Office: Installment Payments
Set up payment plans that let clients pay invoices and estimates in scheduled portions.
What is an Installment Payment?
An Installment Payment lets your Contacts split an Invoice payment into multiple portions instead of paying everything upfront. You can apply Installment options to Invoices, Invoice Generators, and Estimates.
Setting up Installments for Invoices
Start by going to Office > Invoices and selecting the +Add Invoice button.
Complete all necessary fields for your Invoice.
In the Payment Settings section, locate the Allow Partial Payment option and check the box to enable Installments.
Click the + button to create your first Installment.
You can choose between two Installment types: Percent and Fixed.
Percent Installments
With a Percent Installment, you specify what percentage of the total Invoice amount is due on a particular schedule.
Title: Name this Installment for reference.
Amount: Enter a percentage value. For instance, entering 10 means the Contact pays 10% of the Invoice total.
Due Date: Select either Relative or Fixed. A Relative due date is based on time after the Contact receives the Invoice (example: 5 days). A Fixed due date is a specific calendar date.
Use the icons at the bottom to set up Automations and configure reminder emails.
Click Save to add this Installment. You can delete it by clicking the trash icon. After saving, the option to add another Percent Installment becomes available.
Fixed Installments
With a Fixed Installment, you specify an exact dollar amount due on a particular schedule.
Title: Name this Installment for reference.
Amount: Enter the specific dollar amount due for this Installment.
Due Date: Select either Relative or Fixed. A Relative due date is based on time after the Contact receives the Invoice (example: 5 days). A Fixed due date is a specific calendar date.
Use the icons at the bottom to set up Automations and configure reminder emails.
Click Save to add this Installment. You can delete it by clicking the trash icon. After saving, the option to add another Fixed Installment becomes available.
Once your Installments are configured, continue filling out the remaining Invoice details and save when ready.
Editing Partially Paid Invoices
When an Invoice has received partial payments and you need to make changes, click Edit from the Invoice’s options menu.
A confirmation popup will notify you that the Invoice is Partially Paid. To apply Installment Payments to any new balance, you’ll need to reconfigure the remaining payment schedule.
Overpaid Invoices
If you edit an Invoice’s total after receiving partial payments, the Invoice reverts to draft status. When the amount already paid exceeds the new total, the Invoice receives an ‘Overpaid’ status.
Setting up Installments for Estimates
Navigate to Office > Estimates and click the +Add Estimate button.
Fill in the fields to create your Estimate. Since Estimates and Invoices work similarly, follow the Installment setup steps described above.
One key difference exists: Estimate Installment due dates only accept relative due dates.
Your Installment’s relative due date must fall within the Converted Invoice Relative Due Date window. For example, if you set the Converted Invoice Relative Due Date to 5 days, the full payment is due 5 days after conversion. Any Installment due date cannot exceed this 5-day window.
If you set a Converted Invoice Relative Due Date of 5 days but an Installment due date of 9 days, the system will reject the configuration with an error.
Setting up Installments for Invoice Generators
Follow the same process used for Invoices and Estimates. All Invoice Generators use relative due dates (like Estimates) since they don’t have fixed dates.
Learn more about Accumulating Generators
Learn more about Recurring Generators
Learn more about On-Demand Invoice Generators
Recording Installment Payments
Payments can be recorded in three ways: credit card via Pay Now, manual entry, or stored payment information.
Using Pay Now
If you have a payment Gateway connected, your client can click the PAY NOW button, select which Installment is due, or choose to pay in full if required.
Recording Payments Manually
Go to Office > Invoices, click the three-dot menu next to the Invoice, and select Record Payment. You can mark one or multiple Installments as paid.
Using Stored Payment Details
If you have your Client’s credit card information saved, you can manually process a payment using those details on their behalf.