> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://learn.withessential.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://learn.withessential.com/revenue/invoices/how-your-customer-pays-an-invoice-online.md).

# How your customer pays an invoice online

When you send an invoice, the customer gets a link to a public pay page - they don't need an account. The page shows the invoice with a Download as PDF option, and if there's a balance owed, a "Pay Invoice" button.

Choosing it opens a payment window where they pick how to pay: credit card or bank transfer. Any processing fee your business charges is shown as a rate next to each method (your custom percentage, or Stripe's standard formula when you pass the exact fee through). Once the customer picks a method, the fee appears as a dollar amount added on top of the balance, so they see the full total before confirming. Your business can configure no fee, a custom percentage, or Stripe's exact standard fee separately for cards and bank payments. When an invoice's processing fees are waived, neither method shows a fee and no Fee or Total to Pay lines appear: the customer pays exactly the balance, and nothing on the page mentions a waiver (see [Waive processing fees on an invoice](/revenue/invoices/waive-processing-fees-on-an-invoice.md)).

For a Canadian bank transfer, the customer first chooses a verification path. **Instant verification** asks Stripe to use an online-banking login and works with most major banks. If the bank cannot complete that path, Stripe can fall back to microdeposits. **Manual entry** accepts account details for any bank or credit union and uses microdeposits directly, which normally take 1–2 business days. Stripe emails the verification instructions, and the invoice's pay link shows **Complete Payment** when the hosted verification link is ready. The transfer is not submitted until the verification Stripe presents succeeds.

Customers can also enroll in autopay while paying - choosing whether future invoices auto-charge this method for just this property or for all properties under the customer. Once a card payment succeeds the page updates to Paid; a bank transfer may show as processing for several days before it clears.

Inside Essential, the invoice's payment details also show unfinished, failed, and canceled attempts. A combined payment the customer started and then abandoned isn't listed. An unfinished checkout appears as **Unpaid**, with a checkout-incomplete explanation in payment history; it does not mean the customer needs to confirm anything with their bank. **Action required** indicates an additional customer step, with bank-verification guidance when applicable. **Processing** means the submitted payment is still processing. Only successful payments reduce the invoice balance. The [Invoice payments report](/reporting-and-integrations/reporting/filter-and-export-the-invoice-payments-report.md) shows the invoice status and each payment attempt's status separately.

The invoice's **Timeline** explains new payment activity:

* **Awaiting bank verification:** the customer needs to open their invoice payment link and confirm the small deposit amounts or statement code requested by Stripe. The payment has not cleared.
* **Bank verification completed:** verification is finished and the payment is processing. No further customer action is currently needed; the payment has not cleared yet.
* **Payment needs customer action:** Stripe requires another step, such as card authentication. The customer completes it through their invoice payment link.
* **Payment is processing:** the submitted payment is awaiting a result. Bank payments can take several business days to clear.

These entries appear even when the invoice remains **Payment Processing** throughout verification. Repeated notifications do not add duplicate entries. Success, partial payments, failure, and cancellation continue to appear in the timeline. Existing timeline entries keep their original wording.

For US bank payments, Stripe sends microdeposit verification emails by default to the payer's billing email when its verification emails are enabled. That is the email supplied for the bank payment, not every contact saved against the customer. Essential's ordinary invoice reminder sequence stops when payment processing or verification begins; a timeline entry does not confirm email delivery. See [Stripe's verification email guidance](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/ach-direct-debit#mandate-and-microdeposit-emails).

Importantly, customers always pay the full remaining balance - there's no option for a customer to make a partial payment online. If a back-office partial payment has already been recorded, the button reads "Pay Remaining Balance" and charges only what's still owed.

Online payment requires a verified Stripe connection on your business; without one, the pay button won't appear and the invoice is meant to be paid out of band.

