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Clio Payments: Get Started with Clio Payments

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Clio Payments is Clio's integrated payment solution available for US and Canadian customers, which allows you to manage client payments directly within Clio Manage.

  • US customers: Process credit card, debit card, direct ACH, and eCheck payments.
  • Canadian customers: Process credit card and debit payments.

Both US and Canadian customers can securely save client payment methods and create flexible payment plans. Once set up, your clients can also conveniently pay their bills using Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Payments are processed and paid out in your firm's local currency based on the business address, regardless of the default currency selected in your Bill Settings.

Note: Account administrators and primary subscribers can sign up for and set up Clio Payments.

To get started with Clio Payments, you have to complete two stages.

  1. First, you will need to provide the business or firm information required to add Clio Payments to your Clio Manage account. Consider this your “application” to sign up with Clio Payments.
  2. Once the application stage is complete and your application is approved, you will receive an email notification that you can finalize the setup. This second stage requires you to set up and connect your bank accounts to finalize and start using Clio Payments. Firms who are switching from LawPay will also need to select which data they want to transfer to Clio Payments.
Important: Clio’s payment processing partner does not have the ability to process transactions exclusively within one region. Your use of Clio Payments will include the transfer of transaction-related data to the United States for processing, including:
  • the firm’s business name, business number, business address, email, phone number, business owner information, and information for the connected bank account (including account name, type, number, transit number, and institution number),
  • the client’s, credit card information and/or payout account information.

This data is processed in the US in alignment with our Terms of Service.

Note: If you use Clio Grow Scheduler you can continue to collect payments for client appointments without interruption.

 

Sign up for Clio Payments

Note: Before getting started, gather the relevant paperwork, e.g., business registration papers or incorporation papers, statement or voided check for the firm’s bank account(s), your personal information (e.g. SSN or SIN), personal information (e.g. address, personal phone number, personal email address) for each of the firm’s beneficial owners.
Gathering your paperwork first will help to streamline your setup process, but you can also use the Save and exit button at any time during the process to continue setup at a later stage.

In Clio Manage, go to Online payments, then click Activate today. This will start the sign-up process, which requires you to provide all business or firm information to process your application for Clio Payments.

Step 1: Business

During this step,  you provide information about your business.

  1. Select your Business type.
    • Depending on your selection and the location of your firm (Canada or US) you may have to provide information about whether you use your Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Social Security Number (SSN) to file your business taxes, your Business Number (BN) or Québec Enterprise Number (NEQ), and/or details about the structure of your business.
  2. Click Next.
  3. Add your business details. The information required depends on your business structure and location (US or Canada).
    • Business name: Enter the legal name of your business as per your IRS documentation (US) or your business registration documentation (Canada).
      Note: If you are a sole proprietor in Canada and do not have a registered business name, use the name used to open your bank account.
    • Doing Business As (DBA) name: Enter the name you use to conduct business.
      Note: As an example, while your legal name might include "LLP," your DBA name is usually the recognizable name you use with clients.
    • Statement descriptor: Enter a descriptor that your clients can easily identify on their credit card or bank statement.
      Important: Your statement descriptor must adhere to the requirements outlined here. This helps reduce the likelihood of disputes and chargebacks.
    • Employer Identification Number (EIN): Applicable to US firms. This information is required for tax purposes.
    • Business Number (BN) or Québec Enterprise Number (NEQ): Applicable to Canadian firms.
    • Business email: Provide a business email address.
    • Country: Select the country where the firm operates.
    • Registered business address: Enter your firm's physical address (City, State/Province, Zip/Postal code).
      Important: P.O. and private mailboxes are not allowed.
    • Business phone number: Provide a business phone number.
    • Business website: Provide the business website you use to promote your services and a detailed description of the legal services you offer.
      Tip: If you do not have a website, provide a link to your firm’s social media profile. Your online presence should accurately reflect the services you offer to clients.
  4. Click Next.
Step 2: Ownership

During this step, provide personal information to verify that you own or represent the business.

