Please note: Payment plans is currently in beta. To opt into this feature, navigate to your Settings → Labs tab enable it. Learn more about Ignition Labs here.
Some parts of the experience may change as we refine it. If you run into anything unexpected or have feedback, please reach out to our Support team.
Payment plans let your client pay what they owe in a series of smaller, scheduled payments. You choose how often and how many payments, and Ignition works out the schedule, collects each payment automatically, and tracks what's been paid and what's still due.
You can set up a payment plan in two places:
On unpaid invoices: turn one invoice, or several invoices for the same client, into a single plan.
In a proposal: offer a plan as part of the proposal. Ignition creates it when your client accepts.
Before you begin
Only Admins can create and cancel payment plans.
Your practice needs to be set up to accept payments through Ignition.
Each plan has at least 2 payments.
All invoices in a plan must belong to the same client, be billed to the same payer, and be in the same currency.
Set up a payment plan on unpaid invoices
Which invoices can be added
You can add issued invoices that are unpaid or partially paid. For a partially paid invoice, the plan covers only the amount still outstanding.
An invoice can't be added to a payment plan if it:
is paid, voided, or still a draft
already has an active payment plan, or one awaiting your client's acceptance
has a payment in progress (cancel the payment first)
has a refund in progress (wait for it to complete)
has an outstanding amount below the minimum payment amount
Tip: If an invoice has a failed payment, you can still add it. Ignition asks you to confirm, then cancels the failed payment when the plan is created.
Start a payment plan
You can start a plan from any of these places:
Invoices, Unpaid or Partially paid tab: select the invoice(s), then click Create payment plan.
Invoices, All tab: select the invoice(s), then open More actions and choose Create payment plan.
Any invoice row: open the row's actions (3 dots) menu and choose Create payment plan.
An open invoice: click More actions and choose Create payment plan.
Payments → Collections: open an invoice row's actions menu and choose Create payment plan.
Payments → Payment plans: click New payment plan, then choose Unpaid invoice. This takes you to your unpaid invoices so you can pick one.
If Create payment plan is greyed out, hover over it to see why.
Add several invoices to one plan
Select up to 25 invoices for the same client, then click Create payment plan.
If some of the invoices you selected can't be added, Ignition lists them so you can see which ones. Click Continue without them to build the plan with the remaining invoices, or Cancel to change your selection.
When a plan covers several invoices, each payment goes toward the invoice with the oldest due date first. Once that invoice is paid off, payments move on to the next one.
Step 1: Invoices
Check the invoices in the plan and their outstanding balances. The Total is the amount the plan will collect. Click Next.
Step 2: Payment method
Choose how your client will pay:
Let client choose: your client reviews the plan, adds or picks a payment method, and accepts it. Under How the client can pay, choose card, bank, or both. Use this when you don't have a payment method on file, or you want your client to confirm the plan first.
Use saved method: pick a payment method your client already has on file. The plan is active as soon as you send it, with nothing for your client to accept.
If you charge a card fee, Ignition shows the rate here so you know what your client will pay.
Step 3: Schedule
Set the Start date:
With Let client choose, select On acceptance to start the plan when your client accepts it, or On a specific date to pick a date.
With Use saved method, pick a date. The earliest date you can choose is tomorrow.
Choose the Frequency: Weekly, Every 2 weeks, or Monthly.
Choose the Number of payments. You can schedule up to a year of payments: up to 52 weekly, 26 every 2 weeks, or 12 monthly payments.
Ignition splits the total evenly across the payments. If it doesn't divide evenly, the extra cents are added to the last payment. For example, a $1,000 total over three monthly payments becomes $333.33, $333.33, and $333.34.
You can change any payment amount in the schedule. The amounts must add up to the total, and each payment must meet the minimum payment amount.
If your client pays by card and you charge a card fee, the schedule shows the fee for each payment and the total your client will pay.
Step 4: Send
Review the email that goes to your client. Check the recipient in To, and edit the Subject and Message if you like. To see exactly what your client will receive, click Preview and choose Email or Payment plan. When you're ready, click Send.
What happens next
The new plan opens in Payments → Payment plans, and each invoice in the plan shows a Plan badge in your invoice lists and on the client's record.
| Let client choose | Use saved method |
Status after you send | Awaiting | Active |
Email your client receives | Review and accept button | View payment plan button |
Client action needed | Choose a payment method and accept | None |
First payment | On acceptance, or on the start date you chose | On the start date you chose |
When your client accepts a plan, Ignition emails your practice to let you know.
