Payments and Invoices in Sparkforge: Common Use Cases

Sparkforge invoices and payments cover most billing scenarios for service businesses. Here are the workflows you'll hit most often.

Charge a card on a phone call without sending an invoice

1. Create a new invoice and select the contact (add on the fly if they don't exist).
2. Add the product. If it isn't listed, choose Add New Item.
3. On the invoice builder, click the three dots in the top bar and choose Record Payment.
4. Choose Charge a card.
5. Pick New Card for first-time customers, or select a saved card for returning customers.

Note: the customer won't get an automated email or text confirmation when charged this way.

Record manual payments without Stripe Connect

You can use invoicing without Stripe Connect, but you have to record payments manually — no card capture.

1. Go to Payments > Invoices.
2. Close the Stripe Connect prompt.
3. Click New > New Invoice.
4. Add customer, products, taxes, discounts.
5. Click the three dots and select Record Payment.
6. Choose Record Manually.
7. Select Cash, Card, Check, Bank Transfer, or Other and click Submit.

Limitation: manual recording without Stripe Connect only works on one-time invoices.

Add ad-hoc products to an invoice

For services or products that aren't in your Products area:

1. Create the invoice and click Add an Item.
2. Choose New Item.
3. Enter the name and price.
4. Check Save for later use if you want it added to your Products library.
5. Click Add new item.

Add a card processing fee to invoices

1. Go to Payments > Tax Settings and create a card processing fee as a tax line.
2. Open or create an invoice and add the items being charged.
3. Click Add Tax and select the card processing fee.
4. Save. The fee appears as a separate line on the invoice the payer sees.

Common errors and fixes

Payment link is broken or won't click

The invoice is past its scheduled due date. Sparkforge auto-disables the payment option once the date passes.

1. Duplicate (Clone) the original invoice.
2. Adjust the payment schedule to a current or future date.
3. Resend.

Can't void or delete a paid invoice

Paid invoices must be refunded before they can be voided. This applies to test/demo payments too.

1. Open the invoice and click the three dots.
2. Select View Transaction.
3. Click Refund and complete it.
4. Return to the invoice, click the three dots, select Void.

Payment page says "Live Mode" after clicking Test

Your Stripe account is still in Live Mode. Open the Stripe Dashboard, toggle Test Mode in the top right, then refresh Sparkforge.

Invoice stuck on "Payment Processing"

The payment was initiated but hasn't settled. ACH and PayPal eCheck take 2-5 business days. Status updates to Paid automatically once settled.

"Invalid Date" when recording manual payment

The payment date is outside the accepted range or before the invoice issue date.

• Ensure the payment date is on or after the invoice issue date.
• Refresh the page before recording.
• Match the payment date to the invoice timeline.