Charge clients' saved cards automatically (autopay)

With autopay, a client saves a card or bank account once, from their Client Hub, and agrees to your terms. After that, each finished visit (or a one-off job’s finished work) is billed and charged to it by itself, and the client gets a receipt. Nobody has to send an invoice or chase a payment. A charge that fails goes back to the way invoices work without autopay: the client gets the link to pay, and you’re told.

Everything goes through your own Stripe account, so fees, deposits, refunds and your books work as they do for any Stripe payment. Crewtavo never sees the card number.

Who can do it

Who	What
Owners and admins whose role has Invoices and payments	Turn autopay on and change its settings in Settings → Payments.
Owners, admins and office staff whose role has Invoices and payments	See the Autopay card on a client’s page, send invites, pause it, remove a card, switch it on or off for a job, approve charges, use Charge card and refund.
Owners only	Record that clients whose cards came in from Stripe agreed to be charged.
Crews	A visit on a job charged automatically shows an Autopay tag on their phone. They never see the amount or the card. Subcontractors don’t see it.

See What each role can see and do.

What autopay needs

Settings → Payments starts with a checklist, What autopay needs:

• Your own Stripe account, connected on Apps → Stripe. See Take payments with Stripe.
• A key that can save cards. A Stripe key made before autopay can’t save cards, charge them or refund. Apps → Stripe then says “Update your key to turn on autopay.” Choose Get a new key, make it in Stripe the same way as the first one, and paste it in. See Update your key for autopay.
• Stripe’s own emails off. In Stripe, turn off its emails about failed payments and receipts, so clients don’t get two. Crewtavo sends its own.

Turn autopay on

1. Open Settings → Payments.
2. Turn on Charge clients’ saved cards when the work is done. It’s greyed out until your Stripe key can save cards.
3. Read Terms clients agree to. It starts with wording for your trade. For lawn and exterior businesses it’s “We charge the card on file after each visit is done, or once a month for a monthly plan, and for other invoices we send you. You’ll get a receipt each time. Turn it off anytime from your client page or by calling us.” Change it to suit you, or choose Use the suggested wording to go back.
4. Pick When to charge: Right away, At the end of the day (where you start) or Days after, with Days after each visit from 1 to 14. Clients read it under your terms, as “We charge at the end of the day of each visit.” A wait lets you catch a visit marked done by mistake.
5. Set Most to charge without asking, if you like. A charge over it waits for your OK. Leave it blank for no limit. It starts at $500.
6. Choose the switches:
   • Require a card on file: see Require a card on file. Off to start.
   • Email a receipt after each charge, “With a link to change their card or turn autopay off.” On to start.
   • Turn on autopay for new recurring jobs of clients on autopay. With it on, a recurring job billed per visit for a client on autopay is charged automatically from the start, and a client’s active ones are switched on when they agree. On to start for lawn and exterior, cleaning, pool service and pest control businesses.
7. Choose Save payment settings.

Changing the terms, or when you charge, only changes what clients agree to from then on. Clients who already agreed keep the words they agreed to.

The Tips card below says whether Tips are on or Tips are off. Tips follow the one switch in Settings → Company: see Tips.

Which jobs are charged

Autopay charges three kinds of job:

• Recurring jobs priced Per visit and invoiced After each visit: each visit once it’s completed.
• Monthly plans: recurring jobs at a Fixed price, invoiced Monthly. Each month is charged on its invoice day. It’s charged without asking you only when the terms the client agreed to mention a monthly plan, as the starter terms do; otherwise it waits for your OK.
• One-off jobs billed When the job is done: once the work is marked complete.

Jobs billed any other way, like As needed or Progress billing, can’t use it. See Create a job or recurring service.

Each job’s Details card has Autopay, with a Charge their saved card switch. Recurring jobs follow the Turn on autopay for new recurring jobs of clients on autopay setting. One-off jobs start with it off: turn it on for each job you want charged. Under the switch, the job says what’s holding it up, like “Charges start once Jane Smith agrees to autopay.” or “Autopay is paused for Jane Smith.”

