What Are Checkout Links?

Checkout Links allow you to create unique reusable links to get paid upfront for an Item or Service for multiple Clients. Share Checkout Links on your website, social media, or anywhere online to let your Clients click and pay at fixed prices from the same Checkout Link.
 
Checkout Links can only be used with FreshBooks Payments (WePay), Stripe and PayPal.
 
 

Set Up Checkout Links

Create a Checkout Link for your Clients to pay online by using the steps below: 

New Checkout Link

  1. Click on the Payments section
  2. Then click on Checkout Links underneath
    Checkout Links button under Payments in Navigation.
  3. Click on the New Checkout Link button or the plus + button next to All Checkout Links
  4. Under Item/Service, add an existing Item or Service or type to create a new one
    New checkout link with fields to fill out.
  5. If needed, under Description, add a short description about your Checkout Link (256 characters maximum)
  6. Next, if needed, under Terms & Conditions, add any details that your Clients should know when purchasing
  7. Then under Price, add your subtotal
  8. If needed, click on Add Tax, select up to two taxes and click Apply Taxes. Next, review your Settings for this Checkout Link with the additional steps below.
 

Settings for This Checkout Link

  1. While creating your Checkout Link, under Settings on the right, click on Online Payments and choose the Payment Method
    1. If needed, check off the box(es) under the Payment Method to accept specific types like Credit Card, Bank Transfers (ACH) and/or Debit Cards
    2. Click Done to apply the payment settings
  2. Then if needed, click on Collect Shipping Address
    1. Next, check off the box next to Collect clients’ shipping address
    2. Click Done to apply the changes
  3. Next, if needed, click on Currency
    1. Then select a different currency
    2. Click on Done to save
  4. Then if needed, click on Notifications
    1. Choose between Send me a notification email after each new payment or Do not send notification emails – Clients will still receive receipt emails automatically
    2. Click Done to apply the notification settings
  5. Then when you’re finished, click on the Create button at the top right to make your new Checkout Link
  6. A pop-up will appear with the link - click on the Copy to Clipboard link and then click Done to dismiss the pop-up. The link can now be shared anywhere on your website, social media and more to start receiving payments.
    Pop up with link to copy to checkout link.
 
Notes:
  • If you'd like to share a QR Code instead, use the Android app or iOS app to generate the QR Code
  • The logo on your Checkout Links are based off the Logo uploaded for your Simple template
  • If Track Inventory is enabled for an Item that’s on a Checkout Link, this will decrease the inventory
 

Manage Checkout Links

You can quickly edit, share the link, pause or delete a Checkout Link that you’ve created. Go to the list of Checkout Links and hover over a row to access any of these options:
A setup Checkout Link with buttons over it for quick actions.
  • Edit - Click on the pencil icon and you’ll be taken to the edit screen of your Checkout Link where you can adjust and save afterwards
  • Share - Click on the link icon and the pop-up will appear with the full link for you to copy
  • Deactivate / Activate - Click on the pause icon to temporarily stop receiving payments for that link, and your Clients will see an unavailable page instead, or click on the play button to resume accepting payments
  • Delete - Click on the trash can icon to delete the Checkout Link. You can view all deleted Checkout Links by clicking on the deleted link at the bottom of the list
 

View Checkout Link Payments

To see all payments and shipping addresses made from a Checkout Link, use these steps depending on whether you want to see all Checkout Link payments or payments from a specific Checkout Link:
  1. Click on the Payments section
    1. Then click on Checkout Links underneath to view payments from a specific Checkout Link
      1. Under the Activity column in the list of All Checkout Links, click on x payments
        Checkout link with a link called 2 payments to click on.
      2. A filtered list of payments from that Checkout Link will be displayed
    2. Or, click on the Checkout Link Payments tab to view all payments from all Checkout Links
      Tab inside Payments section with a list of all checkout links displayed.
  2. From here, click on the unique Receipt Number under any Client's name to view the details of the payment and their shipping address (if enabled on Checkout Link).
    Receipt of a checkout link payment showing customer information.
 

Client View of Paying a Checkout Link

Once a Checkout Link is generated and shared, Clients can pay using the below steps:
Client view of checkout link with payment fields to enter.
  1. Click on the Checkout Link
  2. If you see multiple tabs, choose between the Credit Card tab or the Bank Transfer tab depending on how you’d like to pay
  3. Enter your payment details
  4. Then click on the Pay $xx.xx button
  5. Your payment will begin processing and you'll see a thank you message. A receipt will be emailed to you afterwards.
 

FAQs

How do I add a Checkout Link to my website?
Most website builder sites will include buttons that you can incorporate into your website. Click on the link below to find steps on how to add a button, then use the Checkout Link you've created to paste the link in the button's Clickthrough URL:
 
How do Checkout Link Payments affect my Client limit?
All Checkout Link Payments will be linked to an existing Client or Secondary Contact based off the email address used for the payment. If the email doesn't match an existing Client, a new Client is created instead. Any Clients created over your plan's limit will be visible in your list of Clients and locked until you can upgrade your FreshBooks subscription to continue working with these newly added Clients.