things you can check to ensure the link is accessible. 

A. QBDT is in the latest release. Simply press F2 to see the version you've currently used. See the sample screenshot below for your reference. 

If it's not updated, here's how to update it: 

1. Go to the Help menu and select Update QuickBooks Desktop.
2. Click the Update Now button. 
3. Tap Get Updates to start the download. 
4. Restart the computer and install the latest version. 

You may refer to this article: Update QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release.

    B. The QB Payments is successfully set up. To review the settings, please go to the Edit menu then choose References, and click Company Preferences under Payments.

Once confirmed and the issue persists, I'd recommend doing the following troubleshooting steps to get rid of the problem. 

• Run the Verify and Rebuild tool. This tool scans your company file for issues and fixes them right away. You can follow the steps outlined by Rose-A above. 
• Use QuickBooks File Doctor to fix some company issues like link unavailable. 
• Verify damage transaction link. 

If the issue keeps going, I'd advise you to reach out to our Technical Support. They have tools capable of pulling up your account in a secure environment and send a ticket to our engineers for review.

 Here's how: 

1. Go to this QBDT help link. 
2. Select your product and click Continue. 
3. Enter your concern in the box and tap Continue. 
4. Choose either Chat with us or Have us call you.  
5. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Please check our support hours to know their availability.

You may also check out this article on how to fix some data damage errors you might encounter in QBDT: Top data damage errors in QuickBooks Desktop.

Let me know how the call goes and if you have follow-up questions. I'm glad to help. Keep safe. 

Hi MichelleBh.  I already did all of the above steps and contacted customer support.  After several phone calls and many hours, they are unfortunately no closer to finding out why some of the 'view and pay invoice' links function and some say 'link unavailable'.  The last customer support agent I talked to said they are still working to try to find a resolution. 

Additionally, he mentioned that QB will look into this issue to see if it is a problem other users are experiencing.  If that is the case, and the problem is widespread enough, QB will put a team on trying to find a solution.  From reading the above posts, it looks as though this has been an ongoing, unresolved issue for other users so I hope QB will soon find an answer.  That being said, if any users out there are reading this post because you have experienced the same problem, I encourage you to reach out to support to let them know they need to resolve this error for everyone.

I will keep you posted if QB is able to solve this for me.  :-)

So here is the final word from QB support...  After many hours and several days worth of working with a very helpful support agent, Toni, the verdict is, at this time, there is no solution.  QB is aware of the problem and they have a team working to try to repair it.  When they have a fix, they will probably send it out in a software update.  There is no time frame, but I am hoping (but not expecting) that it will be soon.

Our company was so excited to add this option to our QB so that our customers can pay their invoices online.  We spent hours researching, installing, and learning how to use this Bill Pay option, just to find that it doesn't actually work.  How disappointing and frustrating!!!  Hopefully QB will get this problem solved soon!

Same problem here. Very frustrating. Not 100% of customers, it seems, but significant number getting "Link Unavailable". I do not want to collect payment over the phone due to time and added costs. Customers also very frustrated. Poor experience overall.

We have had the same problem for over 4 years.  We can send invoices 1 at a time via email and the pay now link appears and works fine.  It never works if you try to batch email invoices - PERIOD.

This is a serious flaw that we pay good money for each month with support.  After 4+ years I would have thought QB would have a solution.  We are not calling support again as it takes 3+ hours to walk them through everything each time and the answer always comes back - we have no answer at this time.

How can we all escalate this so that it FINALLY gets fixed?

Hello, mdboyce13.

This isn't the kind of experience that I'd like you to have while using QuickBooks Desktop, and we know how much time it can take when something isn't working on your end. Our priority is to ensure that customers like you are satisfied at all levels. Also, we want to provide the most suitable way to fix your concerns without delay. 

That being said, I'd suggest contacting our QuickBooks Support Team again. This team is the best resource for such inquiries, as they're able to request account information. They can also verify why isn't working in your end and investigate further about it. For more detailed information about the support we offer at Intuit and its availability, you can browse this article: Support hours and types. 

Please know that the Community is always around to help with any QuickBooks questions you may be having. I’ll be here to keep helping. Have a good one and stay safe!

Thanks for your quick reply - but why should I spend now another 3+ hours on the phone?  I've spent WEEKS over the past 4 years trying to get this fixed - just like everyone else has said in this forum - no one seems to care that it has caused our staff countless hours of wasted time.  And think of the time wasted by your customer service / support team?  Clearly something is wrong in your technology organization.

