What is ACH?
ACH (Automated Clearing House) is a popular method of bank-to-bank payment in the US. ACH Payments are typically less expensive in fees when compared to credit card payments, making it a great alternative.
Instead of providing credit card information, your Clients will provide their bank details instead. Bank information can be used with our Stored Payment Information feature, in which your Client can authorize your business to make payments on their behalf.
CLICK HERE to learn about Stored Payment Information
IMPORTANT: ACH Payments are only available for transfers between banks located in the US. The ACH Payments feature can only be set up if your business is located in the US, and your currency must be set to USD for transactions.
How do I set up ACH Payments?
ACH Payments are currently available through Stripe. If you already have a Stripe Gateway configured you can use the same keys for Stripe ACH!
Stripe ACH is listed as its own Payment Gateway. so if you are already using Stripe as a Payment Gateway for credit cards, you will be unable to offer ACH payments until you set up this Gateway as well.
First, you'll need to ensure that your Stripe account is set up.
CLICK HERE to learn about Payment Gateways
Once these steps are complete, you can then link your Gateway to the platform. Navigate to Office > Gateways.
Click the Configure button for Stripe ACH.
You'll need to input the values for the Publishable Key and the Secret Key from your Stripe account. You can find these values under Developers > API keys in your Stripe Dashboard.
You can also use the same keys you are using for your standard Stripe Gateway!
Once your Payment Gateway is configured, you'll be able to select ACH Payments while creating an Invoice, and will also have the ability to store banking information for use with ACH payments. More information is in the sections below.
If you have a Plaid account, you can also take advantage of instant authentication by skipping the requirement to confirm micro-deposits. More information is in the section below.
How do I enable instant authentication via Plaid?
If you have a Plaid account, you can utilize the integration with Stripe to enable instant linking of your customers' bank accounts. This bypasses the need for your customers to manually enter their routing and account number - instead, they will log into their bank account website using their credentials. You can use microdeposits to verify your information. This verification is usually instantaneous.
You will need to connect your Stripe account to your Plaid account. To do this, click the Team Settings menu item at the top of the screen, then select Integrations.
You'll also need a paid account. Once your account is created, go to your dashboard and click the Migrate to Production button.
https://dashboard.plaid.com/overview/production
The setup process will take several days to approve. Once confirmed, you'll be able to connect your Plaid account with your platform account.
Be sure to select Auth when prompted "Which products do you plan to use?"
In your Plaid dashboard, click the Team Settings menu item at the top of the screen, then select Keys.
Copy the value for client_id and use that for the Client ID field in the Stripe ACH setup modal.
IMPORTANT: Until your account is fully configured and confirmed, you will only be able to see the Development and Sandbox keys. You cannot use these to connect your Plaid account to your platform account.
In the platform, Toggle Enable instant authentication via Plaid to ON.
You'll need to input the values for your Client ID and Secret Key from your Plaid account.
DON'T FORGET TO CUSTOMIZE!
You can customize aspects of the Plaid overlay such as background color and text within your Plaid account. Click the Customize menu item at the top of the screen, and your options will appear to the left.
How do I use the Stored Payment Information feature with ACH?
The Stored Payment Information feature allows your Contact to enter their banking information and have it securely stored by a third-party payment processor. You can either send a request for the information to enter themselves or as a Super Admin or Admin you can enter the information yourself.
Since ACH requires an initial setup to be connected to a bank, it is recommended that you first request payment information or manually add payment information from the Client before initiating a transaction.
CLICK HERE to learn about Stored Payment Information
Navigate to CRM > Contacts.
To request the Client provide the information, click the Options menu button (3 dots) beside the Client and select Request Payment Info.
Select Stripe ACH under Choose Gateway, and follow the prompts.
If the Client is providing the information, click the Options menu button beside the Client and select Add Payment Info.
Select Bank Account, and follow the prompts.
How do I accept ACH Payments from my Clients?
IMPORTANT: When using ACH, it is highly recommended to request payment information from the Client beforehand before initiating any transactions. The Client will be unable to pay any Invoices until the setup process is complete, which can take up to two business days.
CLICK HERE to learn about Requesting Payment Information
While creating an Invoice or related items (Invoice Generator, Recurring Generator, Accumulating Generator), you'll be able to choose Stripe ACH as your available Gateway.
CLICK HERE to learn about Invoices
Navigate to Office > Invoices, and click the +Add Invoice button.
In the Payment Settings section, you'll see the field Available Gateway(s).
If you already have Stripe ACH set as your Preferred Gateway, it will automatically be selected.
Otherwise, you can click this field and choose Stripe ACH from the dropdown menu. You can add multiple Gateways here as well.
What does the Client See?
When the Client chooses to pay the Invoice, they'll be given the option to pay with an existing bank account that is already stored on file, or add a new bank account.
If the Client chooses to add a new bank account (which will be mandatory if they do not currently have a stored bank account), a modal will appear in which they can fill out their bank details.
They will then be prompted to enter the two micro-deposits that will appear in their bank account. This can take up to two business days to appear.
Once entered and confirmed, the micro-deposit transactions will be reversed and they will be able to use the bank account as their payment method.