Invite a client

Clients set up autopay themselves, from a link. To send one:

• One client: on their page, choose ⋯ → Send autopay invite by email or Send autopay invite by text. The Autopay card on their page has the same, under Send autopay invite.
• Many clients: on Clients, choose ⋯ → Send autopay invites. Under Who, pick All active clients not on autopay, or the active clients with one tag, and under Send by, Email or Text. Choose Send 12 invites (with your count), then Send invites. Clients already on autopay, anyone invited in the last 7 days and clients without an email address (or phone number) are skipped, and Crewtavo says how many went.
• With a quote: a quote for work priced per visit lets the client choose Approve and set up autopay. See When the client says yes.
• By automation: the action Invite to autopay sends the same link. See Automate reminders and follow-ups.

The email, “Set up autopay with Acme Lawn”, thanks the client, explains that you keep a card on file and charge it after each visit, and has a Save your card button. The text says the same in a line. Sending by email needs email connected, and by text needs texting set up.

Clients who texted STOP

Autopay never texts a client who texted STOP: not the invite, the copy of their agreement or a failed-charge notice. Send autopay invite by text is greyed out for them, and an invite sent to many skips them (“Jane Smith texted STOP, so texts to them are off.”).

You can send up to 200 invites an hour.

What the client does

The link opens Pay automatically in their Client Hub, in three steps: How it works, Add a card and Agree.

1. How it works says when they’re charged, the price of a visit when they have one recurring job (“Each visit is $45.00.”), their next visit, that each charge is on its own invoice, and that they can turn it off anytime. Your terms are under it. They choose Continue.
2. Add a card or bank account opens Stripe’s secure page. It offers whatever you’ve turned on in your Stripe dashboard that can be saved for later: cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, Link and US bank accounts. Their bank may ask them to confirm the card. A card whose security code or ZIP code the bank couldn’t confirm is turned down (“Your bank couldn’t confirm the card’s security code or ZIP code.”), and they choose Try another card.
3. Agree and finish shows the card (“Visa ending 4242”) and your terms. They tick I agree to these terms and choose Finish.

They see “Autopay is set up” (“Visa ending 4242 is set up. We’ll charge it after each visit.”). A bank account says “Almost done” instead: Stripe checks it first, which takes a few days, and charges start once it’s checked.

Crewtavo keeps the agreement word for word, with when they agreed, and emails the client a copy (“Autopay is set up with Acme Lawn”), with what they agreed to and a link to turn it off. A client without an email address gets it by text.

On the client’s page, the Autopay card now says Active, with the card, “Agreed Oct 31, 2026 on their client page” and “Charged from Crewtavo since Oct 31, 2026”. The automation trigger Autopay is set up runs.

Require a card on file

For a business that won’t do the work without a card on file, turn on Require a card on file in Settings → Payments and save. Then:

• Quotes ask for a card. A quote for a client not on autopay says “A card on file is required for service. After you sign, you’ll add yours on Stripe’s secure page.” Its one button is Approve and add your card. The signature is saved first, so the quote is approved even if the client stops on Stripe’s page. Price ranges and change orders don’t ask.
• The client’s page says so. Until they’ve agreed, their account page has “Finish setting up: add your card” under Waiting on you, with Add your card.
• You see who hasn’t. Clients gets a Card not set up tab: active clients with no card they agreed to that can be charged (a removed card, or one saved but not agreed to, counts). Their jobs show Card not set up under the title.

Nobody is stopped from doing the work, and crews still never see cards.

When the work is done

1. A crew completes a visit, or someone marks a one-off job’s work complete. The charge is queued for when When to charge says. Until then the job says “Charged automatically tonight.” (or the day it goes), and it isn’t on the list of jobs ready to invoice.
2. When it’s due, Crewtavo makes the invoice, the same one Create invoice would, with every finished visit on the job not billed yet. It’s marked sent without emailing it, and Stripe charges the saved card.
3. When it’s paid, the invoice is Paid (“Paid automatically with Visa ending 4242 on Nov 3, 2026.”), and the client gets an email, “Receipt for invoice #2051”, with what was charged to which card, a Manage autopay button to change their card or turn autopay off, and “Add a tip for the crew?” when you take tips.