My next email will be to Marianna Tessle, the CTO of Intuit.  I recommend all the other people having the same issue over the past multiple years do the same.

Sorry to be so harsh but we spend thousands of dollars on this software each year.  It SHOULD be fixed.

We don't want you to feel the inconvenience, mdboyce13.

I have submitted a request for escalation on the View and Pay Now option issue, I'll surely return to this thread and will provide you with an update as soon as we have more information. 

I also encourage checking our Help articles page to learn some ways on how to manage your customer payments. From there, you can read great articles that can guide you through the steps by steps process.

Please know that you can always get back to us if you have other questions. We're always here to help. 

THANK YOU!  That is the most helpful and thoughtful response since this issue started.

I really appreciate your quick response and look forward to a quick resolution for all the customers affected by this issue for so long.

Hey mdboyce13,

You are welcome and thank you for your patience thus far! 

Hi, mdboyce13.

There is an open investigation that our development team is looking into. We've added you to the investigation and you will be notified by email as it progresses.

Feel free to post again or reply to this thread if you have any other questions in processing customer payments. Stay safe!

How can there be no "View & Pay Invoice" link for invoices sent by email?!  It's the reason I signed up for Intuit Payments!!!  And Intuit keeps telling people to use Customer Service even though they don't have a clue!  I've even read replies from the Intuit in these forums relative to this issue and from this year (2021) that stated they've never received this complaint...all the while people here are saying this is a problem for YEARS! How offensive is this. Liars or clueless, or both? Either way, it's time to move on from Intuit. 

I just got a non-profit client signed up for and using the Intuit Payments service, specifically so they can send out invoices to be easily paid via credit card or bank ach. Only a dozen invoices to begin, just to test the process. Each sent individually, and only half received the link. That's when I found this issue here. I tried to Rebuild the data file--no resolution. Intuit clearly doesn't care. Probably don't fix it purposely to try to move people to the inferior QB Online product. 

I'm not even gonna bother wasting my time calling customer "service". I'm abandoning Intuit Payments. Slowly but surely Intuit is driving people away. 

Shame on Intuit!  We have dealt with this issue for several years as well.  Have spent countless hours on the phone with support and each time have been told it's fixed only to find out "each and every" time that we try to send the next batch of invoices, the issue is still not resolved and we have to manually send every invoice every time.  How can Intuit let such a huge issue go unresolved for such a ridiculously long time when thousands of customers are paying for this service?  This should have been a Priority One years ago for Intuit.  Instead of repeatedly asking Intuit to resolve this issue, perhaps we should all start asking for refunds......Intuit, why do you have your support personnel waste their time and more importantly as the customer, our time, when there is no resolution?  It's time to take care of your customers, Intuit!

Sorry mdboyce13,

I mean AileneA does Intuit actually pay you to type this kind of BS response to people?

The second paragraph you wrote contradicts the first 100%. You don't want people to have this kind of experience, and yet you suggest contacting Customer Support...which everyone that I read here says is clueless about the issue and not helpful and wastes LOADS of time having to repeat the same thing every call without any resolve, ever. 

Either help report this issue to Intuit and (for real) help fix the completely absurd problem for any merchant payment service to have at this point in the game. Or, just tell the truth...Quickbooks doesn't want to put resources into fixing this problem for whatever reason...perhaps they want everyone to move to the inferior online subscription product because it makes more money. 

So I'm calling you on your BS. You are not helping at all. If you have inside connections, use them! Put up or shut up. But my guess is that you're just another human widget in Intuit's "kaching algorithm".  

@QueB-NOT-QueBO @LadeyRose 

Switch to another payment processor to integrate with your QB Desktop.

everyone here needs to email "[email address removed]"

i did and they have been working to try to find a fix,  got a call the next day from and American US based intuit employee looking to try and figure it out.

the more people that jump on them and skip this online help BS will get them to understand that its a big deal,

and QuickBooks online is a joke for real business that do real book keeping,   desktop use to have a mobile app that let you view all your customers info and balances from the field,    someone explain to me why they took that away.....

come on people.... email them now

[email address removed]

Thank you Fiat Lux, a switch is already in motion. Just had to offer some

honest feedback on my way out the door. 💩