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What you will accomplish

You will turn on Manual ACH, offer it on invoices, and know what to do when a customer’s bank transfer arrives. With Manual ACH, the customer does not save a card or log in to their bank. Each customer gets their own routing and account number. They send the money from their bank app. The invoice is marked paid when the money arrives, usually in 1–3 business days. Use this guide when a customer wants to pay by ACH or wire from their own bank, or when money arrived and did not land on the invoice you expected.
Manual ACH is not bank autopayBank account (autopay) pulls money from a bank account the customer saved. Manual ACH waits for the customer to push the money to you. Nothing is charged automatically.

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Before you start

  • Stripe payment processing must be connected. See Connect payment processing.
  • You need access to Settings > Billing.
  • Refunds and returning money are done in your Stripe dashboard. Make sure someone on your team can sign in to it.

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What it costs

Stripe charges 0.5% of each payment, capped at $5. Your platform fee applies the same way it does for other online payments. Manual ACH follows your bank fee settings. On Settings > Billing under Processing fees, the bank option is labeled Bank autopay & Manual ACH. If you pass bank fees to customers, the fee is added to the invoice as a processing fee line.
Wires work tooCustomers can send a domestic wire to the same account and routing number. Stripe charges $15 for a wire. Fee estimates assume ACH, so your facility covers the difference on a wire.

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Turn on Manual ACH

1

Open Settings > Billing

Open Settings > Billing and scroll to Manual ACH.
2

Choose On

Click the On card.Why this matters: Turning it on asks Stripe to enable bank transfers for your account. Stripe has to approve it before customers can use it.Expected result: If Stripe already approved it, you see “Customers can now pay by manual ACH.” If not, you see “Waiting on Stripe to enable manual ACH for your account.” Manual ACH shows up as a payment option once Stripe approves it.
To stop offering it, choose Off. Customers then pay by card autopay, bank autopay, or cash/check.

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Offer Manual ACH on an invoice or plan

After Manual ACH is on, it appears as a choice under Customer can pay with:
  • When you create and send an invoice. See Create an invoice.
  • When you set up or change a recurring plan that sends invoices. See Manage recurring billing.
  • When a customer picks how they want to pay, if you allowed Manual ACH.
Each option shows its estimated fee next to it.

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What the customer sees

The invoice email and the pay page show:
  • Amount to send
  • Routing number
  • Account number
  • Memo / reference, which is the invoice number
Each value has a Copy button so the customer can paste it into their bank app. The account and routing number belong to that customer and stay the same on every invoice. The memo says which invoice the money is for. After they send it, the customer can tap I’ve sent the payment. That lets your team know it is on the way. It does not mark the invoice paid.
Ask customers to use the memoMatching works best when the customer puts the invoice number in the memo or reference field at their bank.

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Check a Manual ACH invoice

Open the invoice from Payments > Invoices. While it is unpaid, a panel near the top says Waiting for a manual ACH payment. If the customer tapped I’ve sent the payment, it says Customer says the manual ACH is on its way with the date. The panel shows the same account details the customer sees. Use it to help a customer over the phone or by text:
  • Copy ACH details copies the amount, account details, memo, and pay link as text.
  • Copy pay link copies the link to the pay page.
  • Email to customer sends the invoice email again.
  • Open pay page opens what the customer sees.
Under Payments & transactions, the payment shows Waiting for Manual ACH until the money arrives.

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How deposits are matched to invoices

When a deposit arrives, it is applied to the customer’s open Manual ACH invoices in this order:
  1. The memo names an invoice. The full invoice number works. Just the number after the dash also works (for example 0155 for invoice ABCD1234-0155), as long as only one open invoice has that number.
  2. The amount matches. If no invoice is named, an invoice for exactly the amount waiting is paid.
  3. Oldest first. Otherwise, the oldest open invoices are paid first, as far as the money goes.
Only invoices offered with Manual ACH are paid this way. A deposit never pays a card, bank autopay, or cash/check invoice. An invoice is only paid in full. Stripe cannot put part of a deposit on an invoice.

