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Payment Processing

Updated today

Complete guide to managing invoices, processing payments, handling refunds, and automating payment workflows in Petboost.

Invoice Lifecycle

Invoices progress through these stages:

Draft → Finalized → Payment Attempted → Paid

Alternative outcomes:

  • Payment Declined → Retry → Paid

  • Refund Granted (full or partial)

  • Invoice Amount Void (cancelled before payment)

Invoice Components

Service Items

Each pet has separate service items:

  • Service name and description

  • Quantity (usually 1, but can be more)

  • Unit price

  • Discount (percentage or fixed amount)

  • Line total

Editing service items:

  • Quantity buttons (- and +) - Adjust count

  • Price field - Click to edit amount

  • Discount field - Enter percentage (e.g., 10%) or amount

  • Change service - Swap for different service

  • Remove - Delete item from invoice

Additional Items

Add non-service items:

  • Products sold (food, toys, accessories)

  • Add-on services

  • Fees or surcharges

  • Tips for team members

How to add:

  1. Open appointment invoice section

  2. Click "Add Item" button for specific pet

  3. Choose:

    • Service (from your service list)

    • Product (from inventory)

    • Custom item (enter name and price)

  4. Item adds to invoice automatically

Pricing Breakdown

Subtotal (excl. GST): Sum of all items before tax

GST (10% included): Tax amount embedded in pricing

Total (incl. GST): Final amount customer pays

Multi-pet discount: Applied automatically if configured

Payment Methods

Petboost offers secure, seamless payments powered by Stripe. The three core payment methods provide automated, hands-off payment collection:

  1. Card on File – Customers save their card once, get auto-charged after each service

  2. SMS Payment Link – Send a secure Stripe payment link, customer pays on their device

  3. In-Person Card Machine – Stripe Terminal for tap/chip/swipe at checkout

Additional options include pre-authorisation for no-show protection, plus cash and bank transfer for customers who prefer manual payment methods.

All payments include branded invoices with your logo, colours, and ABN. Integrate Stripe directly with Xero Bank Feeds for seamless accounting.

Payment Method Details

1. Card on File (Saved Payment Method)

Most common and recommended method

Requirements:

  • Customer has added payment method

  • Card valid and not expired

  • Sufficient funds available

Process:

  1. Select "Card on File" radio button

  2. Displays last 4 digits and expiry

  3. Click "$X • Charge Card on File" button

  4. Payment processes instantly

  5. Receipt sent automatically

Benefits:

  • Fastest payment method

  • No manual data entry

  • Automatic retry on soft declines

  • Works with Pro Automations

2. Cash

In-person payment in physical currency

Process:

  1. Select "Cash" radio button

  2. Click "$X • Record Cash Payment"

  3. System marks as paid

  4. Optional: Print receipt

Best for:

  • Walk-in customers

  • Customers without payment method on file

  • Locations with cash-only preference

Important: Cash payments cannot be refunded automatically (must handle manually)

3. Bank Transfer

Customer pays via direct bank transfer

Process:

  1. Select "Bank Transfer" radio button

  2. Click "$X • Send Invoice & Bank Details"

  3. Customer receives email with:

    • Invoice PDF

    • Your bank account details

    • Payment reference number

  4. Manually mark as paid when transfer received

Best for:

  • Large invoices (corporate clients)

  • Customers preferring bank transfers

  • International payments

Important: Requires manual verification and reconciliation

4. Card Reader (In-Person)

Physical card reader for in-person payments

Requirements:

  • Paired card reader device

  • Bluetooth connection active

Process:

  1. Select "Card Reader" radio button

  2. Click "$X • Present Card to Reader"

  3. Customer taps/inserts/swipes card

  4. Reader processes payment

  5. Receipt prints/emails automatically

Benefits:

  • Works offline (syncs when online)

  • Supports all card types

  • Contactless payment (tap)

  • Integrated with Petboost

5. External Payment (Manual Override)

Mark invoice as paid manually

When to use:

  • Customer paid outside Petboost (PayPal, Venmo, etc.)

