Accepting Bank (ACH) Payments | Help Center

Families can pay invoices straight from a US bank account instead of a card. In the US this is called an ACH payment. This article calls it a bank payment. A bank payment takes a few business days to clear, and it costs your studio less than a card payment.

What You Need First

Pro or Max, with Stripe connected. See Connecting Stripe.
Stripe approval for bank payments. After you connect, Stripe can take a short time to approve bank payments for your account.

Turning On Bank Payments

Open Owner Settings and select the Payments tab. Only the studio owner can open it. Below the Payment Processing card, the Bank Payments (ACH) card has an Accept bank (ACH) payments switch.

New studios start with the switch on. A studio made before bank payments started has it off, so turn it on.
Until Stripe approves bank payments, the switch is disabled and the card shows Finish Stripe verification to accept bank payments. Finish Stripe's steps in the Payment Processing card.
You can turn the switch off at any time. Families then see no bank option.

The card also shows the cost: 0.8% for each payment, capped at $5.00, plus a Stripe fee of about $1.50 each time a family links a bank. Trio never passes these fees on to families.

The Payment Processing State

A card payment confirms instantly. A bank (ACH) payment is not instant. It takes a few business days to clear. While the transfer is on its way, the invoice sits in a Payment Processing state:

The invoice shows a Payment Processing badge next to its status, in the invoice list and the invoice panel. It is not Paid.
The invoice panel shows the cleared and clearing amounts apart, and the amount still due now, so you can always tell what has settled and what is still in flight.
Do not chase the family or re-bill the invoice. The money is already on its way; the invoice settles on its own.

When the payment covers the whole balance, the invoice does not become Overdue, Trio sends no payment reminder, and no late fee is added. A reminder that comes due waits; if the payment fails, Trio sends it then. If you choose Send Reminder or Mark Overdue, Trio tells you a bank payment is clearing and changes nothing.

When the payment covers only part of the balance, the rest is still owed. Past the due date the invoice can become Overdue and get the late fee, and the overdue notice, reminders and late-fee notice state only the amount not covered.

An invoice that was already Overdue when the family paid by bank stays Overdue and shows the Payment Processing badge next to it. Trio adds no late fee while the payment covers the balance.

When the transfer clears, Trio marks the invoice Paid, or Partially Paid when the payment covered only part of the balance. The money reaches your bank a few business days later than a card payment.

Returned Bank Payments

Sometimes a bank payment is returned after it first looked like it went through. The payment then shows as Returned in the invoice's payment history, and the balance is due again. The family can pay again by card or bank.

What Trio does next depends on the reason:

The account is closed, missing or invalid, or the family withdrew its permission. Trio removes the bank account and emails the family.
Not enough money in the account. Trio tries the payment again, at most 2 times, but only when Retry Failed Payments is on (the Automation tab of Billing).
Any other reason. Trio emails the family and does not try again.

Treat a returned payment like an unpaid invoice: send a reminder or a short note to the family.

When Bank Autopay Starts

To use a bank account for autopay, the family must agree to recurring payments when they link it.

Trio starts a bank autopay payment 5 business days before the due date, so the money clears near the due date. If Days Before Due (calendar days, on the Automation tab) gives an earlier date, Trio uses that date. Card autopay charges Days Before Due days before the due date. The default is 0, which is the due date itself. Families see the expected start date on their own Billing page.