rfrisch43 - Invoices | Stripe Developers | Page 1

lucid crane Apr 6, 2022, 7:41 PM

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Yes if you want to use Stripe's feature to email out the invoices, then send_invoice is the way to go

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If you do collect & save a payment method, you can always disable auto advancement in a particular invoice in future and manually /pay it with that payment method via the API:
https://stripe.com/docs/invoicing/integration/automatic-advancement-collection#pausing-auto-collection
https://stripe.com/docs/api/invoices/pay

topaz depot Apr 6, 2022, 7:49 PM

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Ok, so if it's a recurring membership I would create a subscription with send_invoice set to true, the member would receive the first invoice, enter payment details and then be charged automatically going forward. If I need to allow them to pay manually each period, I would disable auto-advancement and manually send the invoice via the API and they would then have to click a link to enter payment again?

If its a one time payment, I would just use the Invoice API directly?

lucid crane Apr 6, 2022, 7:51 PM

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and then be charged automatically going forward
No, they would continue to receive emails each month to pay. If you want to charge them automatically you need to collect the payment method details expicitly and set up the subscription to use collection_method=charge_automatically.

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If its a one time payment, I would just use the Invoice API directly?
Correct - for a single payment with no recurring considerations, you can use a one-off Invoice -- no subscription.

topaz depot Apr 6, 2022, 7:54 PM

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Ok, thanks, this is very helpful. Last thing I don't quite get yet. If collection method is set to charge automatically, do I need the payment info in advance? What I'm ultimately trying to accomplish is setup a subscription, send first invoice to allow the member to enter their own payment source, and then charge automatically from that point forward.

lucid crane Apr 6, 2022, 8:03 PM

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Hmm depends on exactly what your goals are. Do you specifcally want to email an invoice and give them a long time to pay it? With that goal you would need to collect the payment method separately and there's a bit of duplication. You might instead want to eg start the subscription with checkout following them clicking a link you email etc, but they wouldnt get that first invoice email ahead of paying in that case.

topaz depot Apr 6, 2022, 8:07 PM

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Yeah, I think that is the crux of it. Feels like I'm looking for something in between those options. The other option I am considering is just using the Invoice API and managing the recurring aspect on my end although I rather let Stripe handle it if I can.

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I would guess that an invoice may be open for a week or two given the industry

lucid crane Apr 6, 2022, 8:09 PM

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I would not recommend doing that, it will be a lot of work.

topaz depot Apr 6, 2022, 8:09 PM

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Agreed. Getting the invoice ahead of time is a requirement.

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Can you elaborate on "With that goal you would need to collect the payment method separately and there's a bit of duplication"?

lucid crane Apr 6, 2022, 8:21 PM

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You can set/keep it as send_invoice but email them separately and offer to switch to auto-payment. You can use eg checkout (in setup mode) ~~~or the customer portal~~~ to collect a payment method for a subscription:
https://stripe.com/docs/payments/save-and-reuse?platform=checkout#create-checkout-session

Your integration needs to switch from email to charge automatically explicitly and handle the payment method collection

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Actually Checkout would be the way to go for initial setup in that case, you won't be able to change the payment method with the portal until one is set up for it

topaz depot Apr 6, 2022, 8:56 PM

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Ok, I that gives me something to play with. Very much appreciate your help brainstorming on the approach.

lucid crane Apr 6, 2022, 9:00 PM

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No problem! Good use case exploration 🙂

#rfrisch43 - Invoices