  • Check payment received

  • Payment plan arrangement

  • Complimentary service (no charge)

Process:

  1. Open invoice "Manage" dropdown

  2. Select "Mark as Paid Externally"

  3. Enter payment details:

    • Method used

    • Transaction reference

    • Notes

  4. System marks as paid

Important: No automatic refund available - handle manually if needed

6. Payment Link (SMS)

Send secure payment link via SMS to customer

Requirements:

  • Customer has valid phone number on file

  • Payment Link feature enabled

Process:

  1. Select "Payment Link" radio button

  2. Click "$X • Send Payment Link via SMS"

  3. Customer receives SMS with:

    • Business name

    • Item description and quantity

    • Secure Stripe payment link URL

    • Amount due

  4. Customer clicks link and completes payment

  5. System automatically marks as paid when payment received

  6. Receipt sent automatically

What the customer receives:

Hi [Customer Name], [Business Name] has sent you a secure payment link for [Item Description] x[Quantity]:https://buy.stripe.com/[link-id]Amount: $X.XX(no-reply)

Benefits:

  • No card on file required

  • Customer pays on their own device

  • Secure Stripe-hosted payment page

  • Works for any customer with phone number

  • Automatic payment confirmation

  • Professional SMS delivery

Fees:

  • SMS Payment Fee: $0.30 per SMS (in addition to standard fees)

  • Petboost Platform Fee: 1.4% (if customer pays fees)

  • Stripe Processing Fee: 1.7% + $0.30 (if customer pays fees)

Best for:

  • Customers without card on file

  • One-off purchases (packages, products, services)

  • Remote payment collection

  • Customers who prefer SMS over email

  • Quick payment requests

Important: SMS payment fee of $0.30 is added to cover SMS delivery costs. This is in addition to Petboost's platform fee and Stripe's processing fees.

7. Pre-Authorized Payment

Capture pre-authorized hold

How pre-authorization works:

  1. When appointment confirmed, system places hold on card

  2. Hold reserves funds without charging

  3. When service complete, hold captured (charged)

  4. If cancelled, hold released automatically

Benefits:

  • Reduces no-shows (customer has "skin in the game")

  • Guarantees payment availability

  • Faster checkout (already authorized)

Process:

  1. System places hold automatically (if automation enabled)

  2. Complete service

  3. Finalize invoice

  4. Click "Capture Pre-Authorized Payment"

  5. Hold converts to actual charge

Invoice Actions (Manage Dropdown)

Access all invoice actions via the "Manage" dropdown button:

Invoice Actions

Available Actions:

1. Retry Charging Card

  • Reattempt payment after decline

  • Uses same card on file

  • Useful for temporary issues (insufficient funds, daily limit)

2. Take In-Person Payment

  • Switch to cash or card reader

  • Opens in-person payment dialog

  • Best when card on file fails repeatedly

3. Cancel Reader Action

  • Abort pending card reader transaction

  • Use if reader frozen or customer changes mind

  • Releases card reader for next transaction

4. Issue Refund

  • Full or partial refund

  • Processes to original payment method

  • Includes refund reason selection

  • Sends email confirmation to customer

5. Retry Card Pre-auth

  • Reattempt pre-authorization hold

  • Use if initial pre-auth failed

  • Ensures payment method valid before service

6. Finalize Invoice

  • Lock invoice for payment

  • Prevents further edits

  • Required before charging payment

  • Triggers "Ready to Pay" status

7. Preview Receipt

  • View receipt before sending

  • Check all details correct

  • Download PDF for printing

  • Send to customer email

Editing Invoices

When to Edit

Before finalization:

  • Add or remove services

  • Adjust pricing

  • Apply discounts

  • Add custom items

After finalization:

  • Requires un-finalizing first

  • Make edits

  • Re-finalize

  • Charge payment

How to Edit

Enable edit mode:

  1. Toggle "Edit" switch in invoice section

  2. All fields become editable

  3. Make changes

  4. Toggle "Edit" off to save

Editable fields:

  • Service price

  • Discount amount

  • Quantity

  • Add/remove items

Protected fields:

  • Service name (use "Change" button instead)

  • Tax calculation (automatic)

  • Payment method on file

Invoice Message

Add personalized message to invoice:

  • Visible to customer on invoice PDF

  • Visible in email and portal

  • Use for:

    • Thank you notes

    • Special instructions

    • Next appointment reminders

    • Promotional offers

How to add:

  1. Scroll to "Invoice Message" field

  2. Type message

  3. Automatically saved

  4. Appears on all invoice communications

Refund Processing

Full Refund

Return entire payment amount

Process:

  1. Open invoice "Manage" dropdown

  2. Click "Issue Refund"

  3. Select "Full Refund"

  4. Choose refund reason:

    • Service not satisfactory

    • Appointment cancelled

    • Billing error

    • Duplicate charge

    • Other (specify)

  5. Add notes (optional, staff-only)

  6. Confirm refund

  7. Customer receives email notification

Timeline:

  • Instant approval in Petboost

  • 3-5 business days to customer account

  • Receipt updated with refund details

Partial Refund

Return portion of payment

Common scenarios:

  • Service partially completed

  • One pet of multiple cancelled

  • Adjustment for service issue

  • Return minus cancellation fee

Process:

  1. Open invoice "Manage" dropdown

  2. Click "Issue Refund"

  3. Select "Partial Refund"

  4. Enter refund amount (e.g., $50.00 or percentage 50%)

  5. Select reason

  6. Add notes explaining partial amount

  7. Confirm refund

Important: Remaining balance stays on invoice as paid

Refund Statuses

Appointment status after refund:

  • Refund Granted - Full refund issued

  • Partially Refunded - Partial refund issued

  • Invoice Amount Void - Cancelled before payment, no refund needed

View refund history:

  • Activity Log shows all refunds

  • Invoice section shows refund amount

  • Receipt updated with refund details

Discount Management

Applying Discounts

Two types of discounts:

1. Percentage discount (e.g., 10%, 25%)

  • Enter in discount field: 10%

  • Automatically calculates amount

  • Updates when price changes

2. Fixed amount discount (e.g., $10, $25)

  • Enter in discount field: $10

  • Fixed regardless of price

  • Can exceed item price (goes to $0)

Discount precedence:

  • Multi-pet discount applied first (automatic)

  • Service-level discount applied second

  • Custom line-item discount applied last

Common Discount Scenarios

First-time customer:

  • Apply 10-20% discount

  • Add note: "Welcome! First visit discount"

Service issue or complaint:

  • Partial refund OR discount on next visit

  • Document reason in notes

Loyalty or package:

  • Discount code or percentage

  • Reference package ID in notes

Staff/family/friends:

  • Complimentary (100% discount)

  • Mark as "Staff/Family" in notes

Automated Payment Workflows

Lifecycle Automation for Payments

Automation capabilities available:

1. Instant Confirmation

  • Automatically confirms bookings

  • Skips manual review

2. Pre-Hold Funds

  • Automatically pre-authorizes payment when confirmed

  • Reduces no-shows

3. Auto-Start

  • Starts appointments automatically at scheduled time

  • No manual "Start" click needed

4. Auto-Complete

  • Marks appointments complete at end time

  • Triggers invoice finalization

5. Auto-Finalise

  • Automatically locks invoice when complete

  • Moves to "Ready to Pay" status

6. Auto-Pay

  • Automatically charges card on file after finalization

  • Fully automated end-to-end

  • Requires customer to have valid payment method

Enable per service:

  • Go to Services → Edit Service → Pro Automations tab

  • Check desired automations

  • Saves automatically

Recommended automation tiers:

Tier 1 (Conservative):

  • Instant Confirmation

  • Pre-Hold Funds

Tier 2 (Moderate):

  • Tier 1 + Auto-Start + Auto-Complete

Tier 3 (Fully Automated):

  • All 6 automations (for trusted customers/simple services)

Payment Reports & Reconciliation

Daily Payment Summary

View at end of day:

  1. Filter calendar by "Paid" status

  2. Shows all successful payments

  3. Export to CSV for accounting

Includes:

  • Payment method breakdown

  • Total revenue

  • Refunds issued

  • Net revenue

Failed Payment Tracking

Monitor declined payments:

  1. Filter calendar by "Payment Declined" status

  2. View all failed attempts

  3. Take action (retry, contact customer, cancel)

Common failure patterns:

  • Expired cards (monthly)

  • Insufficient funds (weekends/month-end)

  • Wrong CVV/ZIP (data entry)

Refund Report

Track all refunds issued:

  1. Filter by "Refund Granted" or "Partially Refunded"

  2. View refund amounts and reasons

  3. Identify patterns (service issues, cancellations)

Tips & Best Practices

Smooth payment processing:

  • Always finalize invoice before charging

  • Verify total before processing payment

  • Add invoice message for branding

  • Preview receipt before sending

Handling declined payments:

  • First, retry once immediately (may be temporary)

  • Wait 24 hours, retry again

  • After 2 failures, contact customer for new method

  • Don't retry more than 3 times (may lock card)

Refund best practices:

  • Issue refunds promptly (within 24 hours of decision)

  • Always include reason and notes

  • Communicate with customer (email or call)

  • Document in Activity Log

Minimize payment issues:

  • Update expired cards proactively (send reminders)

  • Enable Pre-Hold Funds to catch issues early

  • Verify payment method before high-value services

  • Keep accurate customer contact info

Common Issues & Solutions

"Card declined" error
→ Check with customer, retry once, request new method if persistent

"Pre-authorization failed"
→ Customer card has insufficient available credit, request alternative

"Refund still pending"
→ Normal processing time 3-5 days, customer should see "pending" on bank statement

"Customer disputes charge"
→ Provide invoice PDF, service notes, and receipt; work with payment processor

"Cannot edit finalized invoice"
→ Toggle "Edit" switch, make changes, finalize again

Related FAQs

Have questions about payments? See these commonly asked questions:

What's Next?

Related Articles
Using Packages in Appointments
Package FAQ
Payment Settings
Managing Appointments
Appointments FAQ
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