Auto-Pay Setup Guide

Last updated: January 24, 2026

Enable automatic invoice payments for your customers. When Auto-Pay is enabled, your customers can save their payment method and have future invoices charged automatically.

Prerequisites

  • Stripe must be connected in your integration settings

  • Auto-Pay feature must be enabled for your organization (contact support if you don't see the option)

How to Enable Auto-Pay for a Customer

  1. Go to Customers and select the customer

  2. Open customer Settings

  3. Enable Accept card payments

  4. Enable Allow Auto Pay enrollment (appears after enabling card payments)

  5. Save changes

Once enabled, this customer will see the Auto-Pay checkbox when paying invoices through the payment portal.

Auto-Pay Setup.png

How It Works

Customer Enrollment

When your customer pays an invoice through the payment portal:

  1. They select Pay with Card or Pay with Bank Account

  2. They check Enable Auto Pay

  3. They see a disclosure with billing frequency, outstanding invoices, and next invoice date

  4. They complete payment through Stripe Checkout

  5. Their payment method is securely saved

Automatic Charging

Auto-Pay runs daily at 6:00 AM EST. The system automatically charges invoices that:

  • Have an invoice date of today or earlier

  • Are on contracts where Auto-Pay is enabled

  • Aren't paused or already paid

Payment Processing Times

  • Credit/Debit Card - Instant

  • ACH Bank Transfer - Usually under 4 business days

Email Notifications

Your customers automatically receive:

  • Payment Confirmation - After successful charge (includes receipt link + disable button)

  • ACH Processing - When bank payment is initiated (before settlement)

  • Payment Failed - If charge fails (includes link to pay manually)

What Happens When a Payment Fails

  1. Auto-Pay is disabled on the contract (prevents repeated failed attempts)

  2. Customer receives the invoice email with a failure banner

  3. Activity is logged in the contract's activity feed

Common failure reasons: card declined, insufficient funds, expired card, bank account closed

FAQs

Which customers can use Auto-Pay?

Only customers with both "Accept card payments" and "Allow Auto Pay enrollment" enabled in their settings.

Can customers use ACH for Auto-Pay?

Yes. Both card and ACH bank transfers are supported.

What time are invoices charged?

Daily at 6:00 AM EST.

Will paused invoices be charged?

No. Paused invoices are skipped by Auto-Pay.

Can I manually trigger an Auto-Pay charge?

No. Auto-Pay runs on the daily schedule. For immediate payment, share the payment portal link with your customer.

Need help? Contact Monk support.