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Payment Processing

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

Petboost does not have a tip field. Do not add a tip as a line item: it would be included in the GST calculation and, when the customer pays processing fees, in the surcharge base.

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

That path is a charge only. It does not create a time slot or a Trips stop. If the item is a mobile pickup, taxi, or other timed service that should appear on the calendar or the run, open Edit and add it in the Services field instead. See Using the booking form.

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 takes secure payments through 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: A Stripe card reader for tap or chip payments 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 your 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. Petboost emails the customer a receipt if Email the customer: booking updates is on

Benefits:

  • Fastest payment method

  • No manual data entry

  • Retry a declined charge with Retry Charging Card in Manage

  • Works with Automatic Actions

2. Cash

In-person payment in physical currency

Process:

  1. Open the appointment invoice.

  2. Select Cash.

  3. Select $X • Paid by Cash.

  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)

Other EFTPOS

Record a payment you took on your own terminal, not a Petboost card reader.

  1. Open the appointment invoice.

  2. Select Other EFTPOS.

  3. Select $X • Mark as Paid.

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:

  • A Stripe card reader connected to your Petboost account

  • The reader connected to the internet over Wi-Fi

Process:

  1. Select "Card Reader" radio button

  2. Click "$X • Take in-person Payment"

  3. Customer taps or inserts their card

  4. Reader processes payment

  5. Petboost marks the appointment paid. For a receipt, select Download Receipt

Benefits:

  • Visa, Mastercard, American Express and eftpos cards, and mobile wallets

  • Contactless payment (tap)

  • Integrated with Petboost

For reader setup, see Card Reader Setup.

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. Secure Payment Link (SMS)

Send secure payment link via SMS to customer

Requirements:

  • Customer has valid phone number on file

  • Business Pro, Business Flex or Business Max plan

Process:

  1. Select Secure Payment Link

  2. Under Deliver Link By, select SMS, then select $X • Send by SMS

  3. Check the preview, then select Send Payment Link • $X

  4. Customer receives SMS with:

    • Business name

    • What the payment is for

    • Secure Stripe payment link URL

    • Amount due

  5. Customer clicks link and completes payment

  6. System automatically marks as paid when payment received

  7. Petboost emails the customer a receipt if Email the customer: booking updates is on

After the first text, the button reads Resend Payment Link by SMS and sends the same link again.

What the customer receives:

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

The text ends in (no-reply) when your business has no active dedicated number.

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, added to the Petboost booking fee when Petboost texts a new link. It is not added for Email or Copy Link, or when the same link is sent again

  • Petboost Platform Fee: {{BOOKING_FEE_RATE}} (Pro), {{FLEX_BOOKING_FEE}} (Flex) or {{BUSINESS_MAX_BOOKING_FEE_RATE}} (Max)

  • Stripe Processing Fee: {{CARD_FEE}}

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: The $0.30 SMS fee covers SMS delivery. Petboost adds it once per texted link, in addition to Petboost's platform fee and Stripe's processing fee.

7. Pre-Authorized Payment

Capture pre-authorized hold

How pre-authorization works:

  1. When Pre-hold funds is on, Petboost places a hold on the card 72 hours before the appointment

  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

8. Download Receipt (Regenerate)

  • For paid appointments, generates a fresh receipt PDF

  • Useful when a previously generated receipt link has expired (hosted URLs expire after 24 hours)

  • The system regenerates the invoice on the backend to produce a current download

9. Download Bank Transfer PDF

  • For bank transfer payments, generates a PDF invoice with your bank details

  • The system regenerates the PDF on demand so the download link is always current

10. Un-mark as Paid & Re-process

  • Available when the appointment is Paid by Cash, Bank Transfer, or Other EFTPOS

  • Opens Un-mark as Paid & Re-process so you can take payment another way

11. Consolidate Future Payments

  • Adds selected future session totals onto this invoice and sets those future bookings to $0.00

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

  • Places a hold on the card 72 hours before the appointment

  • 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

  • Finalises the invoice 30 minutes after the scheduled end time

  • 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 → Automatic Actions 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)

Advanced Invoice Actions

Void Invoice Amount

Cancel an invoice without processing a refund:

Voiding is appropriate when payment was never collected and you want to close the invoice without financial processing.

When to use void (not refund):

Scenario

Use Void?

Appointment cancelled before payment

✅ Yes

Billing error discovered before charging

✅ Yes

Complimentary service (no charge)

✅ Yes

Payment was collected then needs returning

❌ Use Refund

How to void:

  1. Open the appointment

  2. Navigate to invoice section

  3. Click Manage dropdown

  4. Select "Void Invoice Amount"

  5. Confirm the void

What happens:

  • Invoice marked as "Invoice Amount Void"

  • Appointment status changes to "Invoice Amount Void"

  • No financial transaction processed

  • Pre-authorization released if applicable

Collect or retry a cancellation fee

When an appointment is cancelled with a cancellation fee policy, the fee may fail to charge if the customer's card is declined, expired, or missing. You can still collect it without waiving and raising a new invoice.

