Advanced Payments (also known as virtual terminal) is an add-on that can be included in your subscription, allowing you to proactively charge your Clients' credit card details they've provided you. If you're on a Select plan, this add-on may be automatically included.
Advanced Payments allows you to process Clients' credit cards over the phone or in person on Invoices and Recurring Templates (with Recurring Payments) so you can get paid quickly. If you have repeat Clients, you'll also be able to save the credit card information for use towards future Invoices and Recurring Templates.
All payments charged through manually entered and saved credit cards are an additional 0.60% on top of your usual transaction fee through FreshBooks Payments (WePay) or Stripe
Advanced Payments works both with FreshBooks Payments (WePay) for US and Canadian users and with Stripe (worldwide)
Charge Cards allows you to proactively charge your Clients with their credit card information. You can securely accept credit cards in person, over the phone, or from your computer to get paid quickly.
This can also be used on Recurring Invoices to set up Recurring Payments automatically, or for when you need to charge a Client immediately on an Invoice.
Credit card details are securely saved in FreshBooks. You can read more about our industry-leading PCI compliance security with credit card data here.
Invoices
Charge Card can be used on any Invoice with these steps:
Go to the Invoices section
Click on an Invoice you want to pay
Click on the Charge Card button
Enter the credit card details
If you'd like to save the card to the Client's profile for future Invoices, check off the box next to Save this card for future charges
Under Payment Options, choose between Charge full amount or Other amount
If Other amount is selected, specify the total you'd like to charge as a partial payment
Click on the Charge Now button to process the payment.
The Invoice will now be fully or partially paid with the credit card details you’ve inputted.
Multiple Invoices
If you'd like to pay multiple outstanding Invoices at once with the saved payment information, use these steps instead:
Go to the Invoices section
Click on an Invoice you want to pay to view it
If there are any other outstanding Invoices for the same Client, click on the x outstanding invoices link at the top of the Invoice
Then click on the Pay Outstanding Invoices link above the list
Enter the credit card details
Then click on the Charge Now button to finish and all the selected outstanding Invoices will be paid simultaneously.
Recurring Templates
To use Charge Card on a Recurring Template, use these steps instead:
Go to the Invoices section
Click on the Recurring Templates section, or click on New Invoice and then click on Make Recurring
While on the Recurring Template, under Payment Options, check off the box next to Require credit card for automatic payments
Then click on Add credit card
Enter the credit card details
Click on the Save Card button
Finish with the rest of your Recurring Template. Once saved, it’ll now generate Invoices that will have Recurring Payments enabled automatically.
Saved Credit Cards
Whenever you’re adding in credit card information for an Invoice, you have the option to save the credit card to either the Client Profile if there isn't an Invoice yet, or while paying an Invoice using Charge Card.
Client Profile
If you don't have an Invoice or Recurring Template ready for this Client, you can save the credit card to their profile with these steps:
Click on the Clients section
Click on the Client you'd like to add a saved credit card to
Under Payment Options, click on the + button
Then select Add Credit Card
Enter the credit card details
Under Save Credit Card To, choose whether to save the information to FreshBooks Payments (WePay) or Stripe
Click Save to finish. There will now be a saved card for future Invoices and Recurring Templates, when the correct payment option is chosen.
Invoices
On any Invoice, using the Charge Card feature, ensure Save this card for future charges is checked off when entering in credit card information to also save it to the Client profile:
Once saved, they can be reused on individual Invoices only. The next time you click on the Charge Card button on any individual Invoice, any saved credit cards will appear for re-use:
Recurring Templates
If you want to use a Saved Card on a Recurring Template to set up Recurring Payments, rather than using Charge Card for a generated Invoice from the Recurring Template, use these steps:
Go to the Invoices section
Click on the Recurring Templates sub-tab
Then click on the Recurring Template you want to edit
Next, click on Edit
Under Settings, click on Recurring Schedule
Under Payment Options, check off the box next to Require credit card for automatic payments
Then click on the Add credit card link in the same area as the checkbox
Add the credit card here if there is one already saved, or enter in the credit card details as needed
Click Done to save the card
Then click Done again to save the settings
When you're finished, click Save... at the top right to save the Recurring Template.
To see if a Credit Card has been saved to a Client's profile, you can go to the Clients section and click on the Client. Any saved cards will appear under the Client's details:
Remove Saved Credit Cards
Any saved card can be removed in either of these two places:
Client Profile
This will remove the saved credit card on any active Recurring Templates, meaning any generated Invoices after removal will not be auto-paid.
Click on the Client section
Then click on the Client that has the saved card(s) you want to delete
In the Saved Credit Cards area of the Client's Profile, hover over the right side of the card and click on the trash can icon
In the pop-up, click on Remove Credit Card to confirm. The card will now be deleted from the Client Profile.
Recurring Template
This only removes the credit card on a particular Recurring Template. Any other Recurring Templates using the same saved credit card will still continue to generate auto-paid Invoices.
Click on the Invoices section
Then click onthe Recurring Templates sub-tab
Select the Recurring Template that has a saved card you want to remove
Next, click on Edit
Under Settings, click on Recurring Schedule
In the Payment Options area, hover over the right side of the card and click on the trash can icon
Click OK to confirm. The card will now be deleted from the Recurring Template.
Subscriptions
If you don't have the Client's credit card information handy on a Recurring Template, you can use Subscriptions instead. This allows you to set up a Recurring Template to automatically opt into Recurring Payments as soon as the Client pays on the next generated Invoice.
Go to the Invoices section
Click on the Recurring Templates section, or click on New Invoice and then click on Make Recurring
While on the Recurring Template, under Payment Options, check off the box next to Require credit card for automatic payments
Finish with the rest of your Recurring Template. Once saved, it’ll now generate an Invoice.
Once your Client receives that generated Invoice and opens it to pay, the Pay Now button will then prompt them to set up Recurring Payment by entering their credit card details for future generated Invoices:
FAQs
I want to purchase and setup the Advanced Payments add-on but I don’t see it in my Billing & Upgrade page?
The option may not be available due to a few reasons:
Stripe Users:
If you are using Stripe, your Stripe account has to be fully connected and set up first with the steps here, then return to the Billing & Upgrade page after.
FreshBooks Payments (WePay) Users:
If you are using FreshBooks Payments (WePay), and you have not completed the KYC process, you’ll need to finish it first with the steps here, then return to the Billing & Upgrade page after.
If you’re still on a trial with FreshBooks, you’ll need to wait for the trial to expire so you're upgraded onto a plan first. Once you've upgraded and have FreshBooks Payments enabled, you can go back to the Billing & Upgrade page and you’ll see Advanced Payments appear as an add-on option.
Can I charge a card that my Client has entered and saved themselves?
You'll only be able to Charge Cards and use Saved Credit Cards that you have been provided by the Client and entered yourself. Any credit cards that have been entered in by your Client on their end will not be accessible to you.
