Payment plans give your firm a structured, automated way to collect an outstanding balance without manual follow-up each cycle. You schedule recurring card or eCheck charges against a client's payment method toward a balance, a trust account, or ongoing services. The plan charges automatically until the balance is paid or you stop it, and both you and the client receive email updates.
Important: Only administrators and users with billing permissions can create, edit, and delete payment plans. Clients cannot set up their own plans. US firms can accept credit card or eCheck payments on a plan; Canadian firms can accept credit card payments.
Understand payment plan terms
- A plan toward an outstanding balance pays the bill with the oldest due date first. When two bills share a due date, the bill created first is paid first. The payment order is fixed.
- When the remaining balance on a bill is less than the scheduled amount, Clio charges only the remaining amount.
- A plan toward an outstanding balance continues until all due bills are fully paid, even when a payment fails or is voided, or until you stop it. An ongoing plan continues until you stop it.
- Trust fund plan payments stay at the client level, not the matter level.
- Amounts from matters with split billing enabled are excluded from the outstanding balance.
- You and the client receive an email when a payment processes or fails. For a balance plan, the confirmation email shows the remaining balance.
- Automated bill reminders pause while a client has an active plan and resume when it stops.
Note: When a payment fails because of invalid card details or an expired or canceled card, stop the plan and create a new one with a valid method, or edit the plan after the client saves a new payment method.
Create a payment plan
Tip: Confirm the client has a stored payment method first. Learn how in Request and Store Payment Methods.
- In Clio Manage, click Online payments > New payment plan.
- Add the contact, the bank account for deposit, the amount per payment, the start date, the payment frequency, and the Repeat until condition.
- For Repeat until, select one option.
- Total payment amount reached: End the plan once a set total is reached. Set a fixed amount, or apply the plan to the entire outstanding balance, which updates as amounts are paid or bills are added.
- Ongoing: Continue the plan until you stop it.
- Click Next step.
- Confirm the payment plan details and click Create payment plan.
Edit a payment plan
Note: To change the payment method, first request a new method from the client. After they save it, edit the plan and select the new method, and Clio uses it for the next payment.
- In Clio Manage, click Online payments.
- Select the Payment plans subtab.
- Find the plan and click Edit.
- Make your changes.
- Click Save payment plan.
Stop a payment plan
A plan ends automatically when the entire overdue balance is paid, and the client is not notified. You can also stop a plan at any time; when you do, the client receives an email, and any paused bill reminders resume.
Note: Inactive plans do not reactivate when a new bill is generated. Create a new plan for a new balance.
- In Clio Manage, click Online payments.
- Select the Payment plans subtab.
- Click the down arrow next to Edit and select Stop.
- When the warning prompt appears, click Stop.
Up next
Record and Manage Online Bill Payments: Record and reconcile client bill payments in Clio Manage.