Stop chasing a payment link every cycle

A client saves a card once — future recurring invoices are charged automatically, no manual send and no manual payment. Clients without a saved card keep working exactly like today: WorkRate drafts the invoice, you review and send a payment link.

How a client saves a card

1
The client opens the Invoice section of their portal.
2
They see a Payment Method panel with a "Save a Card" button.
3
They check the authorization box confirming the card can be charged automatically for future invoices.
4
They're redirected to a secure, Stripe-hosted page to enter their card. WorkRate never sees or stores the card number — only Stripe does.
5
The card is saved and a confirmation email goes out to the client.

💡 Tip: Only the client can add their own card. This is intentional — the person authorizing automatic charges should always be the cardholder, not the agency on their behalf.

Turning on autopay for a recurring invoice

1
Open the client's Invoice section and expand Recurring Invoices.
2
Once the client has a card on file, an "Enable Autopay" button appears on their recurring schedule.
3
Click Enable Autopay. Future cycles will charge the saved card automatically instead of waiting on a manual send.
4
You can turn it off at any time — the schedule falls back to the normal draft-and-send flow.

⚠️ Requires Stripe Connect. Autopay needs your agency's Stripe account connected in Agency Settings, the same connection used for one-time invoice payments.

How charging works

On the scheduled billing date, WorkRate still generates the invoice exactly like a normal recurring invoice. If autopay is on, it then immediately attempts to charge the saved card.

1
The invoice is charged automatically at the scheduled time — no one needs to click Send.
2
On success, the invoice is marked paid instantly and the client receives an emailed receipt.
3
You're not emailed on every successful charge — a quiet success is the point. You'll see it reflected in Invoice History.

If a charge fails

Cards get declined — expired, insufficient funds, a bank flag. WorkRate handles this with one retry, not silence.

1
On the first failure, both the client and your team get an email immediately. The client's email includes a manual payment link as an immediate fallback.
2
Three days later, WorkRate automatically retries the same card once.
3
If the retry succeeds, the invoice is marked paid and the client gets a receipt — nothing further needed.
4
If the retry also fails, autopay turns itself off for that client's schedule. The invoice sits as a normal, manually-payable invoice from then on, and future cycles go back to the standard draft-and-send flow until autopay is manually re-enabled.

💡 Tip: A repeated decline usually means an expired or replaced card. Ask the client to save a new card from their Payment Method panel, then re-enable autopay on the schedule.

Removing a card

1
The client can remove their own card at any time from the Payment Method panel in their portal.
2
Removing a card automatically turns off autopay on any recurring schedule using it — no orphaned setting left behind.

Tips & best practices

Autopay is opt-in per schedule, not automatic. A client saving a card doesn't turn on autopay by itself — you still enable it per recurring invoice.
Great fit for stable retainers. If a client's monthly amount rarely changes, autopay removes a recurring manual step from both sides.
Less great for variable billing. If amounts swing month to month and need review before the client sees them, keep autopay off and use the standard draft-and-send flow.
Card data never touches WorkRate. Every card is entered on a Stripe-hosted page and stored by Stripe — WorkRate only keeps the brand, last 4 digits, and expiration for display.