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.

1. Click the Verify My Email link. You will be taken directly to the Sign In page.

2. Enter your Username and Temporary Password.

3. If your credentials provide access to MerchantE Reporting Portal, select Yes to the prompt ‘Are you a business owner?’. Otherwise, select No.

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4. If you are signing in for the first time, you will be asked to choose three security questions and provide your answers. Once all three questions have been selected and answered, click Save and Continue.

5. 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. You will be asked to enter your Username and the Merchant ID your profile is associated with. Select the appropriate response to “Are you a business owner?” click Next.

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To maintain the security of your account, you will now be asked to answer two of the three security questions that you created when you first logged in. Answer both questions, then click Submit.

A message will be sent to your provided email address. This email will contain a link that will bring you directly to the Reset Password page.

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. Here you will see all your Merchant IDs and corresponding business names. Clicking on a Merchant ID number will open the ME Invoice Dashboard for that business.

Dashboard

Your ME Invoice home page is your headquarters for creating and managing invoices. You can easily see important metrics and visualize the activity and report overviews. There are also shortcuts to create new invoices, as well as new customers.

Invoice Overview and Status

Your ME Invoice 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. The default graphs show ‘year-to-date’ collection and payment activity, as well as a visual representation of all existing reports organized by invoice type and invoice status.

Directly under the page heading is a search box, where you can enter a customer name, business, or ID. You can enter a specific query in full, or, alternatively, 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 to reflect your selection. Now you can see what types of invoices were used for that Customer ID, what the statuses are of those invoices, and their collection and payment activity.

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. 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.

Under the Filter dropdown menu, you have three available date filters: Year to Date, Month to Date, and Date Range. If you select Date Range, you will be able to define the range by clicking into the Date Picker.

Activity Overview

The Activity Overview section contains two activity summaries, using the default Year to Date filter. 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. The date range can be adjusted.

The Payment Activity chart 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. By default, the data shown uses the Year-to-Date filter. If you want to change the time period that is displayed, you can toggle between the different options using the dropdown box below the Activity Overview heading.

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 Business Profile, adjust Invoice Settings, set the Theme for your page, and set preferences for your Notifications.

User Profiles

By clicking on Users, you can access all the existing user profiles associated with your merchant account and create new users.

Click Create New User to create a new user profile. First, you will select if the user has an Admin or Local role. Then, assign a username and enter in the remaining personal details.

Below that are all the granular controls regarding Setup Permissions. Here you can turn on and off entire categories or select which specific permissions the user will be able to access. By enabling the Transaction permission, you can select if the user will be permitted to issue refunds or invoice adjustments.

Under User Actions, you set permissions for being able to edit or delete invoices. Within the Invoice category, you can set options for deleting and recalling invoices. Lastly, in the Customer Record section a user can be granted permission to delete, activate, and deactivate specific customers.

User Details

From the User Profiles page, you can view any user’s details by clicking on their User Details button.

From any User Details page, you can update name, contact information, and mailing address.

Business Profile

By clicking on Business Profile, you can view the details of your profile that is in MerchantE’s system.

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.

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.

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.

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 https://htmlcolorcodes.com/ .

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.

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. Here 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.

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. If none of the options are selected, the system will designate a time that may or may not happen within one of the available choices. If more than one option is selected, including selecting all options, the system will randomly designate a time that fits within one of the four selected windows.

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. If none of the options are selected, the system will randomly designate a time that may or may not happen within one of the available choices. If more than one option is selected, including selecting all options, the system will randomly designate a time that fits within one of the four selected windows.

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.

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

To add a new customer to your database, you can click the Create New Customer button from either the Dashboard or the Customer Activity tab. At the top of the page, you have the option to upload an image to use as the customer’s avatar. Next, enter the Customer ID, if you elected not to autogenerate it (alphanumeric and a maximum of 16 characters), and the customer’s name, email address, mailing address, and if desired their business name and phone number.

Below that you can enter a separate shipping address or select the Yes check box if it is that same as mailing address above. Once finished, click the Create Customer Record button at the bottom of the page.

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, start by clicking the Import Customer button in the top-righthand corner. Next, download the required customer profile template by clicking the Download CSV Template link.

You can 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.

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.

1. In Excel, start by selecting cells A1 and A2, which selects all the information contained in the template.

2. Navigate to the Data tab and select Text to Columns.

3. Select Delimited as the data type, then click Next.

4. Deselect Tab, then select Other.

5. Input the pipe symbol, |, into the adjacent box and click Finish.

6. 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.

7. Navigate to the File page in Excel, then click Export

8. on the left sidebar.

9. Select Change File Type, and then under the ‘Other File Types’ section select CSV (Comma delimited).

10. Click Save As.

11. Choose your desired file name and location, then click

12. Save.

13. Navigate back to the Import Customer page.

14. Click the Import From CSV button, select your .csv file, then click Open.

15. 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:

1. 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.

2. Ensure that all phone numbers are 10 digits, each email contains an @ symbol, and all zip codes are 5 digits.

3. 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.

