Automatic Payments Overview

Automatically charge invoices when they're due using saved payment methods

Automatic payments enable hands-free invoice collection by charging customers' saved payment methods when invoices reach their due date. When a customer has a default payment method configured and an invoice has autopay enabled, Payload automatically processes the payment on the due date without manual intervention. This streamlines recurring billing, improves payment reliability, and reduces administrative overhead for both merchants and customers.

Common use cases:

Subscription Billing: Monthly or annual subscription services
SaaS Products: Software-as-a-Service recurring billing
Membership Fees: Gym, club, or organization memberships
Recurring Services: Ongoing service contracts and retainers

Automatic payments require two conditions: the invoice must have autopay_settings.allowed set to true, and the payer account must have a default payment method configured for payments. When both conditions are met, the invoice is automatically charged on its due date.

Prerequisites

Before enabling automatic payments, ensure you have:

Create invoices

Invoices must exist with a future due date for automatic payments to process.

Set up payment methods

Customers need a saved payment method configured as their default for autopay to work.

Billing schedules

Automate recurring invoice generation with autopay enabled by default.

How Automatic Payments Work

Understanding the automatic payment flow helps you implement and troubleshoot autopay effectively.

Eligibility requirements

For an invoice to be automatically charged:

Autopay enabled: autopay_settings.allowed must be true on the invoice
Default method: Payer account must have a payment method with account_defaults.paying set to "payments" or "all"
Invoice status: Invoice must be in unpaid or partially_paid status
Balance due: Invoice must have a remaining balance greater than zero
Valid payment method: Default payment method must be valid and not expired

Common Mistake: The most common reason autopay fails is forgetting to set a payment method as the account default. A customer can have multiple payment methods saved, but only the one with account_defaults.paying will be used for automatic payments.

Automatic Payment Lifecycle

Invoice Creation

Invoice is created with autopay_settings.allowed: true

Due Date Arrives

On the invoice due date, Payload checks for autopay eligibility

Payment Attempt

Automatic payment is processed if eligible

Retry on Failure

If payment fails, automatic retry attempts for up to 5 days

Completion

Invoice is fully paid or remains unpaid after retry period

Retry Behavior

Initial Failure

Payment attempt fails (card declined, insufficient funds, etc.)

Zero-Amount Record

A zero-amount payment allocation is created for tracking

Retry Period

Retries continue for up to 5 days after the due date

Success

If a retry succeeds, invoice is marked as paid

Final Failure

After 5 days, retries stop and invoice remains unpaid

Key Concepts

Important concepts for working with automatic payments.

Transaction Triggers

Automatic vs manual transactions:

trigger: "automatic" - Created by autopay system on due date
trigger: null - Manually created by API call or user action
Use trigger to filter and report on automatic payments
Track autopay success rates by filtering automatic transactions

Default Payment Methods

Account payment configuration:

Payment method must have account_defaults.paying set to "payments" or "all"
Only one default payment method per account
Removing default payment method stops all autopay
Customers can change default method anytime

Next Steps

Get started with automatic payments and configure recurring billing

Enable Automatic Payments

Configure default payment methods with Enable Autopay to set up automatic invoice collection, stop automatic payments when needed with Disable Autopay for customer requests or policy changes, and track payment success rates with Monitor Autopay to troubleshoot failed automatic payments and optimize collection.

Configure Payment Methods

Understand payment method types with Payment Methods to choose the right payment options for your customers, add customer payment methods with Create Payment Methods for card and bank account collection, and modify default settings with Update Payment Methods to change which methods are used for automatic payments.

Automate Recurring Billing

Automate recurring invoice creation with Billing Schedules to understand schedule concepts and frequencies, set up recurring billing with Create Billing Schedules for subscription and membership billing, and manage schedule autopay with Update Billing Schedules to enable or disable automatic payments on existing schedules.

Enable Autopay - Set up automatic payments
Paying Invoices: Autopay - Invoice payment perspective
Creating Invoices - Build invoices with autopay enabled
Billing Schedules - Automate recurring billing
Payment Methods - Configure customer payment methods
Webhook Events - Monitor automatic payment events

Updating Schedules Autopay Enrollment