Payments

Conductly supports multiple ways to collect payments from families — from online credit card payments to recording cash and checks. This guide covers everything you need to know about getting paid.

Before You Can Accept Payments Online

Before families can pay invoices online, you need to connect a payment processor to Conductly. Conductly supports two:

• Stripe — Self-serve sign-up at stripe.com, flat 2.9% + $0.30 per card charge. The fastest way to start collecting payments — most schools can be processing the same day.
• Evolv — Interchange+ pricing, typically the lowest effective rate at higher volumes. Conductly works with Evolv on your behalf to set up your merchant account, so plan for a few business days for underwriting.

Until a processor is connected, you can still create and send invoices, but the payment link in invoice emails won't work and you'll only be able to record offline payments (cash, check, etc.).

For a full comparison and step-by-step setup instructions, see Payment Settings.

Already collecting cash and checks?

You don't have to connect a processor to use Conductly's billing tools — you can record manual payments without one. But connecting Stripe or Evolv unlocks online payments and stored cards, which save significant time on collections.

How Customers Pay Online

The easiest way for families to pay is through the secure payment link included in their invoice email.

When a customer clicks the link, they're taken to a payment page where they can:

1. Review the invoice details and amount due
2. Enter their credit or debit card information (or pay by ACH, if enabled)
3. Submit payment with Pay now

The payment is processed immediately, and both you and the customer receive confirmation. The invoice status updates to Paid (or Partially paid if the payment doesn't cover the full amount).

tip

Encourage families to check "Save this credit card for automatic bill payments" during checkout. This stores their card so you can charge it for future invoices with one click.

Stored Payment Methods

Each customer can have one saved payment method on file. A card gets saved when:

• The customer checks "Save this credit card for automatic bill payments" on the payment page
• The customer updates their card via the signed "Update Payment Method" link you can send them
• The customer uses "Update card" in the Family Portal

A stored card enables:

• Charge card on file — You can charge the customer's saved card for an invoice at any time
• Bulk card charging — Charge multiple stored cards at once from the Invoices list
• Payment notices — Card-on-file customers receive "Reminder: Upcoming Payment Notice" emails instead of pay-by-link emails

Automatic charging is off by default

Scheduled auto-charging of stored cards is part of billing automation — available to every school, off until you turn it on under Settings → Invoices. Every school can also charge stored cards manually from the invoice detail page or via bulk actions.

Charging a Stored Card

To charge a customer's stored card for a specific invoice:

1. Open the invoice
2. Click Charge card on file
3. Confirm the charge

The payment is processed immediately against the customer's saved card and the invoice status updates accordingly.

Bulk Card Charging

When you have multiple outstanding invoices and the customers have stored payment methods, you can charge them all at once:

1. Go to Invoices and select the Active view
2. Use the checkboxes to select the invoices you want to charge
3. Click the Charge Cards bulk action button
4. Review the list of invoices that will be charged
5. Confirm the bulk charge

note

Bulk charging only processes invoices where the customer has a stored payment method on file and a balance still due. Invoices without a stored card, or that are already fully paid (for example, settled by a manual payment), are skipped and remain in their current status.

Bulk charges run as a background job — track progress and see the results under Settings → Background Jobs. Each run reports how many charges succeeded and how many invoices were skipped because nothing was owed, and lists any invoices that need a closer look, grouped as:

• Not collected — follow up with the family — the charge was declined, or the customer has no card on file
• Skipped — nothing left to charge — the invoice had no balance due
• Unexpected errors — contact support — something went wrong that needs Conductly's help

Recording Manual Payments

Not all payments happen online. When a family pays with cash, check, or another offline method, record it from the Payments page (in the Invoices section of the sidebar):

1. Go to Payments and click Create payment
2. Select the Customer
3. Select the Invoice the payment applies to
4. Enter the Amount (a "Use invoice total" shortcut fills in the full amount due)
5. Select the Payment Method: Cash, Check, Credit Card, Venmo, or Scholarship
6. Optionally check "Send receipt to Customer"
7. Save the payment

The payment is recorded as Captured and the invoice status updates:

• If the payment covers the full balance, the invoice moves to Paid
• If the payment is less than the balance, the invoice moves to Partially paid

info

Recording a manual payment does not process any card transaction — it simply records that you received a payment through an offline method. There is no "Record Payment" button on the invoice itself; manual payments always go through Payments → Create payment.

Viewing Payment History

The Payments page is the home for all payment records, with three tabs: All, Succeeded, and Failed. Each payment shows:

Detail	Description
Date	When the payment was made
Amount	How much was paid
Method	Card, cash, check, Venmo, or scholarship
Status	See Payment Statuses below

Opening a payment shows its detail page, where you can Send Receipt or Void Payment.

Payment Statuses

A successful payment has the status Captured — money has been collected. The full set of statuses:

Status	Meaning
Pending	The payment has been initiated but not processed yet
Processing	The gateway is processing the payment
Authorized	The card was authorized but the funds haven't been captured yet
Captured	Success — the funds have been collected
Failed	The payment attempt did not succeed
Declined	The gateway declined the card
Voided	The payment was cancelled before capture
Refunded	The payment was captured and then refunded
Returned	An ACH payment was captured, then pulled back by the customer's bank

The Succeeded tab shows captured payments; the Failed tab shows failed and declined attempts.

ACH Payments Returned by the Bank

Unlike a card charge, an ACH (bank transfer) payment isn't final the moment it's captured — the customer's bank can still pull it back days later for insufficient funds, a closed account, or an unauthorized debit. When that happens, Conductly marks the payment Returned instead of leaving it showing as Captured.

Returned vs. Refunded

These look similar but mean opposite things. Refunded means the money arrived and you gave it back on purpose. Returned means the money never really arrived — the bank took it back — so the invoice goes back to being owed rather than being credited.

When a payment is returned:

• The payment's status changes to Returned, and its detail page shows Returned On and Return Reason (the reason the bank gave, when available).
• The invoice moves back to an unpaid status — Overdue (if already past its due date), Partially paid (if another payment still covers part of the balance), or Open — so it shows up again in your collections views. If another payment already fully covers the invoice, its status doesn't change.
• Staff (owners and admins) get a Payment Returned by the Bank notification so you can follow up with the family. See Notification Preferences to control how you're alerted.

Returns are detected automatically for Evolv schools with ACH enabled, once a Webhook Signature is entered under Settings → Payments — see Payment Settings for setup. Without it, a returned ACH payment won't be caught automatically; contact support@conductly.com if you spot one that Conductly missed.

Failed Payment Handling

Sometimes a card charge doesn't go through. Common reasons include:

• Insufficient funds
• Expired card
• Card reported lost or stolen
• Bank declined the transaction

When a payment fails:

1. The invoice remains in its current status (Waiting for payment or Overdue)
2. The failed attempt is recorded and appears on the Failed tab of the Payments page
3. Conductly automatically retries failed charges with increasing delays, up to 3 attempts
4. You can contact the family to update their payment method or try a different card

warning

If a customer's stored card repeatedly fails, reach out to the family directly to update their payment information. Send them the Update Payment Method link, or have them update their card in the Family Portal.

Tips for Smooth Payment Collection

• Encourage stored cards — Families who save their payment method are much easier to bill
• Use Payment Reminders — Enable automatic overdue emails and texts (3/7/14/30 days) under Settings → Reminders
• Offer multiple options — Some families prefer cash or check; recording manual payments keeps everything in one place
• Review failed payments regularly — Check the Failed tab for declined charges and follow up promptly