QuickBooks Payments best practices

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This topic provides tips and best practices to help you minimize customer inquiries and chargebacks related to automatic credit card billing.

What is a chargeback?

1. See if your customer is interested. Let your customer know automatic credit card billing is now available and is a convenient way to pay.
2. Always obtain written authorization from your customer. You must have a signed authorization form from your customer before setting up a recurring charge or making changes.
3. Keep the original authorization form for the duration of the contract. Keep the form in case of a customer dispute, and protect it as you would other sensitive customer information.
4. Allow your customer to select the date of payment. For example, if you bill monthly, let your customer choose which day of the month the charge will be applied. Consult your customer when you complete this part of the authorization form.
5. Bill at least once every quarter (90 days). Billing less frequently increases the chance that a charge will be declined due to invalid credit card information.
6. Check in with your customer periodically. Making sure your customers are satisfied with your products or services can go a long way in avoiding disputes.
7. Provide customers with convenient cancelation methods. The "Automatic Credit Card Billing Authorization Form" that QuickBooks provides states that a customer can cancel automatic billing at any time by contacting you.
8. Confirm participation after a free trial. If you offer customers a free trial, confirm their participation after the free trial ends. By letting your customers know you plan to start charging, you can avoid disputes.

There are also some things you must not do:

• Do NOT bill for partial payment of goods or services. For example, if you charge $50 per month, you cannot charge $30 to the customer's credit card and collect the balance in some other form (such as cash or check).
• Do NOT include additional finance charges with a recurring sales receipt. Visa and MasterCard rules prohibit including a finance charge on top of the amount your customer agreed to pay.

See also

QuickBooks Payments overview