Charge a client's invoice or make a prepayment

Charge a client’s saved card or bank account directly from the firm portal, with no client involvement. Settle an invoice you’ve already issued, or make a prepayment that lands on the client’s credit balance for later use.

Before you start

Before you settle an invoice or make a prepayment, keep the following in mind:

• Firm owners, firm admins, and firm members with both Manage payments and Manage invoices access rights who are either assigned to the specific client account or have access to all accounts can settle an invoice this way. Making a prepayment is limited to firm owners and firm admins .
• When charging a client to settle an invoice, you can charge any amount up to the invoice’s remaining balance—enter a custom amount for a partial payment, or charge the full balance to settle the invoice completely.
• If the client has available credit , it will be applied automatically, and the breakdown will be shown in the sidebar.
• To make a prepayment, Prepayment must be enabled in your payment settings, with a payment provider connected.
• If the payment technology fee is enabled and the selected payment method is a credit card, 3% is added to the payment amount. This does not apply if the client is on the exception list .
• If you want to settle an invoice without saving payment methods, copy the link to guest payments and take the payment without the client logging in. This is not possible if the payment technology fee is enabled.

Settle an invoice

To charge a client’s saved payment method, card details, or bank account to settle an invoice:

1. Go to your firm’s Invoices page, the Invoices tab of the client’s profile, or the job card the invoice is linked to.

2. Click the three-dots icon next to the invoice, then select Pay invoice.

From the Invoices tab of the client’s profile, you can select multiple invoices to pay at once:

• If only one Partially paid invoice remains selected—either because that’s the only one you picked, or because the rest are already paid, scheduled, or processing—it’s included in the bulk payment and charged its remaining balance.

• If two or more invoices remain selected and at least one is Partially paid, all Partially paid invoices are excluded from the bulk payment; pay them individually using the three-dots menu.

Custom amounts aren’t available for bulk payments.

Note

For scheduled invoices , the Pay invoice option is available only after they have been issued.

3. Click Pay. The Amount to charge field shows the invoice’s remaining balance by default—edit it to charge a partial amount instead, up to the balance due. If the client has available credit, use the Apply credit toggle to include or exclude it from the payment.

4. Select a payment option based on what’s available for the client:

• Charge a saved payment method
• Charge a new card
• Charge a bank account with the client present
• Charge a bank account by entering details manually
• Charge on a payment terminal

Once payment is processed, the invoice is marked as paid. You’ll receive a notification in Inbox+ and a payment confirmation email. The client also receives a payment confirmation email.

Charge a saved payment method

Use this option if the client already has a card or bank account on file. Select the saved method from the list. You can see the expiry date of saved cards—if a card is close to expiring, you may want to notify the client to update their payment method.

Note

Saved methods that aren’t accepted by your firm’s payment method settings can’t be selected—even if they’re on file for the client.

Tip

When a client saves a payment method in the Client Portal, they see a standard Stripe notification confirming that the payment method will be available for the firm to use. As a best practice, include a payment method authorization clause in your engagement letter or terms of service—covering when and how the saved payment method may be used, payment timing, frequency, and how charges will be communicated prior to processing.

Charge a new card

Use this option if the client doesn’t have a saved payment method but you’ve got their card details. First, add a new payment method.

Then, enter the card number, expiry date, and CVV to complete the payment. The credit card details will be saved in the client’s account for future use.

Charge a bank account with the client present

Use this option when the client is present—for example, if they’re in your office and can log in to their bank account on the spot. First, add a new payment method.

Select the US bank account tab, enter the required details, search for the client’s bank, then let them authorize and pay. The bank account details will be saved in the client’s account for future use.

Charge a bank account by entering details manually

With this option, microdeposit verification is skipped for TaxDome Payments, so you can initiate payment without a waiting period.

• For TaxDome Payments: microdeposit verification is skipped, so payment can be initiated immediately. The firm is responsible for ensuring it has the client’s authorization to use the provided bank details. ACH disputes are automatically closed in the client’s favor—the payment is refunded to the client and the firm is charged an additional dispute processing fee.
• For Stripe: the standard microdeposit verification flow applies.

1. First, add a new payment method.

2. Then, select the US bank account tab and click Enter bank details manually.

Tip

To avoid sending a verification prompt to the client’s phone, make sure to click Enter bank details manually at the bottom of the window. Selecting a bank from the list triggers a direct bank connection that sends a verification prompt to the client’s phone.

3. Provide the routing number and account number, then submit and pay. The bank account details will be saved in the client’s account for future use.

Charge on a payment terminal

Use this option if your firm has a payment terminal set up. Order and set up a terminal first if you haven’t already.

Enter a specific amount to charge—useful for a partial payment, or for splitting a payment between cash and card. To pay off several of a client’s invoices in one terminal transaction, they must belong to the same client account: go to the client’s Billing > Invoices tab, select the unpaid invoices, click Pay Invoices, and choose Terminal.

Make a prepayment

Make a prepayment for a client without issuing an invoice first. The amount lands on their credit balance and can be applied to invoices later.

1. Go to Billing > Payments from the left menu bar and click New prepayment, or click + New at the top left and select Prepayment.

You can also start from the client’s account: open the Billing > Payments tab and click New prepayment, which preselects the account for you.

2. If the account isn’t already selected, search for it by name, ID, or email in the Account field.

3. Select a saved payment method. If none are available, click Add payment method first.

Note

A saved payment method appears grayed out and can’t be selected if it’s a type your firm doesn’t currently accept .

4. Enter the amount, then click Pay.

What happens next

The payment is processed, which can take a moment—you’ll see a processing status before the final result.

Once it goes through:

• The amount is added to the client’s credit balance

• The prepayment appears on the Payments page like any other payment

• The event is logged in the Activity feed , showing who initiated the prepayment

If the charge fails—for example, the card is declined or needs to be re-verified—no credit is added, and you can try again with a different payment method.

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