Credit Card Payments

Credit Card Payments

Stripe

All credit card payments made in Timesavr are processed by Stripe.  There are no setup fees, monthly fees or hidden fees for using Stripe, but each transaction will incur a 3.1% + 30 cents processing fee.  In Canada you can offset this fee by 2.4% automatically within Timesavr, by passing this fee onto the payer, and in the US you can offset the entire fee in most states, up to a maximum of 4%.  Please confirm the law as it applies in your state before enabling this option to pass on the processing fee.

Creating a Stripe account does not require any signatures or phone calls, as the entire process is managed online through the Stripe portal when you click the button to "Create a Stripe Account".  Creating your account in this manner will automatically link it with Timesavr, allowing you to then process payments directly from within Timesavr.  If you have an existing Stripe account, you can choose the option to "Link an Existing Account".

Enable Credit Card Processing

To enable credit card processing, go to Admin > Finance > Credit Card Payments.  Here you can create your Stripe account, and enable credit card payments.  You must create a Stripe account, or you will not be able to process credit card payments.  

Pass on Processing Fee
In Canada the maximum allowed percentage you can pass onto the payer is 2.4%, except in Quebec where this practice is not allowed.  In most US states the maximum allowed is 4%, but some states have slightly different allowances.  Please ensure you know your local law before enabling this option.  If your state allows a different percentage, you can not modify that percentage in Timesavr.  In that case, you should leave this option disabled.  

If you enable the option to pass on the processing fee to the payer, Timesavr will automatically increase the amount charged to the card according to the percentage specified on this option.  In addition, a separate charge for the amount of the processing fee, will be created on the family's transaction register to offset the increased charge amount.  For example, if you're charging $100 and passing on a 2.4% processing fee, the customer will receive an invoice that says $100 is due, but when payment is made, a total of $102.40 will be charged to the card, and a new charge of $2.40 will be added to the invoice.  

If the card payment is made off-site after the payer clicks the "Pay Now" button on the invoice they received via email, they will see the following message just below the "Pay Now" button:  If paying by credit card, we will add a processing fee of 2.4% to your invoice.  This notification is required by law but is automatically included on each invoice, so you don't need to add this message yourself.

If the card payment is made from within Timesavr with the card not present, the processing fee will also be added onto the amount that you're charging, so you do not need to manually calculate the processing fee and increase the amount of your invoice.  This is done automatically for you.


Credit Card Payment Type
The credit card payment type is a three letter code that will be included, on your transaction register, with each payment made by credit card.  You can customize your payment types in Admin > Finance > Payment Types, but you can also add a new payment type option without leaving the current page, by clicking the + button to the right of the payment types dropdown.  If you do not specify a payment type option, each card payment will be recorded with a default payment type of ONL.

Options
In the Options section you will see two URLs which are automatically generated for you.  These URLs will be used to redirect the payer after either a successful payment, or a cancelled payment.  You can click the "Test" link for each of these URLs to see what the payer will see.  If you have your own success or cancel pages that you would like to direct your payers to, you can set those values here.  The Reset option will reset these URLs back to the Timesavr generated defaults.

Pay Now Button

With credit card payments enabled, each invoice you send out will include a button labeled "Pay Now".  Your customers can optionally use this button to make payment online using their credit or debit card.  (Note: Only debit cards with the Visa or Mastercard logo can be accepted).  When a payment is made using this method, that payment is automatically recorded in Timesavr for you, and the customer will receive a payment receipt from Stripe.   A credit card profile is also automatically created and stored with Stripe, which you can use for future card-not-present charges from within Timesavr, if authorized.

The description your customer will see on their credit card or bank statement is set by you in your Stripe dashboard (https://dashboard.stripe.com > Settings > Business > Public Details).

If you also have enabled the option to pass on the processing fee to the payer, then the original invoice amount will not be the final payment amount, as the processing fee is added onto the invoice at the moment that the payment is processed.  This way, if the payer chooses to pay using a different payment method, the original invoice is not modified.  


Credit Card Profiles

For each family, you can create a credit card profile.  This is not necessary for families to receive invoices with the "Pay Now" button, but it is necessary if you want to save the credit card information to be used for card-not-present payments later.  A family's credit card profile is created on the Payment Information tab, which can be found in the Financials section of the family profile.   A credit card profile is automatically created if a customer makes payment by clicking the Pay Now button on an invoice.


All credit card profiles are stored by Stripe, as customers, in a separate, secure environment, ensuring your payment information is always protected.  No credit card data is ever stored on Timesavr servers.  If you link an existing Stripe account to Timesavr, any customers that exist in that account prior to linking to Timesavr, are not automatically pulled into Timesavr.  Only credit card profiles created within Timesavr, or by using the Pay Now button on a Timesavr invoice, are accessible through Timesavr.  You can also view all your Stripe customers in the Stripe dashboard at https://dashboard.stripe.com.

Charge Card not Present

Before you can charge a card stored by Stripe, you must first confirm with Timesavr that you've received authorization from the card holder.  You must enable this authorization on the Payment Information tab for the family, as shown below.



If a card profile has been created, for a given family, and card payments are authorized, then on the Payment page you can collect payment, instantly.  When you charge a card on file, a payment is received and recorded at the same time, and the customer will receive a payment receipt from Stripe.



If you have enabled the option to pass on the credit card processing fee, this fee is calculated for you at the time the payment is processed, and a new charge for this fee is added to the family's transaction register.  For example, if the family owes $100, and you charge $100 to their card on file, but the processing fee you're passing on is 2.4%, then a new charge is added for this family, in the amount of $2.40, and a total charge of $102.40 is processed on the card.  This is all done automatically for you, so you do not need to create a charge separately to account for this fee, or add it onto your charge amount.  A successful payment is also recorded on the family's transaction register.  A payment receipt is sent automatically to the payer, from Stripe.

The description your customer will see on their credit card statement is set by you in your Stripe dashboard (https://dashboard.stripe.com Settings > Business > Public Details).




Refund Credit Card Payments

Credit card payments processed by Stripe can also be refunded directly from Timesavr, up to the amount of the original payment.  To refund a payment, you can select "+ Refund" from the Transaction Register, and then select "Refund Credit Card Payment".  This will give you a list of payments that were processed by Stripe and can be refunded.  Any credit card payments which you had recorded manually, will not be listed here.  Select the payment you wish to refund.



Alternatively, you can select the "Receipt" link from a Stripe credit card payment on the Transaction Register, which will open up the payment receipt.  If this payment was processed by Stripe, you will also see a Refund this Payment button on this receipt, which you can click.

When processing a refund, the refund page will default the full amount of the payment, but you can overwrite this amount to refund a portion of the payment.  If a partial payment is processed, then the remainder can be refunded at a later date.  Any previously refunded amounts will be listed on the refund.



All refunds submitted this way, will immediately credit the cardholder's account.


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