Why can my client not pay online?
The short answer
The Pay online button appears only when three things are true at once: your card provider is connected and active, the invoice is awaiting payment, and something is still owed. Check those first. Bank transfer is separate and keeps working whenever your bank details are switched on.
The button is missing
- The provider is not connected. Open Business → Client payments. The Accept online payments card should read Active. If it offers Set up payments, Finish setting up with Stripe, or asks you to paste a key, finish that first; see Set up online payments.
- Stripe needs more information. An amber list on the card means Stripe has paused payments until you complete it. Choose Complete setup.
- Your Yoco key stopped working. The card says so and asks for a new key. Paste a fresh secret key from the Yoco Portal.
- Payments are paused. If the card reads Active but shows “Payments are paused while this account’s configuration is reviewed”, contact support through the “let us know” link on the card.
- No business country. The card asks you to add your country under Business details before it can offer a provider.
- “Online card payments for your region are on the way.” BloomBoard has not switched on card payments for your region yet, so the card offers no setup button. Bank transfer keeps working; card payments will appear on the card when they are ready.
- The invoice is not payable. Drafts have no payment page, a paid invoice shows its receipt instead of a button, and a voided invoice’s page says it is no longer available. Check the invoice status in your Documents.
If neither online payment nor bank transfer is available, the client’s page shows no payment button. Your client notes and payment terms on the invoice carry the payment instructions instead. If both are empty, the page asks the client to contact you to arrange payment. Connect a provider, or switch on your bank transfer details, to offer a payment button.
The payment did not go through
- “That payment did not go through.” The card was declined or the checkout was abandoned. Nothing was charged and the invoice is unchanged. The client can try again, or pay by bank transfer if it is offered.
- “The amount due has changed.” A payment was recorded or refunded while the client had the page open, so the amount they were about to pay was out of date. The page refreshes the figures; they simply try again.
- “Online payment is not available right now.” The provider could not be reached or the secure form could not load, often a browser extension or a blocked script. Ask the client to try again in a moment or from another browser; bank transfer stays available.
The page says “Confirming your payment…”
That is normal for a few seconds after a card payment while the provider confirms it. The page updates itself, and the client also receives an email receipt when the money lands. The page only waits while a card payment is actually in progress, and it gives up after about two minutes: it then shows the normal payment options again with the note “We couldn’t confirm your payment on this page”, and asks the client to check for an email receipt before paying again. If the client sees that note, check the invoice in BloomBoard: a Paid online payment there means the money arrived. If nothing has landed, check your provider dashboard before charging the client again.
Reopening an old payment link or a bookmarked page does not bring the confirming message back, even if the payment was later refunded. The page simply shows what is owed now.
The client paid, but the page shows a balance and a refund
If you refund a card payment, the invoice reopens for the refunded amount. The client’s page shows the new balance due, and the payment in Payment history is marked Refunded for a full refund, or shows the amount refunded for a partial refund, on the page and in the downloaded PDF. This matches what you see in the invoice’s payments panel. The client can pay the reopened balance online or by bank transfer as usual.
The client paid, but the invoice still shows a balance
- Bank transfer. Transfers are never recorded automatically. If the client reported the transfer, it shows on the invoice and on Today: choose It’s in my bank once the money reflects. Otherwise record it yourself with Record Payment.
- Card payment. Online payments record themselves within moments. If the provider dashboard shows the payment but the invoice does not, contact support with the invoice number rather than recording it by hand; a manual entry cannot be marked as an online payment.
Never record an online card payment manually. If it arrives from the provider afterwards it is recorded again, and the invoice will show more paid than was owed.