#19 The Easier It is to Pay, the Faster You Get Paid

In our previous post, we looked at recording offline payments to keep your books accurate.

But what if you could eliminate that manual step altogether?

Imagine sending an invoice where your customer doesn't have to copy your bank details, switch between apps, or send you a payment confirmation.

Instead, they simply click Pay Now, complete the payment, and the invoice updates automatically.

That's the kind of convenience both businesses and customers appreciate.

As Jason Dailey, Owner of Brandography, puts it: "Zoho Invoice integrates so seamlessly with popular online payment services. I love how easy it is to pull up an invoice on my mobile phone and send it via email on the spot."

The biggest reason invoices turn unpaid isn't that customers don't want to pay. Sometimes, there are simply too many steps between receiving an invoice and completing the payment.

By connecting an online payment gateway to Zoho Invoice, every invoice can include a Pay Now button. Customers can pay securely using their preferred payment method, while Zoho Invoice automatically records the payment, updates the invoice status, and sends a payment confirmation without any manual intervention.

To explore the Payment Gateways available in Zoho Invoice,

Go to Settings -> Online Payments.

Important Action

Before sending invoices with online payment enabled:

Choose the right payment gateway if your organization has configured multiple gateways. Select the one that best suits your customer's location or preferred payment method.
If you want your customers to pay in instalments, enable Partial Payment while creating an invoice right below the payment gateway section.

Things to Remember

Online payments can be controlled at the invoice template level.

If some customers prefer paying online while others prefer bank transfers, create separate templates:

Enable the Pay Now button for customers who pay online in one.
Include your bank details and keep the online payment option disabled on the other template.

This gives you flexibility without changing the invoice settings every time.

Pro Tip:

Offer a consistent payment option across all invoices. A consistent payment experience enables the option to make payment in bulk from the Customer Portal, helps accelerate collections and reduces the need for manual follow-up.

Watch Out:

Stay alert for failed card payments. Zoho Invoice notifies you immediately if a customer's card payment fails.

For recurring auto-charge profiles, you can configure automatic retry attempts over the following days. However, for one-time invoices, no automatic retries are performed. Monitor your email and in-app notifications so you can promptly follow up with the customer and avoid payment delays.