Abtrac has partnered with Stripe to offer an online payment option for invoices. Stripe is a credit card processing system that lets you receive payments from your clients without having to set up a Merchant account with your bank. The integration of Stripe into Abtrac enables seamless payment processing directly from Abtrac invoices and invoice emails.
About online invoice payments with Stripe
Stripe is a leading online payment platform that allows businesses to accept payments securely from customers worldwide. Stripe is a credit card processing system that lets you receive payments from your clients without having to set up a Merchant account with your bank.
Stripe supports various payment methods, including credit cards, Visa, Mastercard, Google Pay, Apple Pay etc, debit cards and local payment options. The integration of Stripe into Abtrac enables seamless payment processing directly from Abtrac invoices and invoice emails.
Setting up the connection with Abtrac and Stripe
Before you get started with invoicing and sending invoices from Abtrac you’ll need to apply some settings if you want to offer your clients a secure online credit card payment option, instructions are included in the link below:
Set up guide: Online invoice payments with Stripe
Sending invoices with online payment options
Only committed invoices have a payment link available
Once you’ve set up your Stripe connection, and added payment links to both your invoice emails and invoice pdf your online payments option will automatically apply to any committed invoice in Abtrac.
It can take some time to generate the online payments link between Stripe and Abtrac, particularly when batch committing and emailing invoices from the Load invoices screen.
You can review all invoices with a valid Stripe link by enabling the x option from User control settings > Load Invoice.
Emailing invoices with payment links
You can email your invoices to clients in the usual way.
Read how to send email invoices from Abtrac
When clients click on the Review and pay or Pay online now option they are directed to the online payments page.
Removing online payment options for a single client or invoice
In Abtrac you can’t disable online payment links per invoice.
But you can choose to email invoices to clients with the online payment link removed, either by editing the email or choosing a different email template before sending.
If you intend to offer online payments to selected clients only we recommend you do not include the payments link within your invoice pdf.
Which Stripe payment link do I choose?
Abtrac offers two types of payment links: Pay online now and Review and pay.
- Pay online now: This link takes your client directly to the Stripe payment page.
- Review and pay: Takes your client to the Abtrac View and Pay page, where they can review their invoice before proceeding to Stripe to make payment.
Pay online now
Pay online now is a direct Stripe payment link created for the invoice amount at the time the link is generated.
If you send this link directly to your client and the invoice or payment amount subsequently changes, the link already sent to your client cannot be updated with the new payment amount. A new Stripe payment link must be generated and provided to the client.
Review and pay
This link points to the invoice’s Abtrac View and Pay page, rather than directly to a specific Stripe payment link.
If the invoice, invoice amount or its Stripe payment link needs to be updated after the Review and pay link has been sent, the Abtrac link sent remains the same. Your client can continue to use their original link to view the invoice and access the current payment option.
Which should I use?
We recommend using Review and pay, particularly in invoice emails and reminders. It gives your clients the opportunity to review their invoice before paying and allows the underlying payment details to be updated without requiring you to send them a new Abtrac View and Pay link.
Pay online now is useful when you want to take your client straight to Stripe, but because it is a direct Stripe link, it offers less flexibility if the invoice or payment amount later changes.
What happens if I change the invoice and the Pay online now link is broken?
If you change(uncommit) an invoice after a Pay online now link has been created, Abtrac will create a new Stripe payment link for the updated invoice amount.
The original Stripe payment link cannot be updated with the new amount. Instead, the old link is deactivated so your client cannot accidentally make a payment using outdated invoice details.
If your client clicks the original Pay online now link, Stripe will display a message advising that the link is no longer active.
Customise the message your client sees
By default, Stripe displays”This link is no longer active.”
You can customise this message in Stripe to give your clients clearer instructions, for example: “This payment link is no longer available. Please refer to your latest invoice or payment reminder for an updated payment link, or contact us for assistance.”
Stripe allows you to set a custom message when deactivating a Payment Link. From the Stripe Dashboard, open the Payment Link and choose Deactivate. In the Deactivate payment link window, turn on Change default message, enter your message, then select Deactivate.
Read more about customising Stripe deactivated link text here
Tip: Using the Review and pay link instead avoids this problem. Because your client is sent to the Abtrac View and Pay page rather than directly to a fixed Stripe payment link, the underlying payment link can be updated while the Abtrac link your client received remains the same.
How invoice recipients pay online
Pay online now
From within the invoice pdf link, and when choosing Pay online now invoice recipients are taken directly to the Stripe payments page.
Review and pay
The review and pay option option is only available for the email payment link (not within the pdf). This link takes invoice recipients to an online copy of the invoice which they can review before choosing the Pay with Stripe option.
Clicking Pay with Stripe takes them to the payments portal.
Invoice Payments via Stripe
Settlement amounts to your bank account
When a customer makes an online payment, any transaction fees will be deducted from their payment and the balance will be settled into your nominated bank account.
For a detailed breakdown of fees, visit Stripe’s official Pricing Page.
If you have the optional accounts link with Abtrac you can synchronise invoice payments from your accounts back into Abtrac automatically. If you don’t have the accounts link you can record payments, and account for write-offs and adjustments directly in the invoices and payments screen.
How to update or record invoice payments
Passing on merchant fees to your client
In Abtrac you can choose to absorb any fees incurred, or instead pass fees onto your client by ticking the Pass on the Stripe processing charges box.
Learn more about passing on fees and how this works here
Abtrac KB# 2199