Payments overview

What you will accomplish

After reading this overview, you will know which Payments page to open for each job—bill a customer, send a quote, set up monthly storage, manage products, or pay an outside vendor.

You will also know the difference between money coming in (customer invoices) and money going out (vendor invoices), so your team does not mix up the two lists.

Use the Payments section when your team needs to collect money, prepare pricing, manage repeat charges, organize billable products, or track vendor work.

You will find Payments in the left sidebar of your dashboard. It includes Invoices, Quotes, Recurring, Products & Services, and Vendors.

This section is written for front desk staff, service managers, and owners who bill customers and pay outside vendors. You do not need to be a bookkeeper—follow the guide that matches the job you are doing right now.

Payments overview page showing revenue summary cards and shortcuts to Invoices, Quotes, Recurring, Products and Services, and Vendors — The Payments overview is your starting point. Use the cards below the summary to jump to the page you need.

Dashboard sidebar with Payments expanded, showing Invoices, Quotes, Recurring, Products and Services, and Vendors — You can also open any Payments page from the sidebar. On a phone, the same choices appear as tabs at the top of Payments.

The Payments area brings customer money and vendor money into one place. This helps your team answer simple questions quickly:

Who still owes us money?
Which quotes are waiting for a customer?
Which customers have monthly storage charges?
What services can we bill for?
Which vendor invoices need review?

Invoices page showing Customer and Vendor tabs with invoice rows, status badges, and amounts — Payments keeps customer invoices and vendor invoices organized so your team can find the right billing workflow quickly.

Invoices Customer tab showing multiple invoices with Paid, Open, Draft, and Void status badges for different customers — The Customer tab lists bills your facility sends. Status badges such as Open, Paid, and Draft tell you what to do next.

Before you use Payments

Your team should have payment processing set up in Settings > Billing. An owner or admin usually completes this once for the whole facility.
Create customer records in Contacts before sending invoices, quotes, or recurring charges.
Create products or services first if you want reusable pricing instead of typing custom line items each time. See Manage products and services.
Ask your facility owner or manager which teammates are allowed to create charges, issue credits, or approve vendor bills.

What you see before payment processing is enabled

If your facility is new to Car Storage Software, several Payments pages may look empty or show a blue banner that says Stripe payments are not enabled for your team. That is normal until an owner or admin finishes setup.

Open Settings > Billing
In the dashboard sidebar, click Settings, then Billing. You can also open Settings > Billing directly.
Why this matters: Online invoices, quotes, and recurring charges need a connected payment account before customers can pay from email links.
Finish Connect payment processing
Follow Connect payment processing with your facility owner. This is usually a one-time setup.
Expected result: Payments pages stop showing the setup warning, and buttons such as Create invoice and Add Product open full forms instead of blocking you.
Set up products before heavy billing
After payments are enabled, create your reusable pricing in Products & Services before your team sends many invoices or recurring plans. See Manage products and services.

Money in vs money out

Customer invoices (money in) — Bills your facility sends to customers. You create them, send them, and collect payment. Open Invoices, then click the Customer tab.

Vendor invoices (money out) — Bills outside providers send to your facility (detailers, transport, mechanics). You review the file, approve it, and record payment outside the app. Open Invoices, then click the Vendor tab.

Quick start by job

I need to…	Open this page	Step-by-step guide
Bill a customer today	Invoices → Customer	Create an invoice
Follow up after sending a bill	Open the invoice, then use Actions	Send and collect customer payments
Check what a status means	Open the invoice row on the Customer tab	Review a customer invoice
Send pricing for approval first	Quotes	Create a quote
Charge monthly storage automatically	Recurring	Manage recurring billing
Set up reusable line items	Products & Services	Manage products and services
Add a detailer or transport company	Contacts > Vendors	Manage vendors
Review a bill from an outside provider	Invoices → Vendor	Review and pay vendor invoices

Choose the right Payments page

Use Invoices when a customer needs to pay now
Open Invoices to create a bill for storage, service, amenities, or one-time work. Use this when you know the amount and are ready to send, save, resend, or collect payment on an invoice.
Use Quotes when a customer needs to approve pricing first
Open Quotes when the customer should review pricing before your team starts work or sends an invoice.
Use Recurring for repeat charges
Open Recurring for monthly storage, memberships, service plans, or any charge that should repeat on a schedule.
Use Products and Services for reusable pricing
Open Products & Services to create the items your team adds to invoices, quotes, checkout, and recurring plans.
Use Contacts > Vendors for outside service providers
Open Contacts > Vendors to track detailers, transport companies, mechanics, contractors, and vendor payment setup. Vendor bills themselves are reviewed on Invoices under the Vendor tab.
Use Vendor invoices when your facility needs to pay an outside provider
Open Invoices, then click Vendor if needed. Use this when a detailer, transporter, mechanic, contractor, or other provider sends your facility a bill.

Recommended learning path

If your team is setting up Payments for the first time, follow this order:

Manage products and services so your pricing is ready.
Create an invoice so your team can bill a customer.
Review a customer invoice so your team understands statuses before collecting payment.
Send and collect customer payments so your team knows how to follow up after the invoice exists.
Create a quote so your team can send pricing for approval.
Manage recurring billing so storage and memberships bill on time.
Manage vendors so outside providers can be tracked clearly.
Review and pay vendor invoices so vendor bills are handled consistently.

Common terms in plain English

Invoice means a bill you send to a customer.

Quote means pricing the customer can review before you invoice them.

Recurring means a charge that repeats, such as monthly storage.

Product or service means a reusable item your team can bill for, such as "Monthly Storage" or "Premium Detail."

Vendor means an outside person or company that helps your facility, such as a detailer, transporter, or repair shop.

Vendor invoice means a bill that an outside provider sends to your facility.

Helpful habits

Use clear names customers will understand, such as "Monthly Climate Controlled Storage" instead of "Storage fee."
Review totals before sending anything to a customer.
Keep customer records up to date so invoices and quotes go to the right email address.
Use recurring billing for repeat work so your team does not need to remember every charge manually.
Review vendor invoice files before approving or recording payment.

What success looks like

When Payments is working well for your facility:

Customers receive invoices and quotes by email with links that work on a phone or computer.
Your team can see at a glance who owes money and which quotes are still waiting for approval.
Monthly storage and memberships bill on time through recurring plans.
Vendor bills are reviewed and marked paid so nothing is paid twice by mistake.

What to do next

If you only need to bill one customer today, start with Create an invoice.

If the invoice already exists and you need to collect payment, use Send and collect customer payments.

If you are setting up Payments for your whole team, start with Manage products and services, then Connect payment processing.