Planned payments are payments that are scheduled for a future date such as recurring billing payments, installments, and physical post-dated checks. Excludes in-person payment methods.

Admins with permission will manage planned payments in the client account, in Upcoming payments.

In this article:

In Client account > Upcoming payments, you can toggle between:

The recurring billing section displays the next planned payment, for each item on recurring billing held by one or more people in the account. If multiple payments are scheduled on the same date and share the same payment method, they will be grouped into a single charge (rather than processed individually).

In the example below, Sonia, Sally, and Sadie have at least one item on recurring billing. Payment for all these items are planned for June 1, 2026.​

The installments section displays all installment payments created for any person in the account. Unlike recurring billing payments (which are on the item level), installments are payments that are on the invoice level.

Installments (either at checkout or as a custom installment payment) are created as a payment plan for the whole invoice, even if the invoice has multiple items.

Paper post-dated checks in SmartRec are physical checks you accept from a client, then record in the system so they show up as planned payments until you deposit them.

To record them, go to Client billing, and use the Operations to make a payment or account deposit, select Check as the payment method and set the effective payment date to a future date (this creates the record under Checks in Upcoming payments).

When the date arrives, admins must manually Deposit check via the Actions.

To view a group of payments, click on Recurring billing or Installments.

After clicking on Edit payment method, a new table appears:

You can edit the date or amount of an installment payment at any time or cancel it if necessary. Changes are limited to the payment(s) you select and won't affect other planned payments, other clients or your organization's installment plans.

Click here to learn how to edit subscription payments in the Memberships tab.

Select the installment payment(s) and click Edit planned date. A new table appears. The new date will apply to the payment(s) shown in the table.

Select the installment payment(s) and click Edit amount. A new table appears. The new amount will apply to the payment(s) shown in the table.

Before editing the amount of an installment, we recommend searching for the applicable invoice number to double-check which installments (and how much) are already planned.

You can enter any amount, whether the value is lower or higher than what is required to pay the invoice item eligible for installments.

Select the installment payment(s) and click Cancel payment(s). A new table appears. The payments in the table will be canceled.

👉 You can view canceled installments in the Upcoming payments subtab by filtering for Canceled installments.

After accepting a client's physical, post-dated check as payment, a new section for Checks appears in the Upcoming payments. Post-dated checks are not automatically recorded under client billing on the specified date. An admin must manually deposit the post-dated check when the date rolls around. Click under the Actions column to:

👉 Click here to learn how to mass deposit post-dated checks for multiple clients.

Administrators will require the 'Payment processing' permission which is in the Clients group of permissions.

In the Reports>Standard subtab (in the Payments section) you'll find:

Installment status: This report includes a summary (and the sum) by installment status (Accepted, Cancelled, Refused, etc), broken down by payment method.

eCheck payment status: This report pulls all eChecks that were processed during the defined period. It includes the client's name, the payment amount and the status of the eCheck, which allows you to track if any eChecks failed.

The Payment Action Center is also a useful tool to track, retry and/or dismiss failed payments. It can be found in the Accounting and finance tab.

No. Apply a different payment method to one subscription or installment payment at a time by selecting it and clicking Edit payment method under the Actions column.

Select multiple subscriptions or multiple installments and click on the ... icon above the Actions column and select Edit payment method to apply the same payment method to every planned payment you selected.

If a client saved their credit card(s) only, you can only choose credit card.

If a client saved their eCheck(s) only, you can only choose eCheck.

If a client saved their credit card(s) and eCheck(s), both options are available.

When a client pays at checkout using a saved credit card or eCheck, they can edit the payment method on planned payments via their user account, which also updates the details on the organization's end.

If a client's payment information wasn't saved at checkout at the time of purchase, they must contact your organization so an admin can update the payment method in the Upcoming payments subtab.

Clients cannot edit a subscription/installment amount, nor can they cancel a planned payment without contacting your organization.

Clients track planned payments on a saved credit card or eCheck from the Payment Method tab in their user account.

If an admin updates the payment method on a subscription payment using a different card or eCheck, clients can check the Purchases tab in their user account to track the upcoming subscription payment.

If an admin updates the payment method on an installment payment using a different card or eCheck, clients can check the Billing tab in their user account to track postdated installment payments.

You can edit an installment amount to any value, even if it exceeds the amount of the invoice item, or the client's overall balance.

For example, a client purchases for $500. At checkout, they pay $50 and 3 installments of $150 are planned. At this point, they have a current balance of $450, and an expected balance of $0 (once all the installments have passed).

This is $100 more than needed! At this point, the client has a current balance of $450 and an expected balance of ($100.00).

Notice how the last installment (the same one that was increased) is partially reconciled? Since the planned payment was more than what was required to pay the invoice, there is an unreconciled account deposit of $100 remaining in the account. The extra money can be used towards a future purchase, at which point you will then reconcile the remainder of the payment to the new invoice.

An account deposit is specific to storing funds you received (cash advances, bursaries, etc.) for future use. An account deposit type credit can exist in a client's account even if there's an outstanding balance to be paid.
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A credit is used to the reduce the current balance on a client's account. It is not a transaction that affects real money. Creating a credit can be used to make corrections to a client's balance. It can be given as a 'gift' to a client towards their next purchase. You may also want to create a credit in order to refund a client if you don't want to cancel the original invoice, as it is required to add a credit before refunding a client if their account balance is at $0.

Yes! In the Account>Email preferences subtab, you may opt-in to receive email notifications when a payment fails.

Failed upcoming payments also appear in the Payment Action Center.

* Last updated in May 2026

Email Preferences

Manage your Client's Billing

Saved Credit Card(s) and eCheck(s)

Cancel a Purchase and Issue a Refund

Configuring Installments

How to Set Up Subscriptions