How to Set Up Automatic Payments (AutoBill)

Overview

AutoBill lets you charge your client's credit card or bank account (ACH) automatically when an invoice is generated. Before you can enable AutoBill on a recurring profile, you need to save a payment method for the client.

Prerequisites

• Your Stripe payment gateway must be connected and active. Go to Settings → Payment Gateway to verify.
• You need the client's payment details (credit card info or bank account info for ACH).

Adding a Payment Method for a Client

1. Go to Contacts (or Companies) and open the client's profile.
2. Scroll to the Payment Methods section.
3. Click Add Payment Method.
4. Choose the method type:

Credit or Debit Card

1. Select Card as the add mode.
2. Enter the card details in the secure Stripe-powered form.
3. Optionally fill in the billing name and address.
4. Check Set as default if this should be the primary payment method.
5. Click Save. The card is tokenized through Stripe — SWELL never stores raw card numbers.

ACH Bank Account

1. Select ACH as the add mode.
2. Enter the bank details:
3. • Account holder name — The name on the bank account.
   • Routing number — The 9-digit bank routing number.
   • Account number — The bank account number.
   • Account type — Checking or Savings.
   • Account holder type — Individual or Company.
3. Optionally add a billing email and address.
4. Check Set as default if this should be the primary payment method.
5. Click Save. The bank account is verified through Stripe.

Enabling AutoBill on a Recurring Profile

1. Go to Finance → Recurring and open the recurring profile (or create a new one).
2. Under Billing Type, select AutoBill.
3. Select the Payment Gateway (your connected Stripe account).
4. Select the client's saved payment method from the dropdown. Only active, verified methods appear here.
5. Click Save.

SWELL will create a Stripe subscription behind the scenes. On each billing cycle, the client's payment method is charged automatically and the invoice is marked as paid.

Managing Payment Methods

From the client's profile under Payment Methods, you can:

• Set as default — Make a different payment method the primary one.
• Edit — Update billing details or notes.
• Delete — Remove a payment method that is no longer needed.

When Payments Fail

If an automatic charge fails (declined card, insufficient funds, etc.), SWELL will:

• Send you an email notification with the failure reason.
• Show an in-app notification in your notification center.
• Send a push notification if you have push enabled.

The invoice remains unpaid so you can follow up with the client to update their payment method or collect payment manually.

Client Self-Service Payments

Even with AutoBill enabled, your clients can always pay invoices manually through the secure payment link. The checkout page supports both credit/debit card and ACH bank transfer — your client chooses their preferred method at checkout.

Tips

• ACH payments typically have lower processing fees than credit cards. Consider using ACH for larger recurring amounts.
• You can store multiple payment methods per client and switch between them on different recurring profiles.
• Payment methods added through the admin panel are immediately verified through Stripe. Methods added by clients during invoice checkout are also saved automatically for future use.

Updated on: 02/10/2026