MerchantE Invoice User Guide
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Introduction
MerchantE (ME) Invoice is an electronic invoicing solution for businesses in the modern world. Save time and money by simplifying the process of sending invoices and receiving payments. ME Invoice removes friction from the payor-initiated payments process, reduces the Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) cycle time, and improves your accounts receivable turnover. It eliminates labor and postage costs associated with paper invoices since invoices are sent to customers via email or SMS text. Digital transmission also reduces the need to reissue invoices and provides an easy and secure way for customers to make payments.
This step-by-step user guide will provide you the information you need to access and use your new service. ME Invoice consists of:
A personalized dashboard.
The ability to create tailored invoices and input customer profiles.
A set of organized customer activity lists.
Our self-service customer payment center.
Getting Started
Signing In
Once your account has been created, you will receive an email with your username, temporary password, and account role. This email will also contain a personalized link that will verify your email address.
ME Invoice URL: https://meinvoice.merchante.com/client/login
Note: This activation link will expire in 24 hours and can only be used once.
Click the Verify My Email link. You will be taken directly to the Sign In page.
Enter your Username and Temporary Password.
If your credentials provide access to MerchantE Reporting Portal, select Yes to the prompt ‘Are you a business owner?’. Otherwise, select No. If you check the Remember Me box, the page will save your username for future sessions.
If you are signing in for the first time, you will be asked to choose three security questions and provide your answers. This is for authentication purposes only in case you forget or need to reset your password in the future.
Click Save and Continue.
Lastly, you will be asked to create a new password. Once you have met the criteria for password strength and confirmed the new password.
Click Submit and you will be logged into your account.
Resetting Your Password
If you forget your password, or if your password has been compromised, you can reset your password from the Sign In page.
Start by clicking the Forgot Password? link.
Enter your Username and Merchant ID.
Select the appropriate response to “Are you a business owner?” When using your MerchantE Business Portal credentials, select Yes.
Click Next.
Answer two of the three security questions that you created when you first logged in.
Click Submit.
A message containing a link to the Reset Password will be sent to your email address.
Note: This activation link will expire in 24 hours and can only be used once. If you decide not to change your password, you can ignore the email and continue to use your existing credentials.
Account Management
If you have multiple Merchant IDs using MerchantE Invoice, and they are grouped within our system, you will land on the Account Management page upon logging in. Clicking on a Merchant ID number will open the ME Invoice Dashboard for that business.
Note: If you only have a single account using MerchantE Invoice, this page will not be displayed. You will instead be taken directly to the Invoice Dashboard.
Invoice Dashboard
Your ME Invoice Overview dashboard is for creating and managing invoices. You can easily see important metrics and visualize the activity and report overviews for Year to Date, Month to Date, or a Date Range. There are also shortcuts to create new invoices, or customers.
Invoice Overview and Status
Your Invoice Overview dashboard has some great features, some static and some interactive. The default metrics show your current Daily Sales Outstanding (DSO), the number of Drafted invoices, and the total number of Open and Past Due invoices.
You can also search for a customer name, business, or ID. Suggested results will populate in real time as you type each character. Once you select a specific ID, the charts in the Reports Overview section will be updated. After selecting a specific customer, you will also see a Go To Customer link, which will take you directly to their customer profile.
The Status section allows you to recalculate the displayed metrics (DSO, Drafts, and Open/Past Due Invoices) based on a chosen date range. Daily Sales Outstanding (DSO) is a financial ratio that measures the efficiency of your collection process. It accounts for how quickly receivables are paid and the impact unpaid invoices have on your cash flow.
An ideal DSO value varies based on your type of business and customer base. In general, a lower DSO is favorable and reflects better efficiency in the collection process. The best way to lower DSO would be to use the Open and Past Due Invoices tile on the dashboard to send out payment reminders.
Activity Overview
The Activity Overview section contains two activity summaries. The Invoice Collection Activity graph is shown as a stacked histogram, displaying the number of Collected, Outstanding, and Overdue Invoices, so monthly totals can be compared easily. Remember, the date range can be adjusted using the Filter dropdown box.
The Payment Activity table displays the payment totals for the selected time range. Here you can check your Collected, Outstanding and Overdue payment totals for the currently displayed invoices.
Reports Overview
This section displays segmented donut charts for two data sets: Invoice Type and Invoice Status. The Invoice Type chart gives you a breakdown of all Invoice types that have been used in the selected time range, e.g. One-Time, Installment, Subscription, and Recurring. The Invoice Status chart shows you a visual overview of the number of invoices in the various statuses: Open, Draft, Recalled, and Fully Paid. It also displays the total number of invoices within the selected time range.
