Xero has launched a new version of the GoCardless integration as of the 7th of April 2021.
If these guides do not reflect your experience please switch to the new support guide here
Instalment schedules allow you to split one invoice amount into multiple GoCardless payments. In this article we will go through the following:
- Collecting an invoice via instalments
- Retrying failed payments within an instalment schedule
- Cancelling an instalment schedule
- Instalment schedules and automation settings
Please note: If you have questions about the tax implications of raising an invoice and collecting payments over time, please speak to your accountant.
Collecting an invoice via instalments
1). Navigate to the invoices tab on your GoCardless for Xero dashboard
2). Click on the Collect... button on the right hand side for the invoice you would like to split into instalments, then select split into instalments
3). On the pop up that appears you are able to choose whether you would like to split the invoice into a specific number of instalments or specify the amount of the instalments
4). The next step is to choose the date for first payment to be collected - if you select the current day, the first payment will be charged as soon as possible according to scheme timings
5). After this, you will need to choose the frequency at which to collect the payments
6). The details of the payments to be collected will be displayed on the right hand side of the pop up. Check that the details are correct, and adjust the settings if needed
7). Click Create instalment schedule
8). The status of the invoice will updated to show you the number of outstanding instalments
9). Your customer will receive an email informing them of the schedule of instalment payments that are due to be collected from them.
Retrying failed payments within an instalment schedule
1). Navigate to the invoice that has a failed payment and click manage on the right hand side
2). The details of the instalment schedule will be displayed and you will see the failed payment
3). Click retry for any instalment you wish to be retried. This will retry the payment as soon as possible according to scheme timelines.
Cancelling an instalment schedule
1). If you wish to cancel an instalment schedule, firstly locate the invoice on the invoices tab of the GoCardless for Xero dashboard
2). Click manage to view the details of the instalment schedule
3). Click on Cancel instalment schedule to cancel the upcoming payments in the schedule. Any payments that have been submitted will not be cancelled and will still be collected from your customer. If any of the payments are submitted when the schedule is cancelled you will not be able to reattempt the collection until the payments have been marked as confirmed or failed.
4). Before the instalment schedule is cancelled a pop up will make sure this is the action you wish to take. Click on Yes, cancel this instalment schedule to cancel the upcoming payments
Instalment schedules and automation settings
If your account is set up with Automated payments on then a payment for the whole amount of an invoice may be created before you set up an instalment schedule to collect the payments.
To avoid this happening we suggest using a different branding theme for invoices that you wish to take via instalments, and then making sure Automated payments are turned off for this branding theme. You can find information on how to set this up here.