A visit reopened before the charge goes isn’t charged. A visit completed on a phone with no signal is charged once it syncs. Marking a one-off job’s work complete asks first: “Jane Smith’s Visa ending 4242 is charged automatically at the end of the day.” Choose Mark complete.

If you invoice the visits yourself before the charge goes, autopay leaves them alone: send that invoice the usual way, or use Charge card. An amount under Stripe’s 50¢ minimum isn’t charged, and you’re told to send it the usual way.

When a charge waits for your OK

The invoice is made, but waits as a draft, when:

• It’s more than Most to charge without asking: “$650.00 is over your $500 limit, so it waits for your OK.”
• An AI assistant marked the work done. A visit an assistant completed, or one-off work it marked complete, always waits, whatever the amount: “An AI assistant marked the work done, so it waits for your OK.” The assistant can’t approve it. Work a person marks done is charged as usual. See Connect Claude and ChatGPT.
• It includes visits autopay didn’t queue itself: “It includes visits from before autopay started” or “It includes visits autopay didn’t queue (finished while it was off, or from a voided invoice)”.

You get a notification (“Approve a $650.00 charge for Jane Smith”), Invoices says “1 charge needs your OK.” with Review, and Home lists it under Needs attention. On the invoice:

• Approve charge charges it in the next few minutes.
• Send it the usual way leaves the draft for you to send, with the Pay link.

When a charge fails

What happened	What happens
The card is declined	The invoice is owed as usual. The client gets an email, “We couldn’t charge your card for invoice #2051”, with the link to pay it and a link to update their card, and the day it’s tried again. Crewtavo tries once more 3 days later.
It’s declined again	Autopay pauses for that client until they update their card. The client is told, and their Autopay card says Needs a new card.
A bank payment bounces	It isn’t tried again. Autopay pauses until they update how they pay.
The bank wants the client to confirm (3D Secure)	The client gets “Please confirm your payment for invoice #2051”, which opens the invoice to confirm it.
A bank payment is on its way	The invoice says “A bank payment of $45.00 from Chase ending 6789 is on its way through Stripe”. It usually clears in a few business days. Record payment waits until it clears or bounces.
The card was removed in Stripe	Autopay pauses for that client, and you’re told (“Jane Smith’s card was removed”).
The bank sent new card details	The new expiry or last four is saved by itself.

A notice goes by email, or by text to a client with no email address. When the client adds or updates their card, a charge that was waiting on them is tried on the new card straight away.

You hear about a failure in several places: a notification to owners, admins and office staff with Invoices and payments (“Autopay failed: Jane Smith”), the top of Invoices (“2 autopay charges failed: …”), Needs attention on Home, and the invoice itself (“Autopay failed: … Jane Smith was sent the Pay link and a way to update their card.”), with Send a reminder. The automation trigger An autopay charge fails runs too.

Charge a saved card now

For a client who saved a card and agreed, you can charge any unpaid invoice to it, not only the ones autopay makes:

• One invoice: choose Charge card on the invoice. Crewtavo asks “Charge $450.00 to Visa ending 4242?”. Choose Charge $450.00. It works on a draft too, which is marked sent without an email.
• Several: on Invoices, choose ⋯ → Charge cards. Charge saved cards lists the unpaid invoices whose client has a card they agreed to. Tick them (or Select all) and choose Charge 3 invoices · $…. One with a charge already under way says what it’s doing, like “Waiting for your OK” or “Bank payment on its way”, and can’t be ticked.

These go past Most to charge without asking, since you pressed it. If what’s owed changed before the charge goes, nothing is charged: “The amount changed. Check it and try again”. A declined Charge card isn’t tried again by itself: the client is sent the Pay link and a way to update their card at once, and it doesn’t pause their autopay. Charge card isn’t offered while a bank payment is on its way, or for an invoice made in Stripe.