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When the money does not match

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Partial payment

If the customer sends less than the invoice total, the invoice stays open. The money waits for that invoice. The customer’s pay page shows Received with how much has arrived, and Amount left to send. When the rest arrives, the invoice is paid automatically. If your team agrees to accept less, issue a credit note for the difference. See Void, credit, or correct an invoice. When the waiting money covers what is left, you can apply it.

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Overpayment

If the customer sends more than the invoice total, the invoice is paid and the extra waits on the customer’s account. The extra is used automatically on their next Manual ACH invoice that it fully covers. If it does not cover the next invoice, it waits until the customer sends the rest. To send the extra back instead, see Refunds and returning money.

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Wrong or missing memo

A missing or unclear memo is not a problem when the amount matches an open invoice, or when there is only one open invoice. Otherwise the oldest invoice is paid first. If the memo names the wrong invoice, the money goes to that invoice when it covers it. If the money is still waiting, you can put it on the right invoice yourself. See Apply money to a specific invoice. If it already paid the wrong invoice, see Troubleshooting.

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Money that is waiting

Money that arrived but is not on an invoice yet shows in two places:
  • The contact page. A card says Manual ACH received, not applied yet with the amount. It lists the customer’s open Manual ACH invoices.
  • Email. Staff get a Bank transfer waiting email when a deposit cannot be applied on its own. It shows the amount received, the amount waiting, the memo, and which invoice it is waiting for. Click Open contact to go to the customer.
Stripe returns unapplied money after 75 daysIf money sits on the customer’s account for 75 days without being applied, Stripe sends it back to the customer. Apply it or sort it out with the customer before then.
To stop these emails for yourself, open Settings > Your profile. Under Notifications, choose Custom, and turn off Bank Transfer Waiting to Be Applied under Assignments & facility. Facility defaults are on Settings > Communications. See Manage your profile and alerts.

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Apply money to a specific invoice

Use this when the money was meant for a different invoice than the one it is waiting for.
1

Open the customer's contact page or the invoice

Open the customer in Contacts, or open the invoice from Payments > Invoices.
2

Click Apply to this invoice

On the contact page, find the invoice in the Manual ACH received, not applied yet card and click Apply to this invoice.On the invoice, the Manual ACH panel shows Apply to this invoice when enough money from this customer is waiting.Expected result: A “Payment applied” message appears. The invoice changes to Paid.
Apply to this invoice only appears when the waiting money covers the full amount due. If it does not, the card shows how much more is needed.
If you do not see the card or the panelThe contact page card only appears when money is waiting. If the customer has no open Manual ACH invoice, the card says so and there is nothing to apply it to. You cannot apply Manual ACH money to a card, bank autopay, or cash/check invoice.

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Refunds and returning money

Car Storage Software does not have a refund button for Manual ACH. Do refunds in your Stripe dashboard:
  • Refund a paid invoice: find the payment in Stripe and refund it there.
  • Send back money that is waiting: return it from the customer’s cash balance in Stripe.
Stripe charges a small fee for refunds. Tell your billing manager before you refund, so the invoice can be credited or voided if needed. See Void, credit, or correct an invoice.

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Common mistakes to avoid

  • Do not mark a Manual ACH invoice paid as cash or check when the money came by bank transfer. The deposit would still be waiting on the customer’s account.
  • Do not tell customers to send money for a card or cash/check invoice. Only Manual ACH invoices are paid from a deposit.
  • Do not wait 75 days to deal with waiting money.

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Troubleshooting

Manual ACH is not an option on the invoiceCheck Settings > Billing. If Manual ACH says it is waiting on Stripe, Stripe has not approved it yet.
The customer says they sent it, but the invoice is still openBank transfers usually take 1–3 business days. If the money arrived, the contact page shows it as waiting. Check the amount. A partial payment waits until the rest arrives.
The money paid the wrong invoiceMoney that was already applied cannot be moved to another invoice in Car Storage Software. Talk to your billing manager. They may issue a credit note or refund in Stripe.