How an invoice gets paid online

You finish a job and send your client an invoice. The invoice has a pay link, so the client can pay it online.

Your invoicing app sends the invoice by email, with a button to pay it. The button opens a payment page that shows the amount due.

The client types in their card number, the expiration date and the security code. Then they press pay.

A payment provider runs that page. It is a company that handles card payments for businesses. It asks the client’s bank whether the card can pay this amount. The bank checks the account and approves the payment.

The client sees that the payment went through. The provider tells your invoicing app, and the invoice is marked as paid.

The provider collects the money from the client’s bank and keeps its fee. A few days later, it sends the rest to your bank account.

A pay link lets your client pay by card, and the money reaches your bank a few days later.