You can offer your clients more flexible and affordