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Pay an invoice from a payment link
Paying online happens from a link the business emails you, never from a page you sign in to. The link opens a small page that shows what you owe and takes a card. This article covers where the link comes from, what the page does, and what each message means.
Where the link comes from
Two emails carry it, both with a Pay now button:
- The invoice itself — Invoice … from … — when there is a balance to pay.
- A Payment request from … email, sent when the business asks you to pay, or automatically when a card on file for a plan could not be charged.
The link needs no account and no sign-in; anyone holding the email can pay, so treat it like the invoice it belongs to. There is no text-message version — the link only ever arrives by email. It works for about two days from the moment it was sent; the email states the date.
Pay
- Choose Pay now in the email. The page is headed Pay your balance, with the business’s name and Invoice #… under it.
- Check Amount due. It is the balance right now — a deposit you already paid, or credit on your account, is already taken off. There are no line items here; the invoice email has them.
- Enter your card under Card details. The fields belong to the payment processor: Your card is securely processed by our payment provider. We never see your full card number.
- Choose Pay — the button also carries the amount. It stays greyed out until the card details are complete, and reads Processing… while the charge goes through.
- The page then reads Payment successful — Thank you! We received your payment of …. That is the confirmation; there is nothing further to do on the page.
Once the invoice is paid in full you also get an email, Invoice … paid in full. See Receipts and your payment history.
What the page will not do
- Pay part of the balance. The page always takes the full amount due. For an arrangement, contact the business.
- Add a tip. There is no tip field here.
- Keep the card. It does not appear under Saved cards in Your details, so a plan you join later asks for a card of its own.
- Pay with anything other than a card.
Messages you might see
- This balance has already been paid. No payment is due. — someone settled it since the email went out, perhaps you, in person. Nothing to do.
- This payment link is invalid. Please check the link or contact the business. — the link is broken, or has run out. Ask the business to send it again; a resent link carries a fresh two days.
- This payment link has expired or is no longer available. Please contact the business for a new one. — the business withdrew the link, for example because the invoice changed. Ask for a new one.
- We couldn’t process that card. Please check the details and try again. — the card details did not go through. Nothing was charged; correct them and pay again.
- The payment form is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later. — the card form could not load. Try again in a few minutes, or pay the business another way.
- This business cannot take card payments yet. — the business is not set up for online payments. Contact them to pay.
- Your card was declined. No payment was taken — please try another card or contact your bank. — your bank refused the charge. The page never says why; your bank can. Nothing was charged.
- We could not accept that card. Please check the details or try another. — the card could not be registered with the payment processor. Nothing was charged; check the details or use another card.
- We could not process your payment. No payment was taken — please try again. — the charge did not reach a decision. Nothing was charged; try again in a moment.
- Payments are temporarily unavailable — your card was not charged. Please try again later. — the business’s payment processor could not be reached. Nothing was charged; try later, or pay the business another way.
Good to know
- Nothing is charged until you choose Pay, and a page you close before that takes nothing.
- The page follows the language you chose in the portal’s footer. The email may arrive in the business’s language.
- Amounts are shown in US dollars.
- The same invoice can be paid signed in, from My invoices — see Your invoices. Whichever you use first settles it; the other then says the balance is already paid.