The Auto-Pay feature allows users to automate the payment scheduling process after approving an invoice.
What is Auto-Pay?
You may wish to pay some vendors automatically once an invoice has been approved. You can set this up for specific vendors using the Auto-Pay feature, bypassing the need for you to manually schedule payments.
The Auto-Pay feature will apply to all locations served by that vendor, including those paid by ACH or check.
When Auto-Pay is enabled, the scheduled payment date will depend on the payment type:
- ACH: Scheduled on the invoice's due date.
- Check: Scheduled two days before the invoice's due date (accommodates USPS delivery time).
- Payments made outside of Fintech: No date will be scheduled; the invoice status will be updated to Paid. Users are responsible for confirming the vendor has received payment when using resources outside of Fintech.
⚠️ If payment preferences are not established for certain locations, the Auto-Pay feature will not apply to them. For more information on setting payment preferences, click here: What options do I have to pay invoices?
⚠️ To activate Auto-Pay, you need to have at least one invoice that is Approved or has already been paid through the Fintech Portal. Learn about approving invoices here: Where do I upload and manage my invoices? and setting up payments for invoices here: Where can I schedule and manage payments on invoices?
Users with Advanced or Administrative roles will receive an email with the 3 most recent invoices per vendor that were scheduled for Auto-Pay the day prior. Review Auto-Pay invoices for your vendors by clicking Go to My Account:
Enabling Auto-Pay
To activate the Auto-Pay feature:
- Go to Vendors > My Vendors.
- Choose a vendor from the list.
- Find the Automated Invoice Payment message, then click the Let’s Activate button:
- Click Activate:
⚠️ If the invoice amount exceeds the Default Maximum Payment set in Settings > Payment Preferences > Non-Regulated tab, the Auto-Pay feature will not work for that invoice. You will then have to adjust the max amount and reschedule manually.
Click here to learn about adjusting maximum payments: How do I manage non-regulated payments?
Click here to learn about scheduling payments: Where can I schedule and manage payments on invoices?
After clicking Activate, you will be prompted to provide feedback on why you are using Auto-Pay. Feedback helps us to improve the feature, but it is not required.
What if Auto-Pay Fails?
Auto-Pay will fail for an invoice if the maximum payment amount is exceeded or payment from the bank cannot be processed. You will then have to reschedule the payment manually.
You will be notified that an invoice failed Auto-Pay in three ways:
- Home > Tasks widget - Clicking Review will redirect you to the invoice with failure details:
- Invoices > My Invoices - The invoice number will be red. Hover over the i icon or open the invoice to view failure details:
- Tasks tab - Click Review to see failure details or Dismiss to archive the task. You will still need to manually schedule a payment if you Dismiss the task:
Deactivating Auto-Pay
⚠️ Invoices with a Scheduled status will not be affected when deactivating Auto-Pay; payments will still be made on the assigned date.
If there are invoices with an Approved status, you will need to manually schedule payment. Review and confirm payment schedules in Invoices > Manage Invoices.
To deactivate your Auto-Pay feature:
- Go to Vendors > My Vendors.
- Choose a vendor from the list.
- Find the Automated Invoice Payment message, then click Deactivate to begin the process:
- Provide feedback, then click Deactivate:
Using Auto-Pay and Auto-Approve Together
You can utilize both the Auto-Pay and Auto-Approve features simultaneously. This eliminates the need for manual invoice approval and payment scheduling. When Auto-Approve is enabled, Fintech will review, edit, and approve invoices on your behalf. For more details, refer to the following article: How can I automate invoice approval?