Do your clients need to make smaller payments over a period of time? Offering a flexible payment plan can be the key to closing the deal and making your services more accessible. MediaOS makes it easy to structure, communicate, and implement payment plans in your contracts—so you can boost client satisfaction while keeping your cash flow steady.
Adding a Payment Plan #
To create a Payment Plan, sales users should begin by preparing a proposal as they normally would. Once the proposal is ready, navigate to the Edit Contract page and select the Billing tab. On the right-hand side under the Billing section, click Add Payment Plan. Begin by entering the Start Date and the Number of Payments. Then, click Create to generate the payment plan within the proposal. To finalize the addition, be sure to select Done in the bottom right-hand corner.
If needed, you can customize the payment schedule further. Additional payments can be added by selecting Add, and you can manually adjust the payment amounts by editing the Amount field— the system will automatically recalculate the remaining balances. If you prefer to have all payments evenly distributed, simply use the Divide Evenly button.
Finally, don’t forget that you can enable Auto-Payments for added convenience and to help ensure timely payments from clients.
Setting up Auto-Payments for Payment Plans #
Payment plans can be configured for auto-payments, allowing charges to be automatically processed on the due date of each installment. To enable auto-payments, your account must be integrated with a supported payment processor, and the client’s preferred payment method must be saved on file.
Note: In order to enable automated payments you must be integrated with a payment processor and have the client's preferred payment method saved on file.
Once your payment plan has been created—following the steps outlined in the previous section—you can enable auto-pay by remaining on the same screen. Under the Invoice Auto-Pay section, select the appropriate Payment Account you wish to charge automatically. Next, locate the Payment Handling field and choose the Automatically Charge on Due Date option from the dropdown menu. This setting ensures that the system will automatically process a charge on the due date of each scheduled installment, for the correct amount, continuing through the full duration of the payment plan.
Payment Plan Invoices #
When a payment plan is in place, MediaOS automatically generates a separate invoice for each installment. These payment plan invoices reflect the specific due date and payment amount. For example, if you have a $3,000 line item and break it into three $1,000 payments over three months, MediaOS creates a separate invoice for each scheduled payment—each with a unique layout tied to the same contract.
Note: Payment plan invoices are not your official accounting invoices. They are presentation tools that help with client clarity. Payments made against a payment plan invoice are applied to the original, main invoice that sits behind the scenes.
Your administrator has access to both standard invoice templates and payment plan invoice templates, and can customize each one to suit your organization’s style or billing practices.
Editing Invoice Templates #
To edit a regular invoice or payment plan invoice template, start by clicking your profile avatar in the bottom-left corner of the screen and selecting System Settings. From there, go to Templates and click Edit next to either the Invoice Template or the Payment Plan Template, depending on what you’d like to customize.
This allows you to modify the layout, design, and language used in the documents your clients receive—ensuring consistency across all communications.
Accessing and Sending Payment Plan Invoices #
To access your payment plan invoices, click Accounting in the left-hand navigation menu. Then select the Payment Plans tab at the top of the screen. You’ll now see a list of all invoices tied to active payment plans.
From this view, use the Batch Action dropdown to download PDFs of the invoices. These files can then be attached to emails and sent directly to clients.
Tip: If you prefer to send the original invoice instead of the payment plan invoice, go to the Invoices Report. When a payment plan is present, the schedule will automatically display at the bottom of the standard invoice PDF.
