To illustrate the flow, let’s say you closed a deal with Acme Tech for a $5k installation and $200/month maintenance:
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Proposal Accepted: They hit accept. Yay!
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Convert Lead to Customer: convert Acme to a customer if you haven’t already.
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Invoice the installation: Create an invoice for $5,000. Send it via our cRM email with a note “due upon receipt”. They click Pay Now, enter card, Stripe processes it. Our CRM marks invoice paid. You see Paid status, money is on the way to our bank (Stripe usually deposits in 2 days).
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Setup the subscription: Create a Subscription for $200/month via Stripe. Set first payment date (maybe today or the day installation is done). Acme enters their card once (if they paid the invoice by card, the info might already be tokenized in Stripe to reuse, otherwise they’ll enter for subscription). Now it’s active.
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Ongoing: Each month, Stripe charges $200, our CRM logs it and sends invoice receipt. The office manager at Acme gets the receipt email and all is well. If a charge fails in 6 months due to an expired card, our CRM marks that subscription as past due – you get alerted, you reach out for updated info.
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Square scenario alternative: If Acme insisted on paying that $500 via Square (say their AP department can only cut check or use their vendor system which happens to be Square, hypothetically), you’d receive payment (maybe as a check that you run through Square POS or they paid a Square invoice). Then you’d still mark the invoice as paid (method: Square/check). The $200/month likely we’d still try to get them on Stripe because it’s easier; if not, maybe they’ll insist on mailing a check monthly (old school). In that case, you’d not use subscription but set the invoice to recur monthly. Our CRM will create each invoice monthly in this case, and you’d mark each one paid when the check arrives. It’s more manual tracking for you.
Invoicing & Payment Tips:
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Always verify you have the correct billing contact and email for invoices. Sometimes the person who signs the deal isn’t the one who pays bills. Ask, “Who should I send the invoice to?” and get that info in our system (you can have multiple contacts for a customer).
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Be clear on payment terms during closing. If we expect online payment upon receipt, most will do it. If a client needs Net 30, that’s a negotiation point – clear with management if we allow that (for large companies it might be ok). Our CRM can accommodate any terms, but we prefer payments up front or 50/50 (50% deposit and 50% due on install date).
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Use Invoices and Subscriptions list to monitor. If an invoice is overdue, follow up politely. Our CRM might send a reminder, but a personal nudge from you can help (maybe they missed the email). Likewise, glance at subscription statuses maybe once a month – any failures or cancellations, make sure they’re addressed (sometimes a client might quietly cancel via Stripe email – rare, but if so, our system would show it ended; you’d want to reach out and see what’s up).
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For Square, always ensure the client indeed paid. If you sent a Square invoice, confirm receipt on Square’s dashboard before marking it paid here. We want no confusion or double-billing.
By understanding our payment flow, you can confidently discuss it with clients and ensure a smooth experience from “Yes” to $$$. Plus, when everything is recorded here, it keeps our books straight and you get recognized for the revenue you bring in.