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, prepopulating 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 download icon. Clicking this button will instantly download the customer list that you are currently viewing.

Organizing a Customer List in Microsoft Excel

By default, a .csv file opened in a spreadsheet program will populate all the data into the first column. To organize the data for optimal viewing and usefulness, let’s quickly walk through how to change the single column of data into a nice table layout. Start by opening the exported file in Excel.

Select all the cells in Column A that contain data, or alternatively click the top edge of the column header to select the entire column at once. Open the Data tab on the ribbon at the top of the page. Then click the Text to Columns button toward the right-hand side.

In the pop-up window, first choose Delimited for the file type. Then click Next >.

Lastly, in the Delimiters section, select the check box for Semicolon (you will see the preview of your data update at the bottom of the window), then click Finish.

Your customer list data has been organized into a table layout, with the column headings now listed across the top row.

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-right hand 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 three dots 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.

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:

1. Extend the installment period.

   1. 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.

   2. To choose this option, click Yes in the first dialogue box when asked if you would like to extend the installment period.

2. Add the skipped invoice to the final installment.

   1. 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.

   2. 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.

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.

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.

Once you begin the process, you will be taken to the Create Invoice page, where you can enter all the details of your invoice. At any point you can Preview, Save, or Discard your current draft.

First, select the Order Date for the invoice, by clicking the calendar icon next to today’s date in the top right corner.

 Next, we will select the recipient of the invoice. If you started this process from the Customer Activity tab, this step has already been completed. If you clicked the shortcut on the Dashboard, start by first clicking on the pencil icon next to Recipient.

In the Invoice Settings, you have already chosen either auto-generated or manually generated Customer ID.

• If you have chosen manually generated, you will enter the existing or chosen Customer ID in the first field.

• If the recipient is not saved in your customer database, you can enter all the details here manually and a customer profile will be created once the invoice has been saved.

• If the recipient is already saved, all the customer’s saved information will be added to the form once you select the desired ID.

• If you have it set to auto-generated ID, you will click the  icon to the right of the Customer ID box, which will allow you to search for a specific customer.

• If the recipient is not saved in your records already, you can enter the other details as you normally would, and a Customer ID will be generated for them automatically.

Once the recipient information has been verified, click Save.

Next, let’s input some of the Invoice details. Start by clicking the pencil icon next to Invoice. Just like Customer ID, the Invoice ID can be set to either auto-generated or manually generated, which you will have already done in Settings.

• If you selected Auto Generated, an Invoice ID (or Quote ID) will be created for you once the invoice has been saved.

• If you selected Manually Generated, you should enter an Invoice ID that is alphanumeric and a maximum of 16 characters long.

The options for Invoice Type are Installment, Subscription, One-Time, Recurring, and Quote.

Each option, once selected, will give you the corresponding input boxes. All required inputs are shown in red, and they will turn black once you have entered a value or selected something in that field.

In the Order Details section, you will list the products and/or services that you are charging the customer for, and all the relevant details. The included fields are Product Code, Description, Unit Cost, and Quantity. The Line Total (calculated in real time) is the total amount based on a calculation of the item quantity multiplied by the unit cost, excluding any item discounts. 

The Line Item Selection box allows you to select which additional line-item fields you want to add to your invoice. The available options are Item Discount, Item Commodity Code, and Item Tax.

• Item Discount is the amount of any discount that applies to an individual line item (remember to add Discount Amount in Additional Invoice Details).

• Item Commodity Code is the international description code of the individual good or service provided (the lookup function should be used to select codes communicated by Visa).

• Item Tax allows you to identify whether an item is taxable (remember to add the Tax Rates that apply in Additional Invoice Details).

Each option is instantly added to the table once selected.

To select an Item Commodity Code (after adding the line item), click the eye icon, which will open a pop-up window that will allow you to search by Item Number or Description.

Once the line-item information is complete, we can select any desired Additional Invoice Details. Any of the options can be selected together or individually. Once you have made your selection(s), those fields will be added to the invoice, and the selection dropdown menu will display the total number of selected items.

• Discount Amount is the ME Invoice calculated total amount of any discount that applies to the invoice.

• Shipping Amount is the user-entered total shipping fees associated with the products being shipped to your customer.

• Duty Amount is the user-entered total amount of any fees associated with importing the products into the customer’s country.

• The various tax-related fields (Tax Rate and Tax Amount, VAT Rate and VAT Amount, Alt Tax Rate and Alt Tax Amount) are the ME Invoice calculated tax amount(s) that are applied to the overall invoice.

• Credit Amount is the user-entered total of any credits that should be applied to the total invoice amount.

The Sub-Total field is the sum of all the Line Totals and will be updated as changes to Unit Cost and Quantity are made. As you add the values to each of the additional selected fields, you will see the total Invoice Amount Due being calculated in real time.

If at any time you need to switch tracks or step away from an invoice before sending it, simply click Save Invoice.  The current state of your invoice will be saved as a draft and can be accessed later by going to the Customer Activity page and clicking on the Drafts tile.

You can also preview the invoice at any point during the process, and you must also click Preview Invoice before sending it to the customer.

