Auto Payments for Recurring Invoices in Sparkforge

Auto Payments charge a customer's card automatically on each recurring invoice's due date. Pick a card source, save the schedule, and Sparkforge handles future charges — no manual collection per cycle.

Prerequisites

• A recurring invoice exists or is being created.
• A supported payment gateway is connected.
• A valid customer card is available for future charges.

Verify the next scheduled occurrence and selected payment method after enabling Auto-Pay. Behavior depends on whether the next invoice has already been generated.

Card source options

Customer Card

Uses whichever card the customer first uses to pay an invoice in the schedule. Auto-Pay starts with the next occurrence after that first manual payment. If first payment lands on invoice 4, auto-pay begins on invoice 5.

Saved Card

Uses a card already on file in the customer's profile. Auto-charging starts with the first occurrence — no initial manual payment. On a failed charge, both the location user and the customer get a notification.

New Card

Add a card while creating or editing the schedule; it is saved for future charges. Auto-Pay begins with the first occurrence after the card is saved. A small authorization may run when the card is added.

Manage saved cards: open the customer record → Payments → Cards on File. Only the last digits and expiry are visible.

Auto-Pay timing matrix

Steps to enable Auto-Pay

1. Open recurring invoices. Go to Payments → Invoices & Estimates → Recurring Invoices.
2. Pick a schedule. Click New → New Recurring Invoice or open an existing row.
3. Manage Auto Payment. In the editor, click the ⋮ menu (top right) and choose Manage Auto Payment.
4. Toggle on. Set Enable autopayment to ON, choose Customer Card / Saved Card / New Card, and click Save.

Disable Auto-Pay

Open the same schedule, click ⋮ → Manage Auto Payment, toggle Enable autopayment OFF, and save. Auto-Pay stops with the next occurrence.

Failed payments and retries

If a charge fails, both the customer and location user are notified. The customer can pay manually with the same card, or pay with a new card (the new card becomes the default for future auto-pay in this schedule).

Sparkforge retries twice, 24 hours apart. If both retries fail, automatic attempts stop and the invoice must be paid manually.

When Auto-Pay pauses

Editing a queued or generated child invoice before its charge time pauses auto-pay for that invoice only. Future occurrences continue as scheduled. Sparkforge sends an email confirmation when auto-pay settings change on an existing invoice.

Verify Auto-Pay is active

• Auto-Pay shows enabled in the recurring invoice configuration.
• The intended payment method is selected.
• The next scheduled occurrence has not already passed under older settings.
• The customer has a valid card on file.

Notifications

Customers receive optional upcoming-charge reminders, payment success confirmations, and payment failure alerts. Location users get success and failure alerts plus a notice when a child invoice is edited before auto-charge. Customize subject lines, body, and branding in invoice notification settings.