Autopay helps move money without manual effort. Instead of chasing invoices, sending reminders, or waiting on customers to remember to pay, autopay turns payments into a routine. Once it is set up, customers' invoices get paid automatically on schedule. Cash comes in faster, and past due balances go down.
Autopay is available to anyone with a Finance Hub subscription.
How Autopay Works
Autopay begins with a schedule that defines when charges run. Distributors control every aspect of the setup, including frequency and customer assignment. They can create autopay schedules in PMC, such as daily, every Tuesday, or each month, based on what works best for the business. Customers then can opt in to one of the available schedules.
Once a customer is enrolled, autopay runs automatically on that schedule. Each time it runs, autopay finds all qualifying invoices and charges them using the saved payment method, with no manual action or follow up required.
Note: Each customer can only be on one autopay schedule at a time. If a customer is moved to a new frequency, the previous schedule is replaced.
Interactive Demo
To view a step-by-step version of the GIF below, please click here.
Steps to Set Up Automatic Payments:
Log into PMC (Pepper Management Centre).
Click on the Payments tab in the header.
In the left sidebar, click on Autopay Settings.
Click Create New.
Fill in the desired autopay settings:
Choose the frequency and day for customers to be charged.
Click Advanced Settings to set a Maximum Payment Amount and opt in to email reminders for autopay.
Maximum Payment Amount: Payments will be received up to the specified maximum, with invoices processed in order of size.
Add the desired customer(s) to this autopay setting.
Click Save.
Congratulations! Your new autopay setting is complete 🎉
Note: Customers cannot remove themselves from autopay. Any removal must be handled by a distributor user in PMC.
How Charge Amounts Are Calculated
Autopay collects the full balance of each qualifying invoice in order of due date, up to any maximum payment amount you have configured. Autopay always collects whole invoices. It will never split an invoice to reach a cap exactly. If a customer has credits on their account, those are applied automatically before the charge runs, which can reduce the total amount collected.
Example 1: Maximum payment amount
A customer has three invoices of $800, $900, and $1,000. You have set a maximum of $2,500. Autopay charges $1,700 — the first two invoices — and skips the third rather than partially paying it.
Example 2: Credits reducing the charge A customer has two invoices totalling $1,700 and a $200 credit on their account. Autopay applies the credit first, then charges $1,500 for the remaining balance.
Autopay Visibility
Within PMC, each autopay setting includes a preview of the next run. This preview shows the scheduled run date, which customers will be charged, the total amount expected, and the invoices and credit memos included. This visibility allows teams to understand exactly what will happen before autopay runs.
Preview customers scheduled for upcoming Autopay payments.
FAQs
What happens when autopay runs?
When autopay runs, it tries to charge the customer's saved payment method automatically. Autopay doesn't check their account balance in advance.
If a payment is successful, the associated invoices are marked as paid and the transaction is posted to the ERP like any other payment.
What happens if a payment fails?
If a payment fails due to a declined card or insufficient funds, a chargeback occurs. In these cases, autopay automatically removes the failed payment method to prevent repeated chargebacks in future runs.
How does autopay work with payment plans?
If an invoice is part of an active payment plan, autopay won't touch it. Only regular invoices get collected automatically.
How are credit memos handled in autopay?
Autopay applies credits automatically during each run. If credits cover everything the customer owes, autopay pauses until there's a positive balance again.
Does autopay support partial payments or payment limits?
No, autopay only collects full invoice amounts. If you've set a maximum payment amount, we'll include whole invoices up to that limit and skip anything that would need a partial payment.
Notifications & Receipts
How does autopay notify customers?
When autopay is enabled, customers automatically receive an email notification before their scheduled charge runs. This email includes the scheduled charge date and the total amount due. After a successful payment, customers receive a receipt via email. The receipt lists the invoices paid, the payment method used, and the payment date.
Distributor admins also receive email notifications for autopay events. These are sent to users who have the "wants payment email" preference enabled, which can be set per user in PMC.
I'm not receiving autopay receipts. What should I check?
Start by checking your spam or junk folder, as payment emails occasionally get filtered there. If the email isn't there, verify that the user's account has an email address saved and that the "wants payment email" preference is enabled in PMC. If notifications were intentionally disabled, a distributor admin can re-enable them.
Tip: Diagnose issues with account emails and notification preferences with the User Config tool
What does "processing auto payments" mean?
This status appears while autopay is actively running charges for a schedule. It typically resolves within a few minutes. If the message persists for more than 15 minutes, contact Pepper support.
Our Recommendation
Set up a daily autopay option and make it available in the app. Daily autopay catches invoices as soon as they're due, which means faster payments and fewer past-due accounts.
Why Use Autopay
Bottom line: Autopay saves time and brings in money faster. It handles the busywork, like marking invoices paid, applying credits and posting to an ERP system. For AR teams, it's one of the best tools for keeping cash flow steady and predictable.