After a card or bank payment succeeds, the payment card on the invoice is titled with the day the customer paid (**charged on**) and lists the day the funds settled as **Cleared**; for a bank payment these are usually several business days apart, and the Invoice payments report shows the same two dates. The card also shows the amount applied to the invoice, the processing fee the customer paid (if you charge one), the total charged, and then **Stripe Fee** - what Stripe actually kept on that charge - and **Net to Your Balance**, the amount that reached your Stripe balance. Stripe charges its fee on the full amount charged, including any processing fee, which is why a custom percentage fee does not always cover it exactly; the exact-fee option in Settings grosses up using Stripe's standard published rates, so it matches exactly only when your account is on that standard pricing — a negotiated or custom Stripe rate won't line up precisely. Stripe's account-level fees (fraud screening, tax calculations) are not part of any single payment; they are deducted from the payout that sweeps them.

> **Where to find it:** Your customer opens the pay link from the invoice email (the public pay page). Inside the app you can preview that page with "View Sent Invoice" on a sent invoice.

## Seeing other open invoices

When your business enables customer statements, an invoice link also gives access to previously sent open invoices for properties under the same customer's billing profile. No account or email verification is needed. Anyone with that invoice link can see those invoices; separately billed profiles and other customers stay separate.

Invoice links open that specific invoice. The header includes a left-arrow **View other open invoices** link with a count, and a red overdue count when applicable. At the top of **Pay Invoice**, a red badge shows how many other invoices are overdue beside **View other open invoices**. Selecting that link or its invoice icon closes the payment window and opens the invoice table with **Total due** at the top. Eligible invoices are selected by default, up to 50 per payment. Use the header checkbox to select or clear them all, or choose individual invoices. **Pay** shows the selected balance; the payment review shows any processing fee before confirmation. Invoices already being paid or billed automatically cannot be selected for a combined payment.

Select an invoice number to view its full document, download its PDF, or pay it individually. The header link returns to the table. No other-invoice notice appears when there are no other open invoices. Invoices opened from a [customer statement](/revenue/invoices/create-and-share-a-customer-statement.md) also have a **View full statement** link.

Closing a combined payment before submitting it releases the selected invoices, so the customer can choose a different set and pay again. Payments already processing or awaiting bank verification remain available through **Resume payment**.

An unfinished individual payment does not block paying that invoice together with others. When the customer chooses a payment method for the combined payment, Essential cancels the earlier unsubmitted attempt first. If that payment has already been submitted or its cancellation cannot be confirmed, the customer must review it on the individual invoice before starting another payment.

## Payment links after deletion

Deleting an invoice makes its payment link unavailable, including when the invoice is partially paid. Customers cannot use that link to view the invoice or make another payment. An invoice with a payment still processing cannot be deleted until that payment finishes or fails. Deletion does not refund earlier payments or cancel a partially paid invoice's remaining balance.

An unpaid invoice with no applied or pending payments is voided when deleted, so its payment link no longer accepts payment. See [Delete a record](/customers-and-work/customers/delete-a-record.md) for the full rules.

## Related guides

* [Charge a customer's saved card for an invoice](/revenue/invoices/charge-a-customers-saved-card-for-an-invoice.md)
* [Set processing fees and pass Stripe fees to customers](/administration/settings/set-a-minimum-charge-for-credit-card-fees.md)
* [Waive processing fees on an invoice](/revenue/invoices/waive-processing-fees-on-an-invoice.md)
* [Can I reverse a payment I recorded?](/revenue/invoices/can-i-reverse-a-payment-i-recorded.md)
* [Record a payment on an invoice](/revenue/invoices/record-a-payment-on-an-invoice.md)
* [Add a line item to an invoice](/revenue/invoices/add-a-line-item-to-an-invoice.md)
* [Apply a discount to an invoice](/revenue/invoices/apply-a-discount-to-an-invoice.md)

For new bank payment attempts, Essential also emails the payer a verification reminder **2 and 5 days after verification is requested**, if verification is still needed. Each reminder opens the invoice payment link. Essential checks Stripe again before sending, skips payments without a valid payer email, and respects the customer's invoice follow-up opt-out when customer follow-up preferences are enabled. Reminders stop when verification is no longer needed or the invoice or payment is no longer eligible. Existing pending payments are not added retroactively.

The invoice timeline shows when Essential sent a reminder, skipped one because of an opt-out or missing payer email, or could not confirm an email attempt. “Sent” means the email provider accepted it, not that the payer opened or received it. An unconfirmed attempt is not retried automatically. These reminders are separate from the ordinary invoice reminder sequence.


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