Profiles and Settings
The Settings menu can be found on the far-right side of the top menu bar. Clicking the three bar icon will expand the settings menu. From here you can access and create Users and Business Profile and adjust Invoice Settings, Theme, and Notifications. When you are ready to leave your session, the Log Out link is also here.
User Profiles
By clicking on Users, you can access all the existing user profiles associated with your merchant account and create new users.
Creating a New User
Click Create New User to create a new user profile.
Select if the user has an Admin or Local role.
Assign a username and enter in the remaining personal details.
Assign the granular controls regarding Setup Permissions.
Transaction - select if the user will be permitted to issue refunds or invoice adjustments.
User Actions - select if the user can edit or delete invoices.
Invoice - set options for deleting and recalling invoices.
Customer Record - selected if the user can delete, activate, and deactivate specific customers.
Click Create.
User Details
From the User Profiles page, you can view any user’s details by clicking on their User Details button in the Actions column.
From any User Details page, you can update name, contact information, and mailing address.
Note: Username cannot be changed once a profile is created. You can also edit the permissions that were set when the user profile was initially created as well as delete the account if desired.
Business Profile
By clicking on Business Profile, you can view the details of your profile that is in MerchantE’s system.
Note: This can only be used as a means of verification. If any information needs to be changed or updated, please call ME Customer Care (1-888-288-2692).
Invoice Settings
These settings apply globally and whatever is selected will affect all future invoices. At the top of the page are the Auto-Generate settings. Selecting a check box will automatically generate a value for that ID number, saving you time and effort. If the check box is not selected, you will have to manually enter that ID number for every invoice, customer, or quote.
Below that is a toggle switch which gives you the option to enable SMS service globally, so you can send invoices and receive payments via text message. When enabled, you will have the ability to send an Opt-In Request to individual customers.
Once the SMS Service has been enabled, the toggle switch will display as ‘On’, and your assigned phone number will be shown.
Note: To disable the SMS service, after it has been turned on, you must call ME Customer Care (1-888-288-2692).
Next is a toggle switch to Enable Custom Payment. Turning this on will allow customers the flexibility to choose their own payment amount. If this is turned off, your customer will be required to pay the full invoice amount.
Below that are a column of input boxes that allow you to set a default Tax Rate, Alternate Tax Rate, VAT Tax Rate, and Unit of Measure.
Note: All tax rates are entered as a percent value, so for a 2.5% tax rate, enter 2.50.
In the Merchant Tax ID field, enter the merchant’s government assigned tax identification number. In the Unit of Measure field, you should enter the alphanumeric code for the quantity that you most often use in your business. These codes are the same as those used in international trade, for example pound = LBR, each = EA, ounce = ONZ, and hour = HUR. For more information, see Units of Measure.
Once you have finished updating this section, be sure to click Update Changes to save your changes.
Theme and Branding
ME Invoice was designed to give you the flexibility to choose how it looks and feels. In this section, you can upload your logo and choose your brand colors by selecting a preset value or entering the desired Hex code for the background color and the buttons/links.
You can choose from a multitude of color options by simply copying the hex value from a color picker, like HTML Color Codes .
Once you’ve chosen your desired color scheme, copy and paste the Hex code(s) into the boxes below the presets.
There is also a preview window to the right that will allow you to see your desired changes in action before saving. Clicking the left and right arrows in the top-righthand corner will cycle the preview between four available views: the ME Invoice Dashboard, a sample Invoice, the Hosted Payments Login page, and the Billing Details page. Be sure to click Update Changes to save your selections.
Note: Colors will be applied to the ME Invoice portal, Hosted Payments, and all Invoices.
Notifications
Not only does ME Invoice allow you to streamline the process of sending out invoices in general, it also increases the amount of engagement between you and your customers. You can customize the alert messages that will inform customers that they have received an invoice, that their due date is approaching, and if they have a past due invoice. You can also create and send Thank You messages. Within each category you can create alert messages to send via Email or SMS Text.
For standardization, there are merge tags or [labels] that are inserted throughout each message, which will be automatically replaced with your individualized customer and merchant data.
Caution: Please DO NOT change any [labels] when you are editing the Alert Messages. These labels are tied to your customer/merchant data. Removing them can result in missing information. Editing the text within the label will cause it to display incorrectly and confuse your customers, possibly delaying payment.
