How Subscription (Recurring) Payments Work

AdvicePay's subscription feature is convenient in the sense that once your client enters payment information and activates the subscription, auto-billing takes over and no further action is needed.

Auto payments will be processed at the frequency selected (e.g every month/quarter/etc.) through your client's bank account or credit card until you or your client cancels the subscription or it reaches the end date of the billing period.

In addition, we help your clients keep track of their payments by sending them an email notification seven (7) days before they're billed and a confirmation email every time the billing occurs. Check emails your clients receive for those to be in the "on" position or adjust those available as needed.

An Example of the Subscription Process

As an example of the subscription process, you create a monthly subscription invoice set up on September 8th, with October 1 as the first due date. You also add an end date for it to bill for only six (6) billing periods, so it has an end date of March 1st of the following year.

• If the subscription is scheduled, the Invoice will be sent on the scheduled Invoice date and not before. It will only be visible and ready for payment once the invoice date is hit. If it isn't scheduled, you would either publish it without sending it to the client, or send it to the client when created.  
• If it has hit the invoice date, or you sent a regular invoice to the client, they can see and submit the payment. Once they submit and authorize the payment on September 15th, both you and your client will receive an email confirmation of the subscription activation, but nothing will be charged to the client yet.
• AdvicePay will automatically charge your client's payment method on the due date of October 1st due date (never before for a subscription).
• The subscription will then continue billing automatically on November 1, December 1, and so on. After the billing on March 1st (the last due date), it will automatically complete the subscription since all six (6) billing periods have been fulfilled. (If no end date were set, the subscription would continue to bill indefinitely until manually canceled by the advisor or the client.)

Emails that your subscription clients receive

Depending on your settings under Account Settings > Emails & Notifications, as well as those your clients can manage themselves via their AdvicePay account. Your client can receive several types of emails when they are on a subscription:

1. An email confirmation when they originally authorized a subscription (always sent)
2. An email 7 days before they get billed (optional - managed by advisor and/or client)
3. A recurring payment receipt letting them know the payment was successfully and fully processed* (optional - managed by client)

Your client will always be notified via email if their payment fails or if you cancel the Active Subscription.

* Note: If your client is paying via ACH, it takes ~5 business days for their payment to process and ultimately pass or fail at their bank. In this instance, the client's debit confirmation email will be sent immediately, but then when the payment is finalized at their bank they will also receive another email confirming or sharing it failed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean when I send a subscription invoice to a client, and it is marked as Inactive?

An Inactive status on a subscription means that the client hasn't approved it yet and submitted their payment method. Once they complete the activation process and submit their first payment, their subscription status will change from "Inactive" to "Active" and auto-billing will begin.

Please note that subscriptions can be activated by marking the first as paid, or by submitting a payment to it.  Please only do so if they have actually paid, since this is only reversible to mark as refunded and cannot be removed from the subscription once marked as paid. Learn more about Marking Subscriptions and Invoices as Paid first.

Need further guidance? Here's a great article for clients, guiding them on how to activate a subscription.

What if my client doesn't authorize their subscription by the due date? (Let's say they're 1 week past due.) Do I need to start over and create a whole new invoice for them? 

Not to worry -- your client can still make their payment, and you don't have to set up anything new. Once they enter and submit their payment, it will be processed immediately and will begin billing as normal the next month/quarter/etc. On the day you selected. As long as they pay within 30 days of the due date, it will auto-collect as usual thereafter, as scheduled.

Here's an example. If your client with an October 1st due date on a monthly subscription goes in and makes a late payment on October 8th, it will bill the full amount immediately for the first period due date. It will then bill the full amount again on November 1, December 1, and so on. (There will not be a prorated billing calculation made.) Please note that we don't apply any late fees to overdue subscriptions or one-time invoices.

But what if it's been OVER 30 days since the due date and they still haven't paid it?

If you set a monthly subscription to bill on October 1st, but your client doesn't activate the subscription and make the payment until November 3rd, the following will happen:

• The initial October invoice will bill immediately and reflect those initial October date ranges on the PDF invoice as set up.
• November's invoice will be skipped (since it wasn't paid before the due date of 11/1 in that month to charge)
• The subscription will bill again as normal on December 1st, January 1st, etc. 

(See below in the blue box if months were skipped and how to reconcile; clients can always resubmit any failed payment with auto collection "on" a subscription in their account)

For instances where the client misses a few months from the expected due date, once paid, it will immediately bill for the initial month (quarter, semi-annual ect.) the payment was due, then bill for the month it is paid in, and so on. This will occur as long as the day of the expected due date is after the payment date made for that current month.

For example, if a subscription was due on Sep 15th and the client paid it on Dec 10th, the following would happen:

• The initial September invoice would be paid immediately and reflect those initial September date ranges on the PDF invoice.
• October and November Invoices are skipped, and December would be paid on 12/15 since the expected due date is set for the 15th of each month and the due date has not yet passed for December. It would then continue to bill as expected.

(*Exception: if the client paid AFTER the 15th of December, it would have been skipped as well.)

See below in the blue box for missed months)

What if I need to adjust the bill date or the payment amount on a subscription?

On an Inactive subscription -- which means the client hasn't authorized it to begin billing — you can edit the invoice to adjust the following only:

• Due/Bill Date
• Amount
• Description of Services
• Accepted Payment Method: CC and/or ACH
• # of Billing Periods

On an Active subscription, you can edit the Amount and Description of Services. (Please note that to remain a compliant payment platform, we're designed so that clients must first approve any fee increases.)

If you need to make other changes to a subscription that is already authorized by a client, you will need to cancel it and issue a new one.

Can my client change the payment account they use for my subscription?

Yes! If your subscription client wants to start paying with a different credit card or bank account, they can update their payment method from within their AdvicePay. They must be registered with a password to do so due to compliance and regulations.

We will bill the Default account they have on file under their Account Settings > Billing, so by adding a new payment method and making it the Default, their subscription will bill the new account on the next due date. Here's a guide for clients on how to update their payment method.

Can a client make a partial payment of a subscription invoice?

At the current time, a client cannot make partial payments on invoices. If your client prefers smaller payments, you could set up lower amounts on the subscriptions or bill them with one-time invoices instead for more flexibility.

Can I put a temporary hold or pause on a subscription payment?

Yes! To delay or suspend a payment for one or more billing periods, or indefinitely, use the Pause function.

What does the Completed status on a subscription mean?

When you select a billing end date on a subscription, the subscription will update with the status "Completed" after the last billing period has been processed. To resume payments, a new subscription will need to be sent to the client for their authorization.

When do Subscriptions Charge my Client when auto-billed?

Subscriptions begin auto-billing the night before the due date at 11 pm MST.

If a payment method needs to be updated, it must be done and be the default before that time frame to reflect the charge. If there is an approval for an increase needed, this would also need to be done by this time to reflect on the due date at the new rate.