How to identify failed cancellation fees:

  • Mission Control: Shows cancelled appointments with pending/failed fees in attention items

  • Appointment Details: Alert banner appears for cancelled appointments with fee issues

  • Invoice Section: Displays cancellation fee status with failure reason

How to collect (including no card on file):

  1. Open the cancelled appointment

  2. Use Collect fee

  3. Choose Card on file (retry), Payment link (SMS Stripe link), Cash, Bank transfer, or Other EFTPOS

  4. Status updates automatically

You do not need to contact the customer to add a card first.

Common failure reasons:

  • No card on file

  • Card declined or expired

  • Insufficient funds

  • Technical processing error

If retry fails again:

  • Contact customer to add/update payment method

  • Consider waiving the fee if customer is responsive

  • Document the situation in appointment notes

Cancel Card Reader Operation

Abort a pending terminal payment:

If a card reader transaction gets stuck or you need to cancel an in-progress tap/chip/swipe payment:

How to cancel:

  1. While the terminal payment dialog is open

  2. Click "Cancel Reader Action" button

  3. Terminal transaction is aborted

  4. Card reader returns to ready state

When to use:

  • Customer changed mind during payment

  • Technical issue with card reader

  • Wrong amount displayed

  • Need to switch payment methods

After cancelling:

  • Select a different payment method

  • Retry card reader if issue resolved

  • Process as cash/bank transfer if terminal issues persist

Un-mark as Paid & Re-process

If you marked a visit paid by Cash, Bank Transfer, or Other EFTPOS by mistake, you can send it back to Ready to Pay. This is not available for card, payment-link, or card-reader payments.

  1. Open the paid appointment.

  2. Open Manage on the invoice.

  3. Select Un-mark as Paid & Re-process.

  4. Tick the acknowledgement on Un-mark as Paid & Re-process.

  5. Select Confirm & Re-process.

The appointment status becomes Ready to Pay. You then choose a payment method and take payment again.

You can also open Manage on the appointment and select Un-mark as paid.

Void and delete a declined appointment

If the appointment had a payment decline, Petboost must void the invoice before it can delete the record. That extra step is Extra Step Required.

  1. Open the appointment you want to delete.

  2. When Extra Step Required appears, read the two steps: Void the invoice, then Delete the appointment.

  3. Select Yes, Void & Delete.

The invoice is set to $0, then the appointment is removed. This cannot be undone. Course appointments cannot be deleted this way. Use course enrolment cancel instead.

Consolidate Future Payments

You can prepay later visits by adding their line items to this appointment. Petboost then sets the selected future bookings to $0.00. This is not available for an indefinite recurring series.

  1. Open the appointment you want to charge now.

  2. Open Manage on the invoice.

  3. Select Consolidate Future Payments.

  4. Optional: Select Select All or Deselect All, or tick individual dates.

  5. Select Consolidate 1 Payment or Consolidate 2 Payments (the number matches how many you ticked).

Additional Sales

A sale on New Additional Sale is separate from the appointment invoice. It does not change the appointment payment status.

  1. Open the appointment.

  2. Scroll to the invoice.

  3. Select New Additional Sale.

  4. Complete New Sale.

  5. After you save, the sale appears under Additional Sales.

Mark for Removal

You can mark several invoice lines to remove in one save.

  1. Open the appointment invoice.

  2. Turn Edit on.

  3. Tick the lines to remove.

  4. Select Mark for Removal.

  5. Choose Send notification or Update silently, then save.

Each pet must keep at least one service. If a pet would have none left, set that service price to $0 instead, or remove the pet from the booking.

Redeem Credit

If the owner has a package with remaining uses, you can redeem one credit on a line item. The line price becomes $0.00.

  1. Open the appointment invoice.

  2. Select Add Item for that pet.

  3. Choose the package service from the list.

  4. On Redeem Package Credit, select Redeem Credit.

The line shows Redeem 1x Package Credit. On a recurring visit, the credit applies to this instance only and detaches the appointment from the series.

Take a deposit or send a card request

If a deposit is due and has not been taken, the appointment shows Deposit due - $X.

  1. Open the appointment.

  2. Find Deposit due - $X.

  3. If the owner has a card on file, select Take $X.

  4. If they have no card and a mobile number, select Send card request.

Send card request is hidden when the owner has no mobile number. After the deposit is taken, the banner shows Deposit paid - $X.

Choose how the deposit is taken

Staff can take a deposit by any method the business has set up. Open the method list on the deposit banner, or on the booking form when you create the appointment.

Method

What it does

The saved card

Charges the card on file. Selected first when they have one

Card Reader

Takes the deposit on the Stripe reader

Secure Payment Link

Sends a Stripe link labelled as the deposit

Request card

Texts them to add a card, then you take the deposit

Bank Transfer

Marks the deposit paid once the transfer arrives

Cash

Marks the deposit paid when you have the cash

Other EFTPOS

Marks the deposit paid after taking it on your own terminal

A pending booking is confirmed when the invoice comes to zero, or when you waive the hold.

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?

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