Merge Tag | Description |
[invoice_number] | The assigned invoice ID number |
[customer_first_name] | The customer’s first name |
[due_date] | The invoice due date |
[invoice_balance] | The remaining balance on the invoice |
[invoice_pay_link] | A hyperlink that takes the customer to Hosted payments to pay their invoice |
[company_name] | Your listed company name |
[customer_email_address] | The customer’s email address |
[business_support_email] | The listed support email address for your business |
[business_mailing_address] | The listed mailing address for your business |
[business_city] | The city associated with your business mailing address |
[business_state] | The state associated with your business mailing address |
[business_zip] | The zip code associated with your business mailing address |
Invoice Sent
From this tab you can customize the alert message that your customer receives when you send them an invoice. This message is sent for every invoice and cannot be turned off like some of the other alert types.
Please do not change any [labels] when you are editing.
Due Date Approaching
From this tab you can customize the alert message that your customer receives when their due date is approaching. This is a great way to give your customer one last reminder before payment is due. At the top of the page is a toggle button that allows you to turn this alert message on or off. Once this notification type has been enabled, you can set the number of days before the due date that the alert will be sent (1-7) and customize the Email or SMS message. You can also choose your preferred alert schedule in 3-hour windows.
Caution: Please do not change any [labels] when you are editing.
Past Due
From this tab you can customize the alert message that your customer receives when their invoice is past due. This automatic reminder helps to make sure paying a late invoice is "top of mind" for your customer, while giving you the peace of mind that ME Invoice is following up to ensure you get paid. At the top of the page is a toggle switch that allows you to enable this alert message. Once this notification type has been enabled, you can set the number of days after the due date that the alert will be sent (1-7) and customize the Email or SMS message. You can also choose your preferred alert schedule in 3-hour windows.
Caution: Please do not change any [labels] when you are editing.
Thank You
This last tab allows you to customize the alert message that is sent when an invoice is paid in full. This message is sent for every invoice and cannot be turned off like some of the other alert types.
Caution: Please do not change any [labels] when you are editing.
Customer Activity
The first step to creating and sending invoices is to create or import customers. From the Customer Activity tab, you can fill out a new customer profile, as well as import a customer list using the provided template. Once you have finished adding your customers, this tab will show you key metrics, for both customers and invoices, and give you quick access to all your customer lists.
Customer Profiles
Creating a New Customer Profile
Note: The Customer ID must be alphanumeric and 6-16 characters.
Click the Create New Customer button from either the Dashboard or the Customer Activity tab.
Select whether or not to enable SMS Service for the customer.
Enter the Customer ID if you have elected not to autogenerate it in the Invoice Settings.
Fill in the remaining fields. Required fields are marked with an asterisk.
Enter the shipping address if different from the mailing address.
Click Create Customer Record.
Importing a Customer Profile
If you already maintain customer records, or wish to add multiple customer profiles at once, you can save time and circumvent the manual entry method detailed above. Simply create a comma-separated values file (.csv) using the provided template, and then upload it to ME Invoice.
From the Customer Activity tab, click the Import Customer button.
Download the required customer profile template by clicking the Download CSV Template link.
Open the template in any spreadsheet or text editor program (e.g., Excel, Notepad, etc.). This template uses a comma to delineate the fields of information. Once you have opened the template, you have two options to input customer data: using a text editor or using a spreadsheet program.
Using a Text Editor
With this first method you would open the file in a text editor, such as Notepad, then copy and paste the sample entry provided for as many customers as you would like to import.
Type in the information for each customer and save the file when finished. Navigate back to the Import Customer page, click the Import From CSV button, select your .csv file, then click Open.
Once you have verified that all the imported customer details are accurate, click the Process file button to add all the listed customers to your database at once.
Note: To ensure efficient processing of your records, please make sure files have less than 500 customers each.
Using a Spreadsheet Program
The second option is to open the template file into Excel. If you are inputting many customers at once, or utilizing your own pre-existing customer list, this is the most efficient method.
In Excel, start by selecting cells A1 and A2, which selects all the information contained in the template.
Navigate to the Data tab and select Text to Columns.
Select Delimited as the data type, then click Next.
Deselect Tab, then select Other.
Input the pipe symbol, | , into the adjacent box and click Finish.
The information from the template has been organized into columns, with the heading for each listed in Row 1.
Now you can fill in the data for as many customers as you would like. Once this step is complete, save the file as a .csv file.
