Tier 6 — Advanced Operations

Offering Direct Debit for Automatic Billing

Let customers pay automatic billing on a job series from their Australian bank account instead of a card. You switch BECS Direct Debit on in Stripe, then offer it in AxiomBlue.

Applies to: the Professional plan, which connecting Stripe needs. Changing payment settings needs Manage Settings permission.

Before you start: Stripe must be connected, with a payment account chosen. How automatic billing works is covered in Billing a Job Series Automatically.

Switch on direct debit

  1. In your Stripe dashboard, switch on BECS Direct Debit.
  2. In AxiomBlue, open Settings > Business Settings > Payments & Billing.
  3. Select Options on the Stripe row.
  4. Under Direct debit, tick Offer direct debit for automatic billing.
  5. Select Save.

AxiomBlue checks with Stripe before it saves. Until Stripe has BECS Direct Debit switched on, AxiomBlue refuses the change and tells you what to do in Stripe.

What you should see

The Stripe row's summary ends with Direct debit for automatic billing. Authorisation requests you send from then on offer the customer a card or a bank account. They also say that a debit can take a few business days to clear.

How a direct debit differs from a card

  • The customer accepts a Direct Debit Request on Stripe's page. They can open it again from the service's page in their portal, and it links from the series' Automatic Billing card.
  • Each debit takes a few business days to clear. It shows as Processing meanwhile, and AxiomBlue records the payment once it clears.
  • AxiomBlue doesn't mark an invoice overdue while its debit clears, so no overdue reminder goes out.
  • A card surcharge never applies to a direct debit.
  • If the bank account is closed, or the customer tells their bank a debit wasn't authorised, automatic billing ends for that series.
  • If the customer cancels the direct debit with their bank, AxiomBlue ends automatic billing and notifies your administrators.

Tip: Stripe limits how much your account can collect by direct debit, per payment and per week. A charge over a limit fails, and your administrators get an Automatic payment failed notification. Contact Stripe to raise the limit.

Where direct debit isn't offered

Direct debit is for automatic billing only. The pay-online link on an invoice doesn't offer it, even with BECS Direct Debit switched on in Stripe.

Switch it off

Untick Offer direct debit for automatic billing and select Save. That only changes what new authorisations offer. Customers already paying by direct debit carry on until they or you stop automatic billing.

Switching BECS Direct Debit off in Stripe has a similar effect. The Stripe row then warns Direct debit is switched off in your Stripe dashboard — customers can only save a card. Customers authorising from then on are offered a card.