Getting Started: Collect payments in-platform

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Please note that the features described in this guide require a contracted subscription with Vendasta. Learn more

Getting Started Checklist

  1. Set up Vendasta Payments
  2. Set up tax rates (if applicable)
  3. Configure default billing settings (optional)
  4. Invoice your customers
  5. Configure recurring invoices for your existing customers

Set up Vendasta Payments

The following is a brief summary of the steps to set up your Vendasta payments. For full details, including screenshots and help on setting your payment terms of service. please read our complete article on setting up Vendasta payments.

  1. Go to Partner Center > Administration > Vendasta Payments
  2. Click Setup Account
  3. Select your business type (Individual/sole proprietorship, company, or nonprofit organization)
  4. Complete the form with the information required about your business including legal business name, business number, and business address)
  5. Add a business contact with information and upload identification for verification
  6. Click Agree & Submit
  7. Add your Customer Statement Description (business name that appears on credit card statements for your customers)
  8. Click Save
  9. Click Add Bank Account
  10. Select the country of your bank and currency
  11. Add account details (refer to a cheque or to your bank for these reference numbers)
  12. Click Add Bank Account
  13. Congrats! You're ready to accept payments and receive payouts!

Learn more.

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Set up tax rates (if applicable)

  1. Go to Partner Center > Administration > Tax rates
  2. Click Create Tax Rate
  3. Select country, state/province, tax name, rate (%), and optionally include a description or tax number.
  4. Click Save
  5. Repeat these steps for each tax rate and for each state/province
Note: tax rates in the platform are state/province specific. For example, if you are a Canadian partner selling in Saskatchewan and Alberta, you will need to create the 5% GST tax rate twice, once for each region, even though it is the same type of tax being applied to both regions. 

Learn more.

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Configure default billing settings (optional)

Note that default billing settings are an advanced feature. Ensure you understand these features before configuring these settings. Learn more about your options here.

Default billing refers to the option to automatically bill a new account based on the retail prices of their active products. Be aware that configuring these settings will only apply to new accounts added to the platform. Individual accounts can be configured with custom billing settings by going to Partner Center > Businesses > Accounts > [[select the account you want to edit]] > Billing settings.

Also note that if you have a billing automation turned on for an account and a recurring invoice configured, you risk double-billing the account. Consider your sales and billing strategy before turning on a default billing automation.

You can configure the default billing settings by going to Partner Center > Administration > Default billing settings. You can click the slider to turn them on or off. When on, your customers will be billed automatically based on their active products based on the retail price you have configured in Marketplace > Products. 

Choose your collection method.

  • "Manual" will generate an invoice that you will have to manually send each month.
  • "Send email" will generate the invoice and automatically email it to your customer for payment.
  • "Charge automatically" will charge the card that is on file for the business that is being charged.

Finally, configure the "Collect on" date.

  • "Each renewal, up to once per day" will charge on the date that the product would be renewed.
  • "Day of month" will create a draft invoice as products are renewed and then send the invoice on the date selected. (Keep in mind that choosing this option will mean that your customers will always be charged the retail after you are charged the wholesale cost.)

When done figuring, click Save. New accounts will have the configuration you have chosen and existing accounts will be unaffected.

Learn more.

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Invoice your customers

You can send individual, one-off invoices to your clients. This is great for one-time charges, set up fees, and for collecting the initial payment for new services. To test Vendasta Payments for the first time and experience what your customers would experience, send yourself a $1 invoice and pay it. The money (minus fees) goes back to your account and you will have a good understanding to communicate to your clients.

  1. Go to Partner Center > Billing > Invoices
  2. Click Create Invoice
  3. Select an account to which you will send the invoice
  4. Select a user to whom the invoice will be sent (you can add users if there isn't one on the account yet)
  5. Select a due date
  6. Add items or packages
    • When adding an item, start typing and it will search your catalog of products. As you type the name of the product, you can quickly add custom line items by clicking "Use as one-off line item"
    • When you add a package, you will have the option to make its contents visible or not. Essentially, showing each product in the package as an individual line item or not.
  7. Add taxes
    • Add them to individual taxes to line items by clicking the ⋮ kabob menu along the line item.
    • Click Update default tax to select taxes that are applied to all items on the invoice
  8. Add a memo line (optional)
  9. Select collection type
    • You can email the invoice which will give your customer the opportunity to enter their credit card for the payment
    • If they already have a credit card on file (or they have given you their credit card umber) select Charge a payment method on file, then click + Add or select existing payment method
  10. Click Send invoice. 
    • You will be shown a preview of the invoice. At this time, you can add additional email addresses to send te invoice to.
    • When ready, click Send.

Learn more.

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Configure recurring invoices for your existing customers

With recurring invoices, you can customize the amount and cadence at which your customers are billed. Check out this article for the full details of recurring invoices. To configure a recurring invoice for one of your customers, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Partner Center > Businesses > Accounts > [[select the account to which you want to send a recurring invoice]]
  2. Click New > Recurring Invoice
  3. Select a recipient
  4. Configure the invoice following steps 6-8 in the "invoice your customers" section above.
  5. Set your recurring schedule
    • "Send next invoice on" will be the first date that the customer will see this recurring invoice
    • "How often" can be configured as Weekly, Monthly, Yearly, or Custom recurrence
      • Choose a date of the month that the invoice is sent (if applicable)
    • Under "How many" you can choose to have this invoice recur indefinitely or select and end date.
    • Choose your preferred collection method, the same as the collection types for an individual invoice.
  6. Make sure to set the slider to Active
  7. Click Save

If you chose the current date as the "send next invoice on" date when saving, then it will immediately create the invoice and will email the recipient or collect payment depending on your collection method chosen.

If at any point your customer has changed their services with you, you will need to come back to this recurring invoice and change its contents or turn off the active slider. Activating or deactivating products on an account does not change the recurring invoice.

Learn more.

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