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Card-on-file payment settings FAQs

Answers to questions about card-on-file payments, disabling card-on-file payments, and managing these for clients.

Updated this week

What are card-on-file payments?

Card-on-file allows your clients to make payments with a card that has been securely stored from a previous transaction.

This makes it easier and safer for clients to make future payments, and it also allows for the use of autopay. You might use card-on-file when you have an ongoing project with a client and you have set up automatic payments on a specific schedule.


How can I disable card-on-file?

🔥 Stop

Disabling card-on-file payments will also disable any payments that are currently set to autopay, either by you or by your client. When card-on-file is disabled, your client will need to re-enter card information each time they make a payment.

  1. From any page, click your profile photo > Company Settings

  2. Select the Payment Method tab

  3. In the Accepted Payment Methods section, click the dropdown arrow next to Card Payments

  4. Toggle Enable card-on-file payments OFF

  5. Review the information and click Disable & Email to confirm

    • By clicking Disable & Email, any clients currently paying for projects using automatic payments will receive an automatically-generated email that you've stopped using autopay

      • The email will let them know that they'll need to re-enter their payment method details for subsequent payments

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What happens when I disable card-on-file?

For your clients, disabling card-on-file means:

  • Any clients currently paying for projects using automatic payments will receive an automatically-generated email that you've stopped using autopay

  • Clients will need to re-enter card information every time they make a payment

  • No clients will be able to opt in to autopay on invoices moving forward

  • Autopay for any in-progress invoices will be disabled

    • Clients will need to manually re-enter card information for all subsequent payments

For you (the business), disabling card-on-file means:

  • You can not require clients to use autopay

  • You may see an increase in late payments


Why can I not disable card-on-file?

If you try to disable card-on-file but receive an error message, that means you still have one or more legacy recurring invoices or proposals in progress.

To ensure that payments in these files continue to process correctly, you will not be able to disable card-on-file until all payments in the file(s) are complete.

Moving forward, you can use smart files to set up recurring payments without requiring card-on-file payments.


How do I re-enable card-on-file?

  1. From any page, click your profile photo > Company Settings

  2. Select the Payment Method tab

  3. In the Accepted Payment Methods section, click the dropdown arrow next to Card Payments

  4. Toggle Enable card-on-file payments ON

Now, clients can make repeated payments or turn on autopay, without re-entering card information—so you’re more likely to get paid on time.



Still have questions? Feel free to send us a message by clicking the Question Mark icon on any HoneyBook page. Our team is always happy to help!

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