Set up autopay for a customer
Autopay saves a customer’s card once and charges future invoices automatically.
Set it up
- Open the customer and turn autopay on. That records your intention — it doesn’t charge anything yet.
- Choose Send setup link. PoolHelm emails the customer a secure Stripe link to save a card. Copy setup link gives you the same link to paste into a message of your own. You never see or handle their card number.
- When they finish, their status flips to active.
Customers can start it themselves too. Every invoice email and every service report carries a line reading “Tired of paying each time? Set up autopay” with the same link.
The four states
- Off — autopay isn’t on for this customer.
- On, no card — you turned it on, nothing is saved, so nothing will be charged. Send them the link.
- On, active — a card is saved and chargeable. The only state that actually collects money.
- Declined — the last attempt failed. Follow up like any other unpaid invoice.
The toggle records what you intended. The saved card is what makes a charge possible.
What to know
- The customer has to save the card. You can’t put one on file for someone.
- A card can fail or expire. The invoice stays unpaid and you follow up.
- You can stop it or start over. Disable autopay from the customer’s page, or issue a fresh setup link — the old one stops working.
- Autopay needs Stripe connected. Until then the send and copy buttons stay switched off.
Check first. Autopay charges about an hour after you send the invoice, not instantly. That's how Stripe schedules automatic charges. Send at 9:00 and expect it to settle around 10:00. The invoice shows when the attempt is due.
See also: “Connect your Stripe account.”