Navigate to the File page in Excel, then click Export on the left sidebar.
Select Change File Type, and then under the ‘Other File Types’ section select CSV (Comma delimited).
Click Save As.
Choose your desired file name and location, then click Save.
Finally, you can add the customers to your data.
Navigate back to the Import Customer page.
Click the Import From CSV button, select your .csv file, then click Open.
Once you have verified that all the imported customer details are accurate, click the Process File button to add all the listed customers.
Potential Errors
When importing customer data using a CSV file, there are some important points to note to eliminate potential errors:
Ensure that all Customer ID numbers and email addresses are unique for each customer in the file, and are unique among previously created customer entries.
Ensure that all phone numbers are 10 digits, each email contains an @ symbol, and all zip codes are 5 digits.
For the ‘shipping address same as mailing address’ field, you must enter ‘Y’ or ‘N’ only. This field cannot be blank, and it cannot contain more than one letter.
If there are any issues with specific entries, you will receive a generic error message with the number of records that failed to import, and the number of customers that were successfully created. The individual customer entries listed below will show either Needs Attention, or Success, in the Upload Status column.
You can also click the Export CSV button, which will save a local copy of your original file, but with error messages added to each entry that requires correction.
Note: You will need to re-upload the corrected information for customers that are listed as Needs Attention.
Customer Lists
The tiles at the top of the Customer Activity tab are not only a quick way to stay informed of key invoice metrics, they also organize your primary customer lists. By clicking the Total Customers, Drafts, and Open and Past Due tiles, you can view the list of customers in that category. The number of New Customers is also shown, which his defined as total customers month to date (MTD), however this is the only non-clickable tile.
Total Customers
This first tile, shows you the total number of customers, and is shown by default when opening the Customer Activity tab. If you scroll down, you can view all customers, shown from newest to oldest. This view shows you the customer’s name, ID number, business name, email address, and account status. At the far-right of each customer’s information is a Create Invoice button. Clicking here will open a new invoice, pre-populating the customer’s information for you. For more information on creating invoices, see Invoice Creation.
Invoice Drafts
From this tile you can manage draft invoices, to complete them and send them to your customer. Any time you save an invoice before it has been sent, it is added to this Drafts folder. The displayed details are Customer ID, Invoice ID, Invoice Type, and Notes (date saved). From here you also have the option to Open Draft, which will open the saved invoice so you can pick up right where you left off.
Open and Past Due Invoices
You can use this final tile to ensure timely payment of past due invoices. This list shows you all the invoices that have been sent to the customer and are awaiting payment, including recurring, subscription and installment invoices that are ongoing. This list shows you the Customer ID, Invoice ID, Status, Invoice Amount, Balance Due, Due Date, and Invoice Type for each invoice. If the due date has already passed, this field will display the date in red, and include the words Past Due above it.
This section also includes shortcuts to send reminders to customers. There are individualized buttons for each customer in the Actions column on the right side of the table.
Exporting a Customer List
From any of the three customer lists detailed above, you have the option to export the list as a .csv (comma separated values) file. Just above the list on the right side of the page, you will see the cloud icon. Clicking this button will instantly download the customer list that you are currently viewing.
Customer Records
Individual customer records can be accessed from any of the Customer Lists by clicking on the desired Customer ID number.
A Customer Record shows you important account information at the top of the page, as well as the customer’s invoice history. The tiles at the top display the customer’s Account Balance on all outstanding items, Credit Amount, number of Open and Past Due invoices, and number of Draft invoices.
You can click between the invoice number tiles and the customer’s information tile to show different categories of invoices. Plus, there is a Create New Invoice button in the top-righthand corner, which will conveniently pre-populate the Recipient field with the customer’s information.
By default, the Customer Record displays all invoices, starting with the one-time invoices. You can navigate between One Time and Recurring invoices by clicking the button corresponding to the desired category.
From the Recurring tab, you also have the option to Stop, Resume, or Cancel a recurring invoice. Simply click the icon in the Actions column.
Clicking the Open and Past Due tile will display the invoices in that category, as will clicking the Drafts tile. To return to the list of paid invoices, click on the first tile that contains the Customer Name, Customer ID, and Status.
These tiles have the same options as the equivalent Customer Lists in the Customer Activity page. You can send reminders to this customer regarding their open and past due invoices, as well as resume any of their draft invoices.
