When to use this workflow
Use this workflow when:
A customer calls in and wants to pay by credit card, debit card, or bank account (e-check).
You’ve been sent a customer’s payment details and need to process them on their behalf.
You want to take one payment and apply it to multiple invoices.
Step 1: Create a new payment
You can start a new payment from either of these places:
Option A: From the Accounting menu
Go to Accounting.
Click Payments.
Click New Payment.
Option B: From anywhere in BuildOps
From the global New button in the header, select New Payment.
Both options take you to the Create Payment page.
Step 2: Name the payment
On the Create Payment page:
In the Payment Name (or equivalent) field, use the format:
payably_[payment number]
Example:payably_234This naming convention matches payments that are automatically created when customers pay through PaymentsPlus links, keeping all payments consistent and reporting clean.
Step 3: Select the billing customer
In the Billing Customer field, search for and select the customer who is making the payment.
Step 4: Choose the correct payment type (PayPoint)
This step is critical.
In the Payment Type field, select PayPoint.
Selecting PayPoint is what enables you to generate a payment link in the next step.
If you choose a different payment type, you will not see the Generate Payment Link option later.
Step 5: Enter the payment amount
In the Amount field, enter the total amount the customer is paying.
This is the full amount you’ll process during the phone call.
At this point, you have two options:
Option A: Apply the payment to invoices now (before saving).
Option B: Save first, then apply the payment to invoices later.
Step 6 (Option A): Apply the payment to invoices before saving
If you already know which invoices this payment should cover:
On the Create Payment page (before clicking Save), click View Invoices.
You’ll see all open invoices for the selected customer.
In the amount fields next to each invoice, enter how much of the payment should be applied to that invoice. For example:
406.25to fully pay Invoice A177.85to fully pay Invoice BAny remaining amount can be applied to Invoice C or another invoice
You can:
Split one payment across multiple invoices.
Fully or partially pay specific invoices.
Once you’ve distributed the amount across the appropriate invoices, continue to Step 7.
Step 7: Save the payment
Click Save.
After saving, you’ll be taken to the Payment Details page.
Step 8: Generate the payment link and process the payment
On the Payment Details page:
Confirm that the Payment Type is PayPoint.
Click Generate Payment Link.
Click Payment Link (or the equivalent action).
This opens a secure payment page for this payment and amount, where you can:
Enter credit card or debit card details, or
Enter bank account / e-check details.
Use this page while you are on the phone with the customer (or while using the payment information they provided) to complete the payment.
Once submitted, the payment will be processed and:
The payment amount will be applied to the invoices you selected (if you applied them before saving), or
Held as an unapplied payment for you to allocate afterward.
Step 9 (Option B): Apply or adjust invoices after the payment is taken
If you did not apply the payment to invoices before saving:
After the payment has been processed, go back to the Payment Details page.
Click View Invoices.
Apply the payment amount to the appropriate invoices by entering how much should go to each.
Save your changes.
You can also adjust how the payment is allocated later if needed (for example, moving amounts between invoices), as long as the payment itself has already been processed.
FAQs
What happens if I forget to choose PayPoint as the payment type?
A: If you don’t select PayPoint, the Generate Payment Link button will not be available on the Payment Details page. In that case, you’ll need to edit or recreate the payment using PayPoint as the payment type.
Can I use one payment for multiple invoices?
Yes. You can take one lump-sum payment and distribute it across multiple invoices either before saving (via View Invoices on the Create Payment page) or after saving from the Payment Details page.
Can I change how a payment is applied after processing it?
Yes. As long as the payment has been processed, you can return to the Payment Details page, click View Invoices, and adjust how the amount is allocated across invoices.