Managing cash flow shouldn’t feel like chasing your own tail. Whether you’re onboarding new clients, wrapping up a project, or following up on overdue invoices, getting paid should be seamless—for both you and your clients. That’s where Ignition Payments comes in.
With Ignition, you can collect payments in the way that works best for your business. Whether you prefer full automation, manual invoicing, or a hybrid approach, Ignition adapts to your processes to centralize and streamline your collections.
In this guide, we’ll walk through three powerful ways to get paid with Ignition, helping you reduce accounts receivable (A/R), eliminate follow-ups, and get cash in the door faster.
Why use Ignition Payments?
Ignition offers a complete billing and payment solution designed for adaptability and automation. From capturing payment details upfront as part of the proposal to offering secure, self-serve online payments and now importing unpaid invoices, Ignition empowers your business to:
Automate the collection process
Get paid faster
Maintain flexibility with existing invoicing processes
Reduce manual processes
No matter where you are in your billing process, there’s an Ignition payment solution ready to support you.
1. Proposal to payment automation
If you’re onboarding new clients or renewing existing ones, this is the gold standard. With proposal to payment automation, Ignition integrates payments directly into your agreements to fully automate collections once clients sign. You can choose to allow or disallow a particular payment method, and whether a client must provide payment details to accept the proposal.
✅ How it works
You send a proposal through Ignition.
Your client adds their payment details and signs the proposal.
Ignition automatically sets up the billing: schedules, payment terms, and invoicing.
Payments are auto-collected using the saved method (credit or debit card, ACH, or pre-authorized debit), and automatically marked as paid in your ledger.
🌟 Key benefits
No chasing payments—collections are set and forget.
Upfront clarity—payment expectations are agreed upon from the start.
Cash flow security—deposits or full payments can be taken before work begins.
Client convenience—automated payment collections reduce friction.
Eliminate late payers—capture client payment method upfront to pre-authorize payment
📌 Use when
Signing and onboarding new clients.
Renewing annual or recurring engagements.
You want to collect payment details up front and build billing directly into the agreement process.
This is the ultimate set-and-forget system to secure your revenue, giving you full control of the payment process.
Pro tip: By capturing client payment details upfront, you can also bill and automate collections for extra work that falls outside of the initial agreement scope. Ignition’s Instant Bill feature allows you to create and send an invoice to a client, notify your client of the newly added service that’s been agreed to, attach an existing payment method and collect automatically.
2. Invoice payments
Sometimes, clients aren’t ready to provide a payment method upfront when signing the agreement, or want to review an invoice before paying. There are times you also need to manually invoice a client for ad-hoc or out-of-scope work. In these cases, Ignition makes it easy to collect payment through a secure online payment link, without needing pre-authorization.
✅ How it works
You send an invoice via Ignition (connected to your accounting platform).
A secure payment link is included in the invoice email or shared directly with the client.
The client reviews and pays online.
They also have the option to pre-save their payment method to streamline future collections.
🌟 Key benefits
Online payment experience—clients review invoice and pay online in one step.
Ideal for engagements where clients want to build trust.
Optional automation—clients can opt into pre-approved payments later.
📌 Use when
Clients haven’t pre-approved payments in your proposal.
The client requires invoice approval before payment.
You’re handling one-off, on-completion services, or ad hoc / out-of-scope work
This method blends flexibility with convenience, giving your clients control while gently guiding them toward automation.
3. Invoice import to payment
New to Ignition, managing a large backlog of unpaid invoices, or doing a lot of time-based billing? The newest addition to Ignition Payments allows you to import existing unpaid invoices from your accounting or practice management software (e.g. QuickBooks Online or Xero)—no proposals needed.
✅ How it works
Import unpaid invoices directly from your connected accounting software.
Invite clients to pay securely online.
Clients can opt to save payment methods for future use.
You can schedule future collections.
🌟 Key benefits
Fast payment recovery—start collecting on existing A/R without altering your existing invoicing processes.
Easy set-up and migration—perfect if you’re transitioning to Ignition and invoice through QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Centralized collection—manage all payments within Ignition, regardless of where the invoice originated.
📌 Use when
Your business is new to Ignition and has a high volume of outstanding A/R.
You invoice manually or through a practice management tool and want to maintain that flow.
You’re managing ad hoc or project-based billing not tied to a signed Ignition proposal.
This is the most flexible way to collect overdue payments while maintaining your current invoicing process and easing into automation.
One platform, multiple ways to get paid
With Ignition Payments, you're not locked into a one-size-fits-all process. Instead, you have three powerful payment options, each tailored to different points in your client journey:
Proposal to payment for complete automation from the start of every client relationship.
‘Self-serve’ invoice payments online if your clients or your business require more flexibility.
Invoice import to payment to recover revenue and consolidate collections when invoicing outside of Ignition.
You don’t need multiple tools or fragmented processes. With Ignition, you can centralize payments, protect your cash flow, and choose the right approach at the right time—all while offering flexible client-level payment options.
So whether you're just getting started or fine-tuning your billing strategy, remember this:
One platform. Three ways to get paid. Zero A/R headaches.
Ready to take control of your collections? Log in to Ignition to explore your payment options.