Pay on account for trade customers

Pay on account lets a trade customer you trust place an order and pay your invoice later, for example within 30 days. It is only for approved trade customers that you allow. Everyone else pays at checkout as before.

You need Trade prices switched on first (see Trade prices for businesses).

Switch it on

1. Open Shop settings, then Notifications and checkout.
2. Switch on Pay on account.
3. Choose Default payment terms: 7, 14, 30, 45 or 60 days. You can change this for each customer.
4. If you want, enter a Default credit limit. Leave it blank for no limit.
5. Type your Bank details on invoices. They are printed on every invoice. Add your PayNow UEN if you take PayNow.
6. Click Save.

Stop new on-account orders while one is overdue is an extra switch. When it is on, a customer with an overdue invoice has to pay at checkout until they settle.

Allow a customer

On Trade customers, when you approve a business or edit one, tick that it may pay on account and set its Terms and, if you want, a Credit limit. The page shows the due day an order placed today would get. A limit left blank means no limit. The table shows what each customer Owes against their limit.

What the customer sees

At checkout an allowed customer sees On account first, with the due day and how much of their limit is left. There is an optional Your PO number box, printed on the invoice. They click Place order on account.

If an order would take them past their limit, the option is closed and a message tells them how much they have unpaid, and that they can pay for this one by card or PayNow, or settle an invoice first.

The order page and an email show the invoice number (CM- and the order number), the due day, where to pay and the PO number. Their invoice is emailed straight away. The due day ends at the end of that day, in your shop's time zone.

Follow up on your side

Open Orders, then the On account tab. It shows what is Owed to you, what is overdue and what falls due soon, with a row for each invoice and how many days late it is. You can ship an order on account before it is paid.

On an order:

• View invoice opens the printable tax invoice.
• Resend invoice emails it again.
• Remind sends a reminder now. Remind the overdue on the tab sends one for each overdue invoice.
• Mark as paid: choose How the money arrived (cash, PayNow, bank transfer or cheque), add an optional reference, and confirm. This records the full amount and emails the receipt. Part payments are not in the shop yet.
• Cancel order puts the stock back, and the amount stops counting against their limit.

The customer is also reminded by email on their own: 3 days before the due day, on the due day, and 7 days after, each one once.

Xero

If you use the Xero Sync app, an order on account arrives in Xero as an invoice that is waiting for payment, with the real due day and their PO number as the reference. When you click Mark as paid the payment is added on the day the money came. If you cancel an unpaid order, the invoice is voided, never deleted.

Let your AI assistant help

Your assistant can list orders on account (ask for the on_account status) and mark one paid, including by cheque. Marking paid always needs you to confirm in the editor. Only an owner or admin can mark an order on account paid.

Common questions

Can a customer pay part of an invoice? Not yet. Mark as paid records the whole amount.

Is there a pay now link on the invoice? No. The invoice shows your bank details and PayNow UEN, and you mark it paid when the money arrives.

What if I lower a customer's credit limit? Existing orders stay as they are. New orders that would go past the new limit are closed at checkout.