Tips

Tips follow Let clients add a tip when they pay online in Settings → Company. With it on, the receipt after each automatic charge asks “Add a tip for the crew?” with a link to the invoice. There the client picks 10%, 15%, 20% or Other and chooses Add a $6.75 tip to your Visa ending 4242. The tip is charged to the card that paid, as its own small charge: at least 50¢, up to the invoice’s total, and one per invoice. It’s recorded with the invoice’s payments, and a note says “Tip added”.

A tip on the saved card only works from the client’s own link, like the one in their receipt, and only on a card (not a bank account). With tips off, there’s no tip choice anywhere and no tip is charged. See The client’s own links.

Referral credits while a charge runs

A referral credit doesn’t go on or come off an invoice while autopay is charging it, because Stripe charges the amount the invoice had when the charge started. The credit goes on another invoice instead, or waits.

Pause, stop or change a card

On the client’s page, the Autopay card has:

• Pause: nothing is charged until you choose Turn back on. Invoices go out with the Pay link meanwhile. The client’s page says “Autopay is paused. Contact us to turn it back on.”
• Remove card: Crewtavo asks “Remove Visa ending 4242?”. If it’s the card they agreed to, autopay turns off, and they add a card again from their client page to turn it back on. The card is removed from Stripe too, unless it was brought in from Stripe.
• Recent charges: the last few, with where each stands (Paid, Needs your OK, Failed, “Charges tonight”…). Click one to open its invoice.

The client can choose Change card or Turn off autopay on their own page anytime. When they turn it off, you’re told: “Jane Smith turned off autopay. Their invoices go out with the Pay link again.” To start again, they save a card again on Stripe’s page.

To stop charging one job, turn off Charge their saved card on it. To stop for everyone, turn off Charge clients’ saved cards when the work is done in Settings → Payments. Clients who agreed then see “Charges are on hold for now. Until they start again, invoices come to you to pay.”, and can still turn it off.

Whatever was waiting to be charged is called off when autopay stops. If that leaves an invoice unsent or unpaid, you’re told (“Send invoice #2051 to Jane Smith the usual way”).

Cards already saved in Stripe

If you’ve been charging clients by hand in Stripe, Bring in your Stripe history on Apps → Stripe brings in the card each client saved there too. Settings → Payments then lists them: “14 clients have a card saved in Stripe.” They aren’t charged from Crewtavo until they agree. Two ways to move them over:

• Send Confirm autopay links: by email, or by text for clients without an email address. The email, “Confirm autopay with Acme Lawn”, says “We have your Visa ending 4242 on file. Tap below to confirm we can charge it after each visit”, with a Confirm autopay button. They see the card and your terms, and agree with one tap. Anyone sent one in the last 7 days is skipped.
• These clients agreed to be charged automatically (owners only): for clients who already agreed with you some other way. Tick them and choose it. It’s kept as their agreement, in your name, with today’s terms (“Recorded by Pat on …”).

Stop charging each client by hand in Stripe from the day they move over. Their page says when: “Charged from Crewtavo since Nov 3, 2026”.

If you switch Stripe accounts

Saved cards belong to one Stripe account, and to test or live mode. When you connect another account, or your live key after a test one, Crewtavo stops using the cards saved in the old one (they stay in that Stripe account), autopay stops for those clients, and you’re told which need to set it up again (“Autopay needs setting up again for 3 clients”). Send them a new invite.

If something’s off

The autopay switch is greyed out. It says why: “Connect your own Stripe account on the Apps page to use autopay.” or “Update your Stripe key on the Apps page to turn on autopay.”

“Your Stripe key can’t charge saved cards anymore, so invoices go out with the Pay link.” The key on Apps → Stripe was replaced with one that can’t save cards. Update it, or turn autopay off.

“Stripe isn’t sending Crewtavo every update it needs.” Connect the key again on Apps → Stripe.

A visit was completed but nothing was charged. Check the job’s Charge their saved card switch, and the client’s Autopay card: it may be paused, need a new card, or be waiting on a bank account check. Also check whether the charge is waiting for your OK on the invoice.

The client got two emails about one charge. Turn off Stripe’s own emails about failed payments and receipts in your Stripe dashboard.