Skipping an Invoice
With recurring and installment invoices, you have the option to skip one or more of the invoices in the originally defined series. For instance, if your customer will be out of town for a specific week, or if your service is seasonal, you can easily skip those specific invoices. Doing so prevents the selected invoice(s) from being sent to the customer, without affecting the parameters of the original series.
Note: Opening the invoice details via the ‘parent’ Invoice ID will only allow you to edit, recall, adjust, or delete the original invoice. To skip one or more invoices in a series, please follow the steps below.
Recurring Invoices
Once a recurring invoice has been created, navigate to the recipient’s Customer Record page. In the Customer Invoice History section, click on the Recurring tab, then click the desired Parent Invoice ID. This will bring you to the invoice’s Recurring Details page. Here you will see a list of all the scheduled invoices in the series.
By default, they are sorted by date, with the parent invoice listed first. If the invoice is not available to skip, the Skip button will be gray.
If you are only skipping a single invoice, the quickest option is to click the Skip button in the Actions column.
To skip multiple invoices at once, simply click the check box for each of the desired invoice IDs, then click the Skip Invoice button at the top of the list.
In either case you will receive a confirmation dialogue. Click Yes to confirm and No to cancel.
Installment Invoices
Once an installment invoice has been created, navigate to the recipient’s Customer Record page. In the Customer Invoice History section, click on the Recurring tab, then click the desired Parent Invoice ID. This will bring you to the invoice’s Recurring Details page. Here you will see a list of all the scheduled invoices in the series.
By default, they are sorted by date, with the parent invoice listed first. If the invoice is not available to skip, the Skip button will be grayed out. If you are only skipping a single invoice, the quickest option is to click the Skip button in the Actions column. To skip multiple invoices at once, simply click the check box for each of the desired invoice IDs, then click the Skip Invoice button at the top of the list.
There are two options available when skipping an installment invoice.
Extend the installment period.
You could extend the installment period, which will add an additional invoice for every skipped one, using the frequency set within the original invoice. For example, if the original invoice was set for three monthly installments, skipping one invoice and extending the installment period will cancel the selected installment and schedule a fourth installment one month from the previous end date.
To choose this option, click Yes in the first dialogue box when asked if you would like to extend the installment period.
Add the skipped invoice to the final invoice.
You could instead add the amount(s) from the skipped invoice(s) to the final installment. For instance, if the original invoice scheduled three monthly installments of $50.00, skipping one invoice and choosing not to extend the installment period would add the value of the skipped invoice to the final installment, changing its amount to $100.00.
To choose this option, click No in the first dialogue box when asked if you would like to extend the installment period. Then confirm in the second dialogue box that you want to skip the selected invoice by clicking Yes.
Updating a Customer Record
To update an existing customer profile, start by searching for the customer by name, business, or ID. Then, click on the Customer ID to open the Customer Record.
From the Customer Profile page, you can update or change mailing/shipping address, send an opt in request for SMS Service, or completely deactivate or delete the account. This page will also show you if the customer has opted in to Text to Pay, or if they have set up AutoPay.
Note: Only a customer registered with a Hosted Payments account can set up Text to Pay or AutoPay. The customer has control on whether they opt in or out during the invoice payment flow. Merchants cannot auto-enroll customers for these features. Text to Pay payments will automatically be credited to the most recent open invoice. If more than one open invoice exists on the customer record, you should consider resending the payment request(s) for any outstanding invoices.
After updating the profile, be sure to click Update Customer Record at the bottom of the page to save your changes.
Activating SMS Service
To enable the SMS messaging and Text to Pay features, click the toggle switch on the SMS Service tile. A pop-up window will ask you to confirm that you understand that MerchantE will be sending an email to the customer on your behalf and the user can decide to opt in to SMS messaging. Click Yes to confirm.
An Opt In email message is then sent to the selected customer with a link to accept text communications.
Note: this link will expire in 24 hours. If the customer does not use the link within that time, you will need to send it again using the process detailed above.
Upon following the link, the customer will simply enter their mobile number on the Opt In landing page if they choose to authorize this service. If a valid number for a cellular device is provided, the SMS number is added to the ME Invoice UI. The customer’s profile will update to show that SMS Service has changed from Pending to Active.
After a customer opts in, they can choose to opt out at any time. For best practices and information on how to manually opt a customer out if they contact you via phone or email, see Appendix B.
Invoices
Invoice Creation
There are two ways to initiate the invoice creation process. The first access point was mentioned in the Customer Activity section, where you click the Create Invoice button next to the listed customer of your choosing. The second, and fastest, method is to click the Create Invoice button on your Dashboard.
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