Payments by Filevine Overview

Filevine users can send a payment request link for a finalized invoice to a client through email from Filevine itself, or directly collect a payment from the Payments by Filevine application (Payments App), indicated in the top right corner of the Billing Advanced tool. 

Before you can begin using the Payments App, you must add an account.

Overview

The Payments App has three sections:

• Transactions: view a list of your transactions, separated into “Pending” and “Completed” tabs. You can also view any disputed charges in this section. 
• Accounts: view all bank accounts you’ve set up within the Payments App, and add new accounts.
• Clients: view all clients you’ve interacted with using the Payments App You can also add cards on file for clients from this page, which allows you to charge the card without making a payment request. 

Create a Payment Link

There are four ways to request a payment: 

Generic

A generic payment is created for a specific account, which the payment will be made to, but it does not require you to specify a customer or an amount. Because this type of payment does not require the payor or amount to be specified, and the link does not expire, this request type can be used to post on a website or in an email signature. 

To generate a generic payment request, select the Accounts section in the Payments App. Find the account you’d like to generate the request for, and click on the vertical ellipsis. Select Get Payment Link. 

In the flyout, you can view and copy the generated generic link for this account. 

Because generic payment links are not linked to a specific payor, the “payor” field in the transactions list will not list the payor as with the other request types. Instead, they may have a “suggested payor” option, where the Payments App suggests the likely payor, based on the contact information entered in the transaction and on Filevine contact information. Open the transaction’s flyout and click Accept to select the suggested payor.

Ad Hoc

An ad hoc payment request can be used to collect a payment from a client at any time, even without an invoice. This payment request is created from the Payments App, and must specify an account, a customer, and an amount.

To generate an ad hoc payment request, click + Request Payment in the top left corner of the Payments App. You will be asked to select:

• the bank account
• reference ID (from the invoice)
• amount
• Payor ID or email
• Payor name

When you have filled in all fields, click Send Payment Request to send a payment request link, which will be emailed to the listed payor.

Invoice-Specific

Invoice-specific links are created from within Filevine (rather than within the Payments App). They can be created once an invoice has been finalized and will be connected to that invoice. 

The account listed is the default account chosen for invoice links, the customer name used is the project’s main contact, and the amount shown is the full amount of the invoice. Payments made using invoice-specific links will be posted back into Filevine, appearing under either Payments & Transactions (for operating accounts) or Project Funds (for trust accounts).

Once an Invoice is in the “Final” status, you can begin the payment process by selecting either  Send by Email or Collect a Payment from the invoice dropdown. 

When you click Send by Email, the invoice is sent to the project contact’s email address with an attached PDF copy of the invoice and a link to the Payments portal, where the recipient can pay the invoice. The email may take a few minutes to send.

The Collect a Payment option will allow a Filevine user to navigate directly to the payment screen themselves, where they can enter client information on their behalf. 

Payments made via invoice-specific payment links are deposited in the account selected in Filevine. This account can be chosen at the Org level in the Billing Setup Advanced tool’s Payments tab, or overridden at the project level in the project billing section’s Settings tab. 

Project-Funds-Specific

Project-funds-specific links are created from within Filevine, in the Project Funds tab of the project’s Billing section. These links use the default account for project-funds-specific links, and the customer is the main project contact.

Payments made using these links will be posted back to Filevine, appearing in the Project Funds section. 

To generate a project-funds-specific payment link, navigate to the Project Funds tab in the project’s Billing section and click Request Payment. 

In the flyout, fill out the amount of the payment. Then, either click Email Request or Copy Payment. Emailing the request will send an email with the link to the main project contact. Copying the link will enable you to send the link in another manner, or to use the link yourself so that you can fill out the payment information on behalf of the client. 

Pay

On the payment submission screen, the user can enter payment information and make the payment. 

The account, amount, and payment ID will already be filled. (If you are using a general link for the account, you can fill in the desired amount.) The invoice can be repaid using:

• a card
• A bank account (ACH)
• pre-authorized debit
• Google Pay
• Apple Pay

The user’s information will be authenticated and saved.

When a Payment is Made

Once a payment is made:

• the transaction appears in the “Completed” tab of the Transactions section within the Payments App
• For invoice-specific links:
  • the associated invoice in Filevine will be updated to “Paid” status
  • the payment is reflected in the Filevine project’s Payments & Transactions (or Project Funds for trust accounts)

• for project-funds-specific links: 
  • the payment is reflected in the Projects Funds tab of the Filevine project (provided the default account is a trust account)