Private-pay clients can pay invoices online through Careswitch's Stripe-powered payments. To get started, connect your agency to Stripe, then set up each payer for online payments.
Insurance and other third-party payers use claims rather than this payment process.
Step 1: Connect your agency to Stripe
Complete this setup once for your agency:
Go to Settings → Billing and find Payments.
Next to Stripe payments, click Complete payment setup.
Follow the Stripe steps to verify your business and the bank account that will receive payouts.
Return to Careswitch and check the badge beside Stripe payments:
Connected: setup is complete. The Manage button opens your Stripe dashboard.
Restricted: Stripe needs more information. Open the setup again to finish.
You need permission to manage billing to see these buttons. Until Stripe is connected, payer profiles show “Complete billing setup in workspace settings to enable payment verification.”
Step 2: Set up each payer
For online payments, the payer needs:
Invoicing Method set to Embedded Billing.
Payment Method set to Credit Card or ACH.
An email address on file.
Other invoicing methods, such as Email Invoice and Print Mail Invoice, deliver invoices outside Stripe. With those methods, you record payments yourself.
Save a card or bank account
To keep a payment method on file, click Start Verification on the payer's profile and complete the secure Stripe form.
Cards verify right away.
Bank accounts usually verify instantly when the payer signs in to their bank. If instant verification isn't available, Stripe sends two small microdeposits to confirm the account.
For the full setup steps, see “Changing how a client pays: payment method, billing week, and frequency” and “Setting Up a Client or Contact as a Payer.”
Step 3: Choose how to collect payment
On an Embedded Billing invoice, choose one of these options:
Action | How it works | What is required |
Send Invoice | Emails the payer a secure link to a Stripe-hosted invoice. The page shows line items, any convenience fee, the total, and the due date based on Days Until Due. The payer pays through that link. | The payer doesn't need a saved card or bank account beforehand. |
Charge Now | Charges the payer's saved card or bank account immediately. | The payment method must show Verified. |
The payment page offers only the payment type selected on the payer's profile. A Credit Card payer can pay by card; an ACH payer can pay by bank. To offer the other option, change Payment Method before sending the invoice.
Switching from a sent invoice to a direct charge
Choose either Send Invoice or Charge Now for an invoice. After you use Send Invoice, Charge Now is disabled with the message “Invoice was sent for payment. Use Actions → Void and Reopen to charge directly.”
To charge the saved payment method instead, select Actions → Mark Void and Reopen, then Charge Now.
There is no recurring autopay. Each invoice must be sent or charged individually.
Record payment
When an online payment arrives, the invoice automatically becomes Paid.
If the client pays another way, such as by check or cash, select Actions → Mark Paid out of Band.
For the rest of the invoice process, see “Creating, reviewing, and sending invoices.”
Optional: Include a convenience fee
You can pass the electronic-payment processing fee along to the client.
Go to Settings → Policies and edit the Billing policy.
Turn on Include Convenience Fee.
If needed, complete Manual/Alternative Payment Method. This text appears in the Payment Instructions section of your invoices and explains a fee-free way to pay, such as mailing a check or making a bank transfer. It also appears on invoices paid manually.
Click Save.
This setting applies across your workspace. It affects only Embedded Billing invoices that haven't been sent. Sent invoices keep the fee they had when sent.
Fee amounts
The fee depends on the payer's payment method:
Payment method | Processing fee |
Credit card | 2.9% + $0.30 |
ACH (bank) | $5.00 flat |
There is one convenience fee for the entire invoice group, rather than a separate fee for each service or line item.
Why the card convenience fee is slightly higher
Stripe calculates its 2.9% + $0.30 fee on the full payment, including the convenience fee. Careswitch calculates the convenience fee so your agency receives the full invoice amount after processing fees are deducted.
As a result, the convenience fee is slightly higher than 2.9% + $0.30 of the original invoice amount:
Invoice amount | Approximate card convenience fee |
$100 | $3.30 |
$500 | $15.24 |
$1,000 | $30.18 |
The client sees the fee as a separate Online Payment Convenience Fee line on the Stripe invoice.
Troubleshoot payment issues
A payment failed
The invoice shows Failed, and there is no automatic retry.
Check the payment method on the payer's profile. Update or re-verify it if needed, then open the invoice and click Charge Now to retry. For a bank account, the payer may need to complete verification again.
The payer wants to pay by bank, but only card payment is available
The payment page follows the payer's Payment Method setting.
Change Payment Method to ACH while the invoice is open, then send it. If the invoice has already been sent, use Mark Void and Reopen first. The convenience fee changes to the ACH fee.
The invoice doesn't show the convenience fee
Check whether the invoice was sent before the fee was turned on and whether the payer uses Embedded Billing. Only unsent Embedded Billing invoices receive the updated fee setting.
FAQ
Do insurance payers use these online payments?
No. Insurance and other third-party payers are billed through claims. Online payments and convenience fees apply to private-pay invoices only.
Can I waive the convenience fee for one client?
There isn't an individual waiver setting. The convenience fee is set for the whole workspace. You can:
Direct the client to the fee-free option described in Manual/Alternative Payment Method.
Change the payer's Invoicing Method to a method other than Embedded Billing. Their invoices won't include the fee, but Careswitch won't collect online payments for them.
Is autopay available?
You can use Charge Now to charge a saved card or bank account for an individual invoice. There is no recurring autopay across invoices; each invoice is sent or charged separately.
Why is the card fee higher than 2.9% + $0.30?
Stripe charges its fee on the total payment, including the convenience fee. Careswitch accounts for that so your agency receives the full original invoice amount. See the examples above.
Can the payer switch from card to bank payment?
Yes. Set their Payment Method to ACH while the invoice is open, then send it. For an invoice already sent, use Mark Void and Reopen first. The convenience fee will use the ACH amount.
Why isn't the convenience fee on an invoice?
The invoice may have been sent before you enabled the fee, or the payer may use an invoicing method other than Embedded Billing. Sent invoices keep their existing fee, and only Embedded Billing invoices include it.
What should I do if a payment fails?
Check or update the payer's card or bank account, complete any required re-verification, then click Charge Now on the Failed invoice. Payments aren't retried automatically.