Autopay saves time for both schools and parents, but it comes with compliance and notification requirements. This article covers best practices for authorization, terms of service, and communication. Schools can require Autopay for all accounts or disable it entirely on the Billing Setup page.
💡Quick Answers
- How do parents authorize Autopay? Through the ACH enrollment process, which builds in authorization to link the bank account for recurring payments. ACH payments take 5-7 days to process.
- Where do I set my school's Autopay terms of service? Settings > Portal > Parent Portal Templates > Autopay Terms and Conditions. Customize it to cover charge definitions, how to update or terminate Autopay, and liability waivers.
- What automated billing emails are tied to Autopay? Upcoming Payment (2 days before), Billing Day Changed (immediately on change), and Upcoming Statement (10 days before by default, configurable).
- Where do I customize those emails? Settings > Communication > Billing Emails.
- What if I change my school's default Autopay date? A confirmation pop-up reminds you to notify all accounts. You must provide appropriate notice to affected families before the date change takes effect.
- How do I find all families enrolled in Autopay? Use Filter Options on the Accounts List page to filter by Autopay-enabled accounts, then email them directly from that page.
Guidelines
Obtain authorization
- During the ACH enrollment process, there is authorization built to link the bank account to the school's account for recurring payments. Good to know: ACH Payments can take 5-7 days to process.
- There is a terms of service notice that's customizable when enrolling in Autopay, which is described in more detail below.
- We recommend that your contract provides relevant language to the ongoing processing of recurring payments.
Provide a terms of service
Finalsite Enrollment provides a customizable template, Autopay Terms and Conditions, which is located within Settings > Portal > Parent Portal Templates. The terms of service should include information on how a charge is defined, how to update or terminate Autopay information, liability waiver, among other service terms.
Provide notice of upcoming payments
Here's a breakdown of some of the automated Billing communications. These communications contain information related to the payer's autopay schedule and dates.
- Upcoming Payment: Two days before a payment is processed, the Upcoming Payment email is sent.
- Billing Day Changed: Sent immediately if you change a payer's Billing Day within the billing overview tab of their record.
- Upcoming Statement: Sent 10 days before a payer's billing date by default. This timing can be changed within the Billing Setup page. In addition, you have the option to set a 2nd or 3rd upcoming statement email to be sent.
Additional Notes
- You can view and edit the content of these and other billing emails under Settings > Communication > Billing Emails.
- You can use the Accounts List page to filter a list of families that are enrolled in autopay and you can email families directly from that page.
- You can read more about Autopay communications within the Billing: Managing Autopay article. You can also learn more about these and other billing emails within the Billing Communications article.
Provide notice on how to update Autopay banking or credit card information
- Your school should provide notice on how to update banking information or revoke authorization for ACH or credit card payments.
Provide notice if the billing date changes
- If you change the default Autopay date, you must provide appropriate notice to all accounts.
- The default date is listed on the Billing Setup page within your site. If you change the Default Billing Day, you will be prompted to send a communication within the following pop-up message:
Engage your legal team
Finalsite Enrollment cannot provide legal advice. Rules vary by state and country. If there are any questions you have regarding compliance, please engage your legal team.
Managing Autopay
You can learn more about managing Autopay within our article: Billing: Managing Autopay
Additional Resources
- Office Hours & Past Session Recordings
- How to require/disable Autopay
- Parent Billing Workflow - Learn how parents can turn Autopay on/off.
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