Add a payment plan to a proposal
You can offer a payment plan as part of a proposal, so your client agrees to the schedule when they accept.
In the proposal editor, go to the Payments step.
Turn on Payment plan.
Choose the Frequency and Number of payments. Payments start on acceptance.
Review the Schedule preview. You can edit individual amounts as long as the Schedule total matches the proposal total.
To offer a payment plan, your proposal needs:
a single option, with no optional add-on services
services that are one-off charges, billed on acceptance, with a fixed price, and billed automatically
all services billed to one client
a required payment method
While the plan is turned on, the payment method settings are locked. Turn off the plan if you need to change them.
You can also start from Payments → Payment plans by clicking New payment plan and choosing Proposal.
What happens when your client accepts
Your client sees the payment schedule as a step before payment when accepting the proposal. Once they accept, Ignition creates the plan on the proposal's invoice:
If your client added a payment method Ignition can charge, the plan is Active and they receive a View payment plan email.
Otherwise, the plan is Awaiting and they receive a Review and accept email to finish setting it up.
Find and manage your payment plans
Go to Payments → Payment plans to see every plan across your clients.
Column | What it shows |
Client | The client the plan belongs to. Click the name to open their record. |
Created on | When the plan was created. |
Status | Awaiting, Active, Completed, or Canceled. |
Next payment | The date and amount of the next scheduled payment. Plans waiting on your client show On acceptance. |
Progress | How many payments have been collected, for example 2 of 3 paid. Failed payments are counted in red. |
Balance due | What's still outstanding, out of the plan total. |
Search by client name or invoice number. Use Filters to narrow the list by Status, Amount, or Exists in ledger.
Open a plan
Click a row to open the plan.
Tip: Each plan has its own web address, so you can bookmark it or share it with a colleague.
Summary shows the term, start date, total, payment method, and a Payment plan link you can copy to share your client's view of the plan.
Invoices lists every invoice in the plan, with Paid to date for each one.
Schedule lists each payment with its date, amount, and status. When a plan covers several invoices, each payment shows which invoice it went toward, or Split with the amount applied to each invoice.
Cancel a payment plan
You can cancel plans that are Active or Awaiting.
On the Payment plans page, open the row's actions menu, or open the plan and click More actions.
Choose Cancel payment plan.
Confirm by clicking Cancel payment plan.
What canceling does:
Awaiting plans are removed from the invoice, and your client can no longer accept them.
Active plans stop all future payments. Payments already collected aren't refunded.
Ignition doesn't email your client when you cancel a plan. To keep collecting, create a new payment plan or reschedule the remaining payment.
Change a payment plan
Payment plans can't be edited after they're sent. To change the schedule, amounts, or invoices, cancel the plan and create a new one.
How payments are collected
Ignition collects each payment automatically on its scheduled date, using the payment method on the plan.
If an invoice's balance drops before a payment is collected, for example because your client paid part of it another way, Ignition only collects what's still owed.
Once every invoice in the plan is fully paid, through the plan or another way, Ignition cancels the remaining payments and marks the plan Completed.
If a payment fails, Ignition follows the auto-retry setting in your Payments settings and sends the usual failed-payment emails. If auto-retry is off, follow up with your client.
What your client sees
Your client opens the plan from the email link. On the plan page they can see the payment schedule and the status of each payment, the invoices in the plan with the amount from each one, and the plan total including any card fees.
Accepting a plan: if the plan is awaiting acceptance, your client chooses a saved payment method or adds a new one, then clicks Accept payment plan.
Changing the payment method: on an active plan, your client can click Change to use a different payment method for future payments.
Paying a failed payment: if a payment has failed, your client can click Make a payment to pay it.
Quick comparison
| Let your client choose | Use a saved payment method |
When to use | You don't have a payment method on file, or want the client to confirm | You have a saved payment method and want the plan active immediately |
Who adds the payment method | The client (saved or new) | You, using the method on file |
Client action required | Yes — review and accept | No |
Client email | Review and accept | View payment plan (can change payment method) |
State after you send | Awaiting acceptance | Active, with first installment date shown |