Autopay charges a customer's saved card automatically so a recurring invoice collects itself. Everything lives on the customer's profile → Billing tab → Autopay panel, and the question-mark icon there opens this checklist inside the app.
Step 1: Get a card on file
Two ways, and neither exposes the card number to you or to PortaPro. Card data goes straight into the payment processor's secure vault; PortaPro stores only a token, the brand, and the last four digits.
Step 2: Turn on autopay
Flip the toggle and pick the saved card. Two modes, independently switchable:
Autopay requires a saved card; the toggle won't enable without one.
What your customer receives: one email, not two
An autopay customer gets exactly one email per cycle.
When a cycle invoice is about to auto-charge, the invoice email is suppressed. The card is charged as the invoice issues, and the customer receives a single paid receipt branded as your company. There's no bill to act on — the receipt is the notification.
This is what every consumer subscription has trained customers to expect. A bill followed sixty seconds later by a receipt for the same amount reads as a system error and generates calls asking which one to pay.
| Situation | Emails the customer gets |
|---|---|
| Autopay on, charge succeeds | 1 — the paid receipt |
| Autopay on, card declines | 1 — the card-declined notice |
| Autopay off | 1 — the invoice, as always |
The receipt comes from you, with your branding — not an unbranded processor email alongside it.
When a card declines
Nothing dramatic, and nobody is charged twice.
The notice is capped at one per invoice per day, so a card that stays broken nudges daily rather than on every retry.
Your customer is the only person who can fix an expired card, so they're told first — rather than believing they're paid up and finding out weeks later from a past-due notice.
Rolling it out
Don't convert the whole book at once. Pick your ten most reliable monthly customers and make the ask on your next call with each:
"I can put a card on file so you never have to think about the monthly invoice — you'll get a paid receipt every month and it handles itself."
Commercial and construction accounts usually say yes immediately. Every conversion is one less check to chase.
Troubleshooting
"My customer says they didn't get an invoice." If they're on autopay, that's correct — they got a paid receipt instead. The invoice email is intentionally suppressed.
"Autopay didn't charge but there's a card on file." Check the invoice's flag for the decline reason. Your customer has already been emailed the update-card notice, so the first move is usually to wait rather than call. You can also charge manually once they fix it.
"Several customers failed the same day." Check your Stripe Connect status in Settings → Payments. If your account needs reauthorization, every autopay attempt fails until it's restored.
"Can a retry double-charge someone?" No. Each invoice carries a unique charge key, so a retry can never produce a second charge for the same invoice.