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Documents and contracts

How to charge the client right when they sign the contract (automatic invoice)

In the document under Payments › Documents & Contracts, add a product list and, in the Payments panel, turn on Direct Payment, Send Invoice and, for recurring items, Auto-Payment. On signing, the primary signer is taken to the invoice and pays on the spot.

Updated on

Before you start

  • Connect a payment provider in Payments › Integrations.
  • Create your products in Payments › Products. The product type decides the invoice: one-time products generate a one-time invoice; if there's a recurring product, the invoice is recurring.
  • Have the document or template created with the client as the primary signer.
Where to find it

Payments › Documents & Contracts › (open the document) › Payments panel (left side)

Step by step

Prepare the document

  1. Open Payments › Documents & Contracts and create or open the document (or the template, under Templates).
  2. Add the primary signer (the client who will pay) and the signature field.
  3. Add a Product List and pick the products. If there are recurring products, choose the invoice frequency in the left panel (a document can only have one frequency).
  4. Optionally, click a product and, under Properties, make it optional or let the client edit the quantity.

Turn on billing

  1. Open the Payments panel on the left.
  2. Turn on Direct Payment: after signing, the primary signer is taken straight to the invoice page.
  3. Turn on Send Invoice: the invoice is emailed when it's generated (at signing or on the schedule). If off, the invoice stays as a draft for you to review and send manually.
  4. For recurring items, turn on Auto-Payment: the card is saved (on supported providers) and later invoices are charged automatically.
  5. For recurring items, set when the schedule starts: at signing or on a future date.
  6. Save and send the document.

What happens at signing

  1. One-time product, or recurring starting at signing: the primary signer is redirected to pay the first invoice.
  2. Recurring starting later: no redirect; the first invoice is created and sent on the schedule.
  3. Only the primary signer is sent to pay; the others just sign.

Tips

  • To automate everything, save these settings in a template and send it with a workflow's Send Documents & Contracts action.
  • Track it in two places: Documents & Contracts (document and signing status) and Payments › Invoices & Estimates (each invoice, recurring schedule and auto-payment results).
  • One-time and recurring items can go together: one-time items bill on the first invoice; recurring items follow the schedule.

Common problems

  • The client signed but wasn't taken to pay → Direct Payment is off, or there was no invoice at signing (recurring starting later). Turn it on and, for recurring, set the start to at signing.
  • The invoice wasn't generated → Usually a payment schedule date fell after the invoice due date because a custom date was chosen for the first payment. Set the first payment to upon primary signature.
  • The invoice stayed as a draft → Send Invoice is off. Send it manually from Invoices & Estimates or turn the option on for future documents.
  • I want to test without charging for real → Documents have no test mode. Use a payment link or invoice in test mode, or your provider's test configuration.

Frequently asked questions

The client picked only one-time optional items in a document with recurring products. Which invoice is created?

The invoice depends on what the client selected: only one-time items generate a one-time invoice.

With several signers, who pays?

Only the primary signer is taken to the invoice.

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