After verifying the accuracy of the information shown in the Preview, you can choose whether you want to send the invoice via text/SMS or via Email. If there is anything that needs to be changed before sending, you can click Continue Editing to go back to the original Create Invoice interface.

Once the customer receives the invoice, they can make a payment easily by clicking the included Pay Now link, which will take them to Hosted Payments. Here they can sign in if they are a member, or alternatively they can utilize the guest check out.

Invoice Details

There are multiple locations from which you can view the details of an individual invoice once it has been sent, usually by clicking on the Invoice ID. The Invoice ID is a clickable link on the Drafts and Open and Past Due Customer List pages, as well as from within a Customer Record page. There is also a View Invoice Details button for each invoice in the Customer Invoice History lists within an individual customer’s record. From any given Invoice Details page, you can view or resend the original invoice, and even adjust the invoice or issue a refund if needed. Plus, you can see the transaction history, which also displays remaining balance and payment status.

To view the invoice details, click the Invoice ID which is shown in blue. This link opens the same PDF file that the customer originally received and gives you the option to download or print the invoice.

Clicking the Edit Invoice button takes you back to the Preview Invoice view, where you can see all the original details.

• If the invoice is open and the due date is in the future, you can edit the invoice by clicking the Continue Editing button at the bottom of the page. Then once you have made the desired changes, you can resend via email, or via SMS if the customer has opted in.

• If the invoice is open and past due, you can only resend the invoice. If you would like to cancel the invoice and notify the customer, click the Recall Invoice button.

Clicking the Delete Invoice button will only remove the invoice from your records, so make sure that the invoice is fully paid before doing so.

If you want to make any changes after the invoice has been sent, simply click the Adjust Invoice button. The customer’s total Account Credit is shown, as well as the remaining invoice balance, and will update in real time depending on the Amount to Adjust that you enter. There is an option to apply the adjustment amount to their account credit, and a field where you can enter and keep track of the reason for making the adjustment.

Lastly, you can refund part, or all, of the customer’s payment by going to the Transaction History and locating the specific transaction you wish to refund. In the Actions column, click the  icon, and then Refund Payment. You then have a blank entry box that will allow you to enter any refund amount.

If a payment is refunded to a customer, a Reason column will be added to the Transaction History table. This will give a brief description as to why the refund was issued or the adjustment was made.

By default, this column only displays 24 characters. If you hover over the text in that column, however, it will display the remaining message (up to 99 characters).

Issue Credit

Once a credit has accrued on a customer’s account, from refunded payments and/or adjusted invoices, this amount can be transferred directly to the customer’s credit card. From any Customer Record page, start by clicking on the Credit Amount tile, which will open a list of all previously issued credit.

Clicking the Issue Credit button in the top right corner will display the Total Credit Amount available for that customer, along with the card number and expiration date for the credit card they have on file. Enter the Transfer Amount, then click Confirm Credit Transfer.

Once confirmed, a notification will display stating that the transaction was submitted successfully.

Hosted Payments

Settings and Configurations

Autopay and Text to Pay

The customer can choose to Opt In to Text to Pay or Autopay, or to skip this step altogether. Of these two payment options, they can only opt in to one of them. If a customer chooses Autopay for a qualifying recurring or subscription invoice, they will be billed on the due date at each of the specified intervals using the card number on file.

If a customer chooses Text to Pay, they will first receive a text message to confirm their mobile number. Once confirmed, all future invoices will trigger a text message to be sent to the customer’s phone. The customer will be asked to type in the ZIP code of card on file. This initiates the transaction using the card they previous saved to their Hosted Payments account. They will then receive a thank you text message confirming that the payment has been processed.

SMS Opt Out

Opt-out mechanisms facilitate customer choice to terminate messaging communications, regardless of whether customers have consented to receive the message. Message Senders (Merchants) should acknowledge and respect customers’ opt-out requests consistent with the following guidelines:

• Customers can opt-out of receiving Messages at any time.

• Message Senders should support multiple mechanisms of opt-out, including phone call, email, or text.

• MerchantE enables the customer to opt out via text through our SMS solution. Message Senders are responsible for phone call or email opt out requests.

• Message Senders should acknowledge and honor all customer opt-out requests by sending one final opt-out confirmation message per campaign to notify the customer that they have opted-out successfully. No further messages should be sent following the confirmation message.

MerchantE’s SMS solution includes wording in the message stating how and what words affect an opt-out. Standardized “STOP” wording should be used for opt-out instructions.

How to Opt Out for Email/Phone Requests

Customers have the option to opt out via text message at any point after opting in. From time to time, you may have a customer that is unaware of, or chooses not to use, this method. When you are notified via email or phone that a customer wishes to opt out, navigate to their Customer Profile (Customer Activity > Customer ID link > Profile Avatar link).

Near the top of the page, you will see a tile titled SMS Service, and a status of Active. Click the toggle button on the right side of that tile to disable SMS messaging and Text to Pay features. Once you do so, a confirmation banner will display in the top right corner of the screen, and the tile will now show a status of Blocked.