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Use Card on File with Square Invoices

You can use Card on File with Square Invoices created from your online Square Dashboard or the Square Invoices app to easily receive payment from repeat customers:

  • Securely add and store payment credit or debit cards in your Customer Directory.

  • Seamlessly charge your customers’ stored payment cards or Square Gift Cards.

  • Safely carry out your business with Square handling PCI compliance and authorisation on your behalf.

Note: You must have written authorisation from your customer to save their payment card. Make sure to keep authorisation forms on file and store them securely to help prevent payment disputes.

Add Card on File via the Square Invoices App

To add Card on File:

  1. Open the Square Invoices app.

  2. Tap the Customers tab and create a new profile or select an existing customer.

  3. Under Card on File, click Add Card.

  4. Enter the card details, including the expiration date and CVV. Tap Next.

  5. Confirm the customer’s email address so you can send digital receipts for purchases. Tap Next.

  6. Enter the Billing Code to authorise the card for future purchases. Tap Agree and Save Card.

  7. A Card and Customer Profile Saved confirmation message will appear. Click Done to return to the customer profile.

Save a Payment Card for Square Invoice Payments

Allow customers to save their payment card for future payments:

  1. Navigate to Payments > Invoices in your online Square Dashboard > click Create Invoice.

  2. Select a customer from your Customer Directory or enter a new name and email address.

  3. Within the Payment section, select Allow Customer to Save Their Card.

  4. Fill in your invoice.

  5. Click Send.

When your customer pays their invoice, they’ll see the option to save their payment card with your business. If they opt to save their payment, their profile in your Customer Directory will update automatically.

Manually Save a Payment Card to your Customer Directory

You can also manually link one or more payment cards to customers saved to your Customer Directory. To do so:

  1. Visit Directory under Customers in your online Square Dashboard.

  2. Select an existing customer.

  3. Select Actions > Add Card.

  4. Use the template form to confirm you have your customer’s permission to store their payment card information. To do so, select Download Form > send the template to your customer. Note: You must have written authorisation from your customer to save their payment card. Make sure to keep authorisation forms on file and store them securely.

  5. Select Continue.

  6. Enter the card details > click Save.

Charge a Card on File with Square Invoices app

With a payment card on file, you can create a new Square Invoice and charge your customer’s saved payment information.

To charge a card via the Square Dashboard

  1. Confirm the amount you’ll be charging with your customer.
  2. Navigate to Invoices in your online Square Dashboard > click Create Invoice. For existing unpaid invoices, select Edit.
  3. Fill out your invoice. Be sure to select a customer from your directory.
  4. Under Payment, use the drop-down menu to select a payment card.
  5. Click Charge.

To charge a card via the Square Invoices app

  1. Open the Square Invoices app and tap Invoices.
  2. Navigate to Outstanding invoices to locate the invoice the customer would like to pay. A customer profile must be attached to the invoice and have a card saved on file.
  3. Tap Add Payment.
  4. Confirm the payment amount. Tap Next.
  5. Tap Charge next to the saved card on file. Tap Confirm twice.
  6. If the customer is present, ask them to sign on your device to confirm payment authorisation. Tap Continue.
    If the customer is not present, leave the signature field blank and tap Continue.
  7. A digital receipt will automatically generate to the customer’s email address as listed on their customer profile.

Both you and your customer will receive an email notification confirming the invoice payment amount charged to the card on file. The invoice will also display as Paid in your online Square Dashboard.

Schedule a Charge to Card on File

  1. Visit Payments > Invoices in your online Square Dashboard.

  2. Select Create Invoice.

  3. In the Customer drop-down, select an existing customer or create a new customer.

  4. In the Payment drop-down, select a card on file (e.g. Visa 1111) and a date to charge the card.

  5. Finish filling in the invoice and select either Schedule or Save as Draft.

Note: If you select Save as Draft, your scheduled invoice will not be automatically sent, and you’ll need to select Schedule to determine when it will be delivered.

Your customer’s card will be charged on the selected date, and they’ll receive an emailed copy of the paid invoice to notify them their card was charged. Funds will be deposited to your linked bank account following your deposit schedule.

Tips for Using Scheduled Invoices

  • You can edit scheduled Invoices at any time between the point they’re created and the date they’re scheduled to be sent.

  • You can view Scheduled Invoices from your Invoices list. They’ll have a status of Scheduled and will be listed in order of the date they’re scheduled to be sent.

  • If you don’t see your scheduled invoices in your Invoices list, make sure the date range you are viewing includes the date the scheduled invoice will be sent and not the date you created the invoice.

Use Recurring Invoices

Use Recurring Invoices with Square Invoices to create and send invoices to your customers on a regular schedule.

Note: If the Card on File is changed and the customer has a recurring invoice, you’ll need to edit that invoice series to ensure the right card is being charged.

Create a Recurring Invoice Series

If you’d like to create a series of invoices that are automatically sent to your customers on a regular schedule, click on the Recurring tab in the top-right section of the Invoices page.

Then click the Create Recurring Series button. Enter the basic information for the customer and the invoice items, as you would with any new invoice. But with the recurring invoices, there’s a new section where you can select the start date, frequency and end date (or number of occurrences).

Note: If you or your customer want to save credit cards on file for easier automated billing as soon as an invoice is due, use the Card on File option within the Payment drop-down.

Click Send to schedule this recurring series and send your customer an email with the series details. If you select Save as Draft, your recurring series will not be set nor will any emails be sent to your customers.

Invoices within a recurring series will be automatically sent to your customer at 10 a.m. (in your time zone) on the date(s) you have configured. You’ll receive a notification email once the invoice is paid, and funds will be deposited to your linked bank account following your deposit schedule.

Keep in mind, if the Card on File is changed and the customer has a recurring invoice, you’ll need to edit that invoice series to ensure the right card is being charged. The card on file will be charged on the due date of each recurring invoice. If the Card on File is past its expiration or fails for another reason, a new invoice will be sent allowing the customer to enter new card information, as well as save the new card information for future invoices.

FAQ

How do I access and store the Card Authorisation Form?

  1. From the Customer Directory of your online Square Dashboard, create a new customer or select an existing profile.
  2. Under Card on File click on the three dots > click Add Credit or Debit Card.
  3. Under Print and File Customer Authorisation, click Download Form.
  4. Send the form to your customer to sign and authorise.
  5. Upload the signed copy by clicking on the customer’s profile, pressing the three dots and clicking Upload File.

How do I save the CVV number for my customer’s payment card if I’m manually saving card information to my Customer Directory?

The Card Authorisation form doesn’t include an option for the customer to enter their card’s CVV number however, the actual card input requires the CVV number. Due to PCI standards, you’ll need to collect CVV over the phone or in person and enter these details into the Customer Directory. Alternatively, if you opt to send an invoice to your customer, and if your customer selects the option to securely save their card on file and authorise future payments, receipt of written authorisation is complete.

How can I tell if the card on file was stored when the customer paid an invoice? Can you make this more visible in Dashboard?

There will be a notation within the payment confirmation email when a card has been stored on file. You can also click a customer’s name in your Customer Directory to see if a card has been linked.

How do I know a charge to a card on file was successful?

When you manually charge a card on file, you’ll see a confirmation banner and the invoice will display as Paid in your Dashboard.
If the payment card is declined (e.g. card on file is outdated), you’ll see a declined message when you try to charge the card. For scheduled payments to a card on file, you’ll be notified by email if a card is declined and your customer will be automatically sent an invoice requesting payment.

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