How a private-pay client pays is set on the payer's profile — the contact set as the client's private payer (the client themselves or a family member). Open that contact, find the Private Payer Information section, and click Edit (or Make Payer if they aren't a payer yet).
Charging a credit card or bank account
Only Embedded Billing lets Careswitch charge a card or bank. If you have the client's card or bank details and want to run the payment through Careswitch:
In the payer edit form, set Invoicing Method to Embedded Billing.
Set Payment Method to Credit Card or ACH, then Save.
Back on the payer's profile, verify the card or bank so the Payment row shows a green Verified badge (see "Putting a card or bank on file" below). Unverified means nothing is stored yet and it can't be charged.
Open the client's invoice and choose how to collect:
Send Invoice — emails the payer a secure link to pay online themselves.
Charge Now — charges the saved card or bank immediately. This button only appears once the payment method is Verified.
Choosing "Credit Card" is not the same as having a card on file. Until the method shows Verified, there is no card stored, and Charge Now stays greyed out with the note "the payer must have a verified payment method on file." Finish verification first.
I already created an invoice — how do I charge the card on it?
Invoice still open (not yet sent): switch the payer to Embedded Billing and verify the card as above, then open the invoice and click Charge Now. Open invoices pick up the new payment details automatically.
Invoice already sent: open it and go to Actions → Mark Void and Reopen, then click Charge Now (or Send Invoice). This is exactly what the greyed-out Charge Now points to: "Invoice was sent for payment. Use Actions → Void and Reopen to charge directly."
Invoice already paid: it stays as-is — there's nothing left to collect.
The payment method depends on the invoicing method
In the edit form, the Payment Method options are determined by the Invoicing Method field just above it:
Embedded Billing — Careswitch emails a payment-ready invoice and can charge the card or bank directly. Allows Credit Card or ACH only. This is the only method that processes payments through Careswitch.
Email Invoice, Fax Invoice, Payer Portal, or Print Mail Invoice — you deliver the invoice and record payments yourself. Allows all four (Credit Card, ACH, Paper Check, or Wire Transfer), but the choice is informational only — Careswitch will not charge it.
So to use Paper Check or Wire Transfer, set the Invoicing Method to one of the non-embedded options first. Changing the Invoicing Method resets the Payment Method to the first allowed option, so re-check it before saving. Then click Save.
Putting a card or bank on file (Embedded Billing)
For Embedded Billing with Credit Card or ACH, you confirm the actual card or bank on the payer's profile. The Payment row shows the method with a Verified or Unverified badge:
Credit card: the setup button opens a secure form — finish with Continue Verification.
ACH (bank): the bank is saved, then confirmed by two small microdeposits — finish with Verify Microdeposits once they arrive (they can take a couple of business days).
Already verified and need to swap it? Use Change.
Need to start over? Use Cancel & Start Over.
A processing fee applies to online payments (credit card and ACH). You can pass that along as a convenience fee — see "Collecting private-pay payments and convenience fees."
Billing week and frequency are sometimes greyed out
The Invoice Frequency and Billing Week fields lock once the payer has active services — you'll see "Frequency and billing week are locked while this payer has active services." This is separate from the payment method: a greyed-out billing week does not stop you from changing how the client pays, sending invoices, or charging a card.
The lock is intentional — it keeps an active billing cycle from shifting under invoices that already exist. Frequency and billing week are normally set once when the client's services are created and rarely need to change; changing them requires the payer's services to be inactive first.
Does a change apply to invoices already created?
For open (not-yet-sent) invoices, yes — a change to the payment method or invoicing method flows through automatically. Invoices already sent or paid keep the details they had when they went out. To re-bill a sent invoice a different way (for example, to charge a card after the fact), open it and use Actions → Mark Void and Reopen, then re-send or Charge Now — see "I already created an invoice" above.
FAQ
I added the client's card but nothing charges — how do I actually charge it?
Two things have to be true. First, the Invoicing Method must be Embedded Billing — on any other method the payment method is informational and Careswitch won't charge it. Second, the card or bank must show Verified, not Unverified. Once both are set, open the invoice and click Charge Now (or Send Invoice to let the payer pay online).
The "Charge Now" button is greyed out.
Hover for the reason. "The payer must have a verified payment method on file" means the card or bank isn't verified yet — finish setup with Continue Verification (card) or Verify Microdeposits (ACH). "Invoice was sent for payment…" means it already went out — use Actions → Mark Void and Reopen, then Charge Now.
Only Credit Card and ACH show — I need Paper Check or Wire Transfer.
Those two are only available on the non-embedded invoicing methods. Change the Invoicing Method away from Embedded Billing (to Email, Fax, Payer Portal, or Print Mail), and the full set of payment methods appears. Remember those methods are delivery-only — you record the payment yourself.
"It won't let me change the billing week."
That's expected when the payer has active services — that field stays locked. Changing the payment method is a separate action and still works.
The new card or bank still shows "Unverified."
The setup didn't finish. On the payer's Payment row, use Continue Verification (card) or Verify Microdeposits (ACH) to complete it — or Cancel & Start Over and try again. ACH microdeposits can take a couple of business days to arrive.