Many businesses allow their clients to split payments for more expensive services and packages. BusyPaws makes this process easy by allowing you to configure specific payment terms on manual invoices, even allowing you to automatically charge one or more of the payments. You can even set up services to take partial payment at the time of self-booking and prompt for remaining payment closer to the booking date.

In this guide we will take a look at how to choose payment terms for your manual invoices.

Payment terms indicate the expected schedule for payments to be made on an invoice. In many cases they may be quite straightforward (i.e. full payment due on receipt) however in other cases you may find yourself looking for something more complex. Payment terms in BusyPaws allow you to indicate to your clients when invoice payments are due and to even split their total over multiple payment. You may have clients enter their own payment information or set charges up to process automatically (provided the client has a stored card on file).

The default payment terms for your account will populate for any new, manually generated invoices. For all accounts, the standard payment term will be pre-set as a single payment due on receipt. If you wish to adjust this, start by clicking the gear icon in the left-hand menu bar.

Then select "Invoices" under "Product Configuration".

The Payment Terms settings are located just beneath the Tips toggle within the "Payments" section of your Invoice & Payment Settings page.

This section includes a list of all the pre-set payment terms that have been configured on your account. If you have not yet configured any custom settings, it will include only the Default Payment Term.

Once you have customized one or more pre-set payment terms they will be listed alphabetically. Each pre-set payment term is listed with its name, its associated terms, and the auto-charge status of each term. The default payment term will be listed with a "Default" tag next to its name.

Click the gear icon next to any listed payment term to open an action menu. This menu includes options to Edit or Delete the payment terms. For non-default terms the menu will also include a Make Default option.

To create a new, custom payment term, click "New Payment Term" at the bottom of the Payment Terms section.

This will open a pop-up with the customizable setting options. Use the "Payment Term Name" to add an easily identifiable name to your custom terms, then adjust the term settings below.

Each payment term has three settings to configure.

Click the "Add Payment Term" button to populate additional payment fields.

Click the trash can icon next to any additional payment term to remove it.

When you are happy with your chosen payment terms, click the "Create Payment Term" button to add the new term option.

You will then see the new terms option listed on your Invoice & Payment Settings page.

Even with your default payment terms set you may find yourself wanting to adjust those terms on a case by case basis to help better meet the needs of your clients. This can be done easily from the New Invoice or Edit Invoice page. When building/editing an invoice the Payment Terms for that invoice will be listed directly below your business' contact details.

All new invoices will populate the default payment terms you have set. Terms will be listed with the percentage value and timing for each payment. Any payment set to charge automatically will be listed with a charge icon next to it.

To adjust customize these settings, click the pencil icon next to "Payment Terms".

This will open a pop-up with setting options for the invoice payment terms.

Use the drop-down at the top to select from your available pre-set payment terms.

Alternatively, use the term fields to set custom values. Click the "Add Payment Term" button to add more terms, click the trash can icon next to any existing term to remove it, and/or adjust the settings for percentage, days, and automatic charging for any listed term.

When you are done with your adjustments, click the "Apply to Invoice" button to apply those terms to the invoice.

This will take you back to the New/Edit Invoice page, with the updated payment terms listed beneath your contact information.

Once an invoice has been saved, its payment terms will be listed at the top, just beneath the invoice number and date issued. The terms will display with the associated percentages and the date on which each payment is due. Any payment set to charge automatically will be listed with a small charge icon next to it. Payments that have been completed will be listed with a green checkmark.

Any payment set to charge automatically will be listed with a small charge icon next to it. Payments that have been completed will be listed with a green checkmark.

When a client receives an invoice that requires them to manually enter their payment information (i.e. if they do not have a stored card saved or if the automatic charge is disabled) the payment screen will display only the amount for the charge that is due first.

If they return to the invoice after the first term has been paid, they will be able to pay the second, then the third, etc. until the invoice has been paid in full. Though clients are not required to, they may pay any term prior to its due date.

When a business has their Invoice Reminder message enabled, clients will receive that reminder message for any overdue payment dates. This message will go out to customers a set number of days after a payment due date, if that payment has not yet been made.

i.e. A business has set their invoice reminder to go out after 2 days. Their customer receives an invoice with 50% due on receipt and 50% due 10 days later. If the first payment is not made with 2 days of receipt a reminder will go out. Likewise, if the second payment is not made within 12 days another reminder will go out.

For more information on adjusting your automated client messaging, check out our help guide on Customizable Client Notifications.

It is strongly recommended to enable automated invoicing through client self-booking whenever possible. This is because automating booking, invoicing, and payment processes can help to significantly reduce a business' administrative workload.

The Deposit payment setting option for services allows you to easily collect partial payment up front and collect the remaining balanced owed at a later date. When a service's payment setting is switched to "Deposit" a few additional fields populate to configure additional details.

Use the "% deposit required" field to set the amount due at the time of booking. This value will be a set percentage of the purchase total that customers must pay to confirm their registration when self-booking.

The other fields pertain to the secondary invoice payment, to be made closer to the booking's scheduled date. Use the "before/after" drop-down menu to set whether this secondary payment will be due prior to or after the booking takes place.

Then use the "Balance due __ days" field to set the number of days before/after the booking that the payment will be due. Enter a value into the field directly or use the up/down arrows to adjust the value in increments of 1.

Finally, use the "Automatically Charge" toggle to control whether or not the secondary payment will be put through automatically or whether the customer should trigger the payment themself.

When a client self-books a service that is set to collect a deposit they will see the total amount for the booking/package they have selected, the amount due right away, and the amount and due date for the remaining balance.

For more information on setting up self-booking for your services, check out our guide on Configuring Self-Serve Bookings.

There are a few important items to note before you begin using payment terms with automated payments.

To learn more about invoicing in BusyPaws, check out our other available help guides on the topic:

If you are on a team or business level plan, you may also be interested in taking a look at our guide on Scheduled Billing.