Summary:
This article explains how to add alternative payment options like ACH, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or Cash App to your invoice templates in ZenMaid, especially when credit card processing is turned off or inactive.
Accessing Invoice Settings
From your ZenMaid Dashboard, go to Settings
and click on Invoicing Settings under Client Billing.
When the Credit Card Processing Is Enabled
Important:
This option only works if a card processor is connected and active. If the processor is disconnected, customers will see an error when attempting to pay.
The tipping section is only available when a credit card processor is selected.
By default, the Online with credit card option is selected. This allows customers to pay using a debit or credit card through your connected processor (e.g., Stripe or Square).
If you've switched from the External Payment or Custom payment description options, click Save changes to apply your settings.
When the Credit Card Processor Is Disabled
Important:
On the Invoicing settings page, you can only select one of the following payment methods at a time:
Online with credit card
External payment link (Venmo, PayPal, or custom link)
Custom payment description
External Payment Link (Venmo, PayPal, or a custom link)
Choose this option to display clickable payment options like PayPal, Venmo, or a custom URL.
Fill in one or more of the following fields:
1. PayPal payment link – Add your PayPal.me URL (e.g., https://paypal.me/company_name)
2. Venmo account – Enter your Venmo username (e.g., MyMaidService). Keep in mind that the system automatically includes the @ symbol, so you don't need to type it.
3. Custom payment link – Use this for any other payment URL (e.g., a payment portal, Cash App link, or direct invoice page)
Custom Payment Description
Choose this option to provide your own payment instructions instead of clickable links.
You’ll see two fields:
Title – Example: “How to pay my invoice?”
Description – Add detailed instructions, such as:
To pay your invoice, please send a wire transfer to the following IBAN: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.
You can also visit paypal.me/my-user-name.
If you have trouble paying your invoice, please send us an email at my.office@example.com.
After entering your preferred settings, click Save Changes to confirm.
Offering Alternative Payment Methods When the Processor Is Enabled
If you’d like to give clients more options than just paying by credit card, you can set up alternative methods like PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle and display them on your invoices. Here’s how to do it step by step.
Step 1: Open Payment Methods
1. Go to your Invoicing settings.
2. Find the Payment methods section.
Step 2: Enter Your Payment Information
1. Select External payment link (Venmo, PayPal, or a custom link).
2. Fill in any of the following fields:
PayPal payment link: Paste your PayPal.me URL.
Venmo account: Enter your Venmo username (no need to add the @ symbol).
Custom payment link: Paste another payment URL, such as Cash App or a client portal.
Custom payment description: Create your own instructions with a title and message.
3. Click Save changes.
Venmo, PayPal, or a custom link:
Custom payment description:
Step 3: Customize Your Invoice Footer Notes
1. In the same Invoicing settings, go to the Invoice appearance and content section.
2. Click Customize.
3. Open the Invoice document footer notes dropdown.
4. Add the variables below to automatically pull in your saved payment details:
{{invoice.paypal_link}}— inserts your PayPal link.{{invoice.venmo_username}}— inserts your Venmo handle.{{invoice.venmo_link}}— creates a clickable Venmo payment link.{{invoice.custom_payment_link}}— inserts your custom payment link.{{invoice.payment_link}}or{{invoice.payment_url}}— inserts your general payment link.
Step 5: Add Zelle (Optional)
If you accept Zelle, type the email address or phone number connected to your Zelle account directly into the footer notes. You can include this in the Payment details area or in your Custom payment message.
Click Save changes once you’ve filled in your details.
Additional Information & Troubleshooting
If you’ve disconnected your credit card processor (such as Stripe or Square) but still have "Online with credit card" selected under Payment methods, your customers will see "This invoice cannot be paid online at this time" when viewing the invoice.
To fix this:
1. Go to your Invoice settings page.
2. Scroll to the Payment methods section.
3. Select either:
The external payment link (Venmo, PayPal, or a custom link)
or the custom payment description options.Click Save changes.
This will ensure your customers see a valid way to pay.
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