  1. Add your personal details. The information that is required depends on the structure and ownership of the business.
    • Role at the company
    • Job title
    • Legal full name (first and last)
    • Personal email address
    • Date of birth
    • Country
    • Home address: Your personal physical address (City, State/Province, Zip/Postal code).
      Important: P.O. and private mailboxes are not allowed.
    • Personal phone number
    • Social Security Number/Social Insurance Number
  2. Click Next.
  3. If applicable: Provide personal details for any beneficial owners. Beneficial owners are individuals who:
    • hold 25% or more of the firm, or
    • exercise significant managerial control over the firm (e.g., members of the C-Suite, senior managers, managing members, general partners, presidents, vice presidents, treasurer, directors, etc.).

    For each beneficial owner:

    • Click Add person.
    • Fill out the required details, then click Add person.
  4. When you’ve added all beneficial owners, click Next.
Step 3: Banking

Add at least one operating payout account to receive payments through Clio.

Tip: If you intend to use multiple operating accounts to receive payments, you can learn about how to direct payments into your different accounts after you finish your Online Payments setup.
  1. Click Add bank account.
  2. Add your bank account details:
    • Account type: Select your account type.
    • Account name: Add a recognizable name for your account (for internal use).
    • Routing number (US) or Transit number + Institution number (Canada): Obtain this number from a bank check or void check. It is usually a 5-digit branch number and a 3-digit bank or institution number.
    • Account number: Obtain this number from a bank check, void check, or bank statement.
  3. Click Add bank account.
    • Your added account will now be listed in the Bank accounts screen. You can add additional bank accounts by clicking Add bank account. You can also add more bank accounts at a later stage.
  4. Select a Primary operating account from the accounts you added.
    • Payments made via Clio Payments will be deposited into this account. This account is also used for debiting transaction fees, chargebacks, outstanding balances, and covering insufficient funds from any other added accounts.
  5. Click Next.
Step 4: Review

Review the information you entered. Click Edit for a particular section to return to that section and correct any errors.

  1. When all details are correct, check the boxes to accept the Terms of Service and other conditions.
  2. Click Submit.

Your information will be reviewed and you will be notified if additional information is required or if your application is approved.

 

Check your application status

To check the status of the application, in Clio Manage, return to the Online payments main tab. An application takes about 1–2 days to be reviewed, during which time the application is in a state of “pending verification”.

If additional information is required:

  • Clio will send you an email notification, so be sure to monitor your inbox.
  • The Online payments page will show you the specific information that is needed.

To provide the required information:

  1. In Clio Manage, go to Online payments.
  2. Click Go to Accounts.
  3. Click Update for each notification where additional information is required and make the necessary corrections or provide the supporting documentation.

You will receive an email when your application has been approved and on the Online payments page, the application status for the Sign up for Clio Payments section will be updated with a Complete status label. At this point, you are ready to move to the stage where you Set up Clio Payments. If you are switching from LawPay to Clio Payments, you will first have to select which data to transfer from LawPay to Clio Payments.

 

Set up Clio Payments

After your Clio Payments application is approved, connect the payout accounts you added during the application process to your existing bank accounts in Clio Manage. If you need to add additional accounts in Clio Manage, learn how to Create new accounts.

Note: If you are switching from LawPay to Clio Payments, you will have to select which data to transfer from LawPay to Clio Payments.
Select which data to transfer from LawPay to Clio Payments

The following instructions apply if you are switching from LawPay to Clio Payments. If not, continue below with connecting your payout accounts to ledger accounts.

  1. In Clio Manage, go to Online payments > Access new features.
  2. In Set up Clio Payments > Get started.
  3. Connect each relevant bank account to ensure existing payment links continue to work. If accounts are not connected before switching from LawPay, any payment links associated with unconnected accounts will be disabled after the switch. You can also remove any accounts no longer in use, by using the x to delete the account.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Click Connect.
    Note: If you did not previously set up payment plans or store payment methods using LawPay, your setup will be complete. Read and indicate that you understand each of the notifications by checking their respective boxes, then click Activate Clio Payments to finalize the setup.
  6. If you previously set up payment plans and/or stored payment methods using LawPay, you have to choose if and how to transfer this information to Clio Manage. Choose the appropriate transfer options for the 1) payment plans and 2) contact payment information (stored payment methods).
    Payment plans
    You can choose to cancel existing payment plans in LawPay and manually recreate them in Clio. Alternatively, you can continue processing any existing payment plans through LawPay until their end. Continuing processing payments through LawPay means that these payments received from these plans will not sync to Clio Manage, and you will need to manually record these transactions in Clio.
    Contact payment information
    You can choose to send an email to all contacts with previously saved payment methods or a subset of these contacts, asking them to save their payment methods again. This email will be sent from notifications@clio.com. You can also change this email address to your own Microsoft or Google email address using Clio's email personalization feature.
  7. Once the appropriate options are selected, click Next.
    Note: Depending on your selections you may be required to indicate that you understand your selections and/or confirm your selections.
  8. Read and indicate that you understand each of the notifications by checking their respective boxes, then click Activate Clio Payments to finalize the setup.
Important: Take note of the following distinction. Payout accounts (i.e. those added during the first stage of your Online Payments application) represent your real-world bank accounts. In contrast, accounts added via the main Accounts tab in Clio Manage are ledger accounts used to manage your financial records.

To use Clio Payments, you need to connect your payout account(s) to the corresponding ledger account(s) in Clio Manage.

Note: If you want to add a new payout account after you sign up for Clio Payments, create a (ledger) account from the main Accounts tab first. Then, click Connect to payments for that ledger account and click Add payout account.

 

Add payout accounts and set primary operating account

Payout accounts are your real-life bank accounts, where payouts are deposited. After signing up for Clio Payments, you can add new payout accounts. When you add a new payout account, the name will automatically update to your financial institution and will not be available for use in Clio Manage until it is fully verified. When you have at least two verified payout accounts, you can choose which one should be the primary operating account.

Important: You cannot edit payout account numbers once an account is successfully added, unless the account numbers were entered incorrectly.

Add payout accounts:

  1. Go to Settings > Online payments.
  2. Click Go to Payment Settings.
  3. Click Banking.
  4. In the Payout accounts card, click Add payout account to add a new account.

 

Set primary operating account:

  1. Go to Settings > Online payments.
  2. Click Go to Payment Settings.
  3. Click Banking.
  4. In the Primary operating account card, select the account you want to use as the primary operating account.

 

Update payments profile

After signing up for Clio Payments, you may be prompted to provide additional verification details. You can provide these details and address any errors in your payment settings. 

  1. Go to Settings > Online payments.
  2. Click Go to Payment Settings.
  3. Click Payments profile.
  4. Make any necessary changes to address the errors.

 

Edit statement descriptor

A statement descriptor is the text description that appears on a customer's bank statement that serves to identify the merchant or business associated with a transaction. It is important to use a statement descriptor that your clients can easily identify as relating to your firm’s transactions. Doing so will help your customer understand that a charge is from your firm, thereby reducing the likelihood of disputes and chargebacks. For example, your monthly subscription to Clio might show clio.com, which helps you quickly identify the charge as being from Clio.

You are required to provide your statement descriptor when setting up Online Payments. You can also edit it after signing up. Any firm user with access to payments can edit the statement descriptor.

When choosing and entering a statement descriptor, make sure it adheres to the following requirements:

  • Contains Latin characters only
  • Is between 5 and 22 characters
  • Contains at least one letter. If you are using a prefix and a suffix, each requires at least one letter.
  • Contains more information than a single common term or common website URL. A website URL may be used but only if it provides unambiguous information about the origin of the transaction on a client's credit card or bank statement.
  • Does not contain any of the following special characters: < > \ ' " *
Note: Your client’s credit card and bank statements will show whichever statement descriptor you entered when the bill was generated. If you send your client a bill and then edit the statement descriptor, the client will only see the previous statement descriptor. Future bills will use the new one.

To edit your statement descriptor after signing up for Online Payments.

  1. Go to Settings > Online payments.
  2. Click Go to Payment Settings.
  3. Click Payments profile or Manage payments profile.
  4. Under the Business details card, click Edit business details.
  5. Enter the new statement descriptor, making sure it adheres to the aforementioned requirements.
  6. Click Save.

 

Accepted online payment methods

Clio Payments enables clients to pay bills online using the following methods: credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, JCB, UnionPay), digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay), eCheck (digital checks) processed within Clio Payments and ACH payments, where clients initiate a bank transfer from their own bank. 

Important: Transactions initiated on bank holidays, weekends, or after business hours will begin processing on the next business day. Settlement timelines are based on business days only.

Credit and debit cards

The table below shows what cards your clients can typically use if they are located in the US, Canada, or internationally. US customers will see payment processing within 1-2 business days, and Canadian customers will see payment processing within three business days.

The following credit and debit card limitations may apply:

  • Some debit cards may restrict online or subscription payments. Advise clients to contact their bank or card provider to confirm their card's eligibility.
  • Prepaid cards are accepted for one-time payments only.
  • Using a card other than Visa or Mastercard may result in some location-specific limitations.
Location Accepted cards
United States Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover
Canada Visa, Mastercard, American Express
International Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club, JCB, Union Pay

eChecks

Available in the US, eCheck payments authorize your firm to pull funds from your client’s bank account into your firm’s account. Clients enter their banking details through Clio Payments, which automatically processes the eCheck. Allow 5-7 business days for the payment to fully process and deposit into your account. You can accept unlimited eChecks daily. Clients are limited to five eCheck payments per day, with a $25,000 transaction limit.

Direct ACH

Important: Your firm needs a record of successful Clio Payments transactions and a low dispute rate to be eligible for Direct ACH payments.

Available in the US, Direct ACH via Clio Payments allows clients to send funds directly from their bank account to your firm's account. Once received, you can link bank transfers to the appropriate invoice or trust request to allocate funds. See Record and Manage Payment to learn more about recording bill payments from trust funds.

Digital Wallets

Clio Payments also allows clients to pay via digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. 

 

Complete identity confirmation for payout accounts

For your protection, when connecting a payout account to Clio Payments, you may be prompted to provide additional identity confirmation. Once you have completed the identity verification form, your submission will be sent to Clio for processing and review. Upon successful confirmation of your identity, you will be notified via email that your submission has been accepted, and you will be able to connect additional payout accounts to Clio Payments.

Note: Your successful identity confirmation status will last for 30 days. If you need to connect additional payout accounts after this 30-day period, you may be required to undergo the identity confirmation process again.

Clio Manage desktop app Clio mobile app

If you need to connect a payout account to Clio Payments and are prompted for additional identity confirmation when viewing the Accounts tab, follow these steps if you are using Clio Manage on your desktop:

  1. Click Verify my identity. This action will result in the following: 
    • It will redirect you to Clio's identity confirmation form.
    • You will receive an email with a link to the identity confirmation form.
    • The primary subscriber for your firm will be notified that you are undergoing the identity confirmation process. No email will be sent if you are your firm’s primary subscriber.
  2. In the identity verification form, select the type of government-issued documentation you are using under Document Type (e.g. driver's licence, passport, etc.) and the issuing country of that document under Country.
  3. Under Capture Type, select whether you are uploading a photo of the front of the documentation, back of the document (only for some documentation types), or a live photo. You are required to upload a photo of the front of your documentation and a live photo of yourself. For some documentation types, you may be required to upload a photo of the back of the documentation.
  4. Under Auto/Manual Capture, select how you will take the photo. If you experience difficulties with Auto, try Manual instead.
    • If you selected Auto, click Capture Photo to use your computer's webcam and camera software to assist in the picture-taking process.
      Tip: Put a contrasting background color behind your document to assist the automatic detection process in recognizing your document.
    • If you selected Manual, click Capture to upload your photos from your computer.
  5. Click Submit once you are done.

Important: Your personal information is very sensitive and is treated with the utmost care. The data you provide is accessible to only a select few Clio employees on the Security team. Your document images are stored within Clio for a one-year period for auditing purposes, at which point they are automatically and irrevocably deleted.

 

Disconnect Clio Payments

If you no longer want to use Clio Payments, contact Clio's support team and state that you want to disconnect Clio Payments from your account. Your account's Primary Subscriber or an administrator will be required to authorize the disconnection via email before Clio Payments can be disabled from your account. 

 

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