How to Record Payments and Configure Payment Gateways in CrmLeaf
All editions. Core feature - no add-on required. Gateway credentials are held per company, so each account uses its own merchant accounts.
Availability: All editions. Core feature - no add-on required. Gateway credentials are held per company, so each account uses its own merchant accounts.
Overview
Payments is where the money actually lands. Clients pay online on the public invoice and order pages through the gateways you configure, or pay offline by bank transfer, cash or cheque. Every transaction is recorded centrally as a Payment, linked to the invoice, order, credit note or project it belongs to.
How It Works
An Administrator configures the gateways and offline methods. Users then collect payment on the public pages or record offline receipts against the document.
Configure gateways → Client pays online or offline → Payment recorded → Document status updates → Reconcile
- Supported gateways are Stripe (with Cashier), PayPal (including recurring and IPN), Razorpay, Paystack, PayFast, Mollie, Authorize.net, Flutterwave and Square.
- Each gateway has its own public payment, callback and webhook routes, so the return from the processor is handled automatically.
- Offline methods - bank transfer, cash and cheque - are configurable, and can require approval.
- Gateway credentials are held per company, so every account brings its own merchant account rather than sharing one.
- A Payment record links to an invoice, an order, a credit note or a project.
- Recording a payment moves the related invoice to
partialorpaid.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Configure payment gateway credentials for the company.
- Configure the offline payment methods and whether they require approval.
- Approve offline payments where approval is configured.
User
- Send clients the public payment page for an invoice or order.
- Record offline payments against an invoice, order, credit note or project.
- Review recorded payments and confirm the document status.
Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator.
Prerequisites
- A merchant account with the gateway you intend to use, and its credentials.
- Currencies configured for your account.
- An invoice, order, credit note or project for the payment to be recorded against.
For Administrators
Step 1: Open the payment gateway settings
What to do: Open the payment gateways settings area. Select the gateway you want to use and enter the credentials issued by that processor for your company. Select Save.
What to verify: The gateway is enabled and its credentials are saved against your company, not shared from another account.
Step 2: Configure the offline payment methods
What to do: Enable the offline methods your business accepts - bank transfer, cash and cheque - and set whether payments recorded through them require approval.
What to verify: The enabled methods are available when a User records a payment.
Step 3: Approve offline payments
What to do: Where approval is configured, review offline payments recorded by Users and select Approve or Reject.
What to verify: The approved payment is reflected against the related invoice or order.
For Users
Step 1: Let the client pay online
What to do: Send the invoice so the client receives its signed public payment page, where the configured gateways are embedded. Order payments work the same way from the public order page.
What to verify: Once the client pays, a Payment record exists and the invoice status is partial or paid.
Step 2: Record an offline payment
What to do: Select Add and record the payment: the amount, the date, the offline method used, and the invoice, order, credit note or project it relates to. Select Save.
What to verify: The payment appears in the payments list and the related document's balance has reduced.
Step 3: Reconcile
What to do: Review the payments list against your bank records, and check that no invoice remains unpaid or partial after money has been received.
What to verify: Every receipt has a matching Payment record linked to the correct document.
Field and Option Reference
| Field / Option | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway credentials | The credentials issued by the payment processor, stored per company. | Yes |
| Offline method | Bank transfer, cash or cheque, as enabled for your company. | Yes |
| Approval requirement | Whether an offline payment must be approved before it counts. | No |
| Amount | The value received. | Yes |
| Payment date | The date the payment was received. | Yes |
| Linked record | The invoice, order, credit note or project the payment belongs to. | Yes |
Expected Result
The configured gateways appear on the public invoice and order payment pages, and every online and offline receipt is recorded as a Payment linked to its invoice, order, credit note or project. Related invoices move to partial or paid.
Why This Matters for Service Organisations
A service organisation carries its cost base as payroll, which falls due whether or not clients have paid. That makes collection, not invoicing, the constraint most firms actually feel. Payments is where receipts are recorded against the document they settle, so an engagement lead can tell the difference between work that has been billed and work that has been paid for.
How It Supports Professional Services
- Clients pay on the signed public invoice page through the gateways the firm configures, which shortens the gap between sending a bill and banking it — useful where an engagement's next stage depends on the previous one being settled.
- Offline methods — bank transfer, cash and cheque — can be configured with approval, so a transfer a client claims to have made is not treated as collected until someone has confirmed it.
- Gateway credentials are held per company, so a firm collects into its own merchant account rather than through an intermediary.
- A Payment can be linked to a project as well as to an invoice, an order or a credit note, which lets receipts be reviewed against the engagement they belong to.
- Invoice status moving to
partialorpaidgives a straightforward read on what is still outstanding across a client portfolio.
Typical Service Workflow
Invoice → Client pays → Payment recorded → Status updates → Reconcile
This is the collect step at the end of the commercial spine. Online receipts are captured and the invoice status updates automatically; offline receipts are recorded, and any approval step is a control the organisation configures.
Other Product-Type Use Cases
The same records cover order payments on a public order page, instalment collection on a financed installation, and any offline receipt a general business needs to reconcile against a document.
Related PSA Capabilities
- How to Create and Send Invoices — the document most payments settle.
- How to Use Finance and Income vs Expense Reports — where invoiced and received value can be reviewed together.
- How to Set Up Recurring Invoices — retainer cycles that need collecting every period.
- How to Manage Clients and the Client Portal — the client account that can review its own invoices.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- Gateway credentials are per company. Configuring a gateway for one account does not enable it for another.
- Which gateways are appropriate depends on your currencies and country. Confirm with the processor before going live.
- Where offline payments require approval, an unapproved payment should not be treated as collected.
- Recording the payment against the wrong document leaves both balances wrong. Always check the linked record.
Common Scenarios
Example: card payment on an invoice. You configure Stripe with your company's credentials. The client opens the invoice's public page, pays by card, and the invoice moves to paid without anyone recording it by hand.
Example: a bank transfer. A client pays by bank transfer. A User records the payment against the invoice with the transfer date, and an Administrator approves it because approval is configured for offline methods.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| No gateway appears on the public payment page | No gateway has been configured for the company | Ask your Administrator to enter the gateway credentials in the payment gateways settings area. |
The invoice is still unpaid after the client paid offline | The offline payment has not been recorded, or is awaiting approval | Record the payment against the invoice, and have an Administrator approve it where approval is configured. |
| A payment is not linked to anything | No invoice, order, credit note or project was selected when it was recorded | Use Edit to link the payment to the correct document. |
| Offline methods are not available when recording a payment | The offline methods have not been enabled for the company | Ask your Administrator to enable the required offline methods. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which gateways can CrmLeaf collect through?
Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Paystack, PayFast, Mollie, Authorize.net, Flutterwave and Square.
Do we use CrmLeaf's merchant account?
No. Gateway credentials are held per company, so each account uses its own merchant account.
Can a payment be recorded against something other than an invoice?
Yes. A Payment can link to an invoice, an order, a credit note or a project.
Can offline payments require sign-off?
Yes. Offline methods are configurable with approval.
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