Charge a Customer Using Stripe

Overview 

Before you begin, add the Create Payment button and a Payment Method to the Account. See Add Field and Buttons to Page Layouts and Add a Payment Method.

Note: The Stripe integration to Accounting Seed supports multi-currency credit card transaction processing. ACH transaction processing is limited to USD.  

There are three main ways of charging a credit card and two ways of creating an ACH charge:

• Prepayments - A credit card or ACH charge can happen prior to the creation of a Billing.
• Billings - Once Billings are created, a credit card or ACH transaction can be created for one or multiple Billings.
• Customer Payment Link - As the Billing is emailed out to the customer, the customer can click on the payment link and enter in their credit card information.  
  Important: Although the payment link can be accessed and used via a mobile phone, we only support using it on a desktop or laptop computer. 

Do you want to:

• Create a Payment (Prepayment)
• Receive a Payment
• Add a Customer Payment Link
• View Payment Activity on a Declined Credit Card
• Troubleshoot ACH Payments

Create a Payment (Prepayment) 

1. Navigate to Accounting Home and click the Setup tab. Then, under the  Master menu, click Accounts.
2. Select a list view (other than the Recently Viewed list view).
3. Select an Account record to display. 
4. On the Account page, click Create Payment.
5. Click the Payment Method drop-down list to select the correct Account Holder name, if necessary.
   Note: The Payment Method includes the Account Holder's name, credit card type, and the last four digits of the card number. The default Payment Method is initially assigned. All available Payment Methods display in the drop-down list and one can be selected.
6. Enter the Amount to be paid.
7. (Optional) Add a description and any GL variables associated with this transaction.
8. Once you enter the amount and click the Create Payment button the customer has been charged.
9. If the charge is successful, a cash receipt will be automatically posted to the account. By default, the amount will be posted to the cash GL Account but can be updated with a revenue GL account if preferred. Once a Billing is created, the Cash Receipt can then be applied to it.  

Receive a Payment

Single Payments

1. 1. Navigate to Accounting Home and click the Create Entries tab. Then, under the Revenues menu, click Billings.
   2. Select a list view (other than the Recently Viewed list view).
   3. Open a Billing and click Receive Payment. This will charge the selected payment method and process the fund transfer with Stripe as well as create a cash receipt and apply it to this specific Billing.
      Note: The Payment Method drop-down list includes the Account Holder name, credit card type, and the last four digits of the card number.
      

Batch Payments

• 1. Navigate to Accounting Home and click the Create Entries tab. Then, under the Revenues menu, click Billings.
  2. Select a list view (other than the Recently Viewed list view).
  3. Select multiple Billings to be charged.
  4. Click Receive Payment. This will process one charge per Customer, process the fund transfer with Stripe, create one Cash Receipt per Customer, and apply that Cash Receipt to one or multiple Billings. 
     Note: The Payment Method drop-down list includes the Account Holder name, credit card type, and the last four digits of the card number.

Add a Customer Payment Link

A payment link can be added to the email as it is sent out to the customer. Accounting Seed provides an email template that can be associated with a PDF format so that this link auto-populates on the email that is sent to the Customer. 

1. Navigate to Accounting Home and click the Create Entries tab. Then, under the Revenues menu, click Billings.
2. Select a list view (other than the Recently Viewed list view).
3. Open a Billing and click Create PDF. You will see a preview of the email along with the payment hyperlink.
4. Click Send Email. The customer will click on the link and enter their credit card information. This will process the fund transfer with Stripe, create the Cash Receipt, and apply it to the Billing.

Note: The system will not store the credit card on file, and it must be full payment of a Billing when using the payment link. 

View Payment Activity on a Declined Credit Card

When using Stripe to create a prepayment on an Account or to receive an electronic payment on a single Billing or multiple Billings, if a message displays to indicate that the credit card was declined, the related error information can be viewed on the Payment Activity screen.

Sample screen with the decline message on a prepayment for an Account.

Note: Click here to view the above image in full screen. 

1. Navigate to Accounting Home and click the Run Reports tab. Then, under the Utilities menu, click Payment Activities.
2. Select a list view (other than the Recently Viewed list view).
   Note: You can add additional column headings to the selected list view, if necessary. For more information, refer to the Modify Display Fields in a List View article.
3. Select the Payment Activity Name for the credit card that was declined.
   Note: To determine the correct Payment Activity Name review the Amount column heading or click a Payment Method, which includes the Customer’s name and the last four digits of the credit card number.
   
   
   The Error Type information displays on the Details tab.
   
   
4. Depending upon the error, you might want to review the Payment Method on the Account to make certain that it is correct and/or verify that the information is set up correctly in Stripe. Additionally, refer to the Stripe Error Codes for more information. 

Troubleshoot ACH Payments

All transactions that are initiated from Accounting Seed are recorded as a payment activity under the payment method. The payment activity will show declined charges and errors in processing. To view the payment activity for a specific payment method:

1. Navigate to Accounting Home and click the Run Reports tab. Then, under the Utilities menu, click Payment Activities.
2. Select a list view (other than the Recently Viewed list view).
3. Click Status ACH Payments to display the intermediate screen.
4. Click Status ACH Payments again to run the status. This will update the status of each pending ACH transaction. An email will be sent when the status update completes.
5. Switch to the ACH declined list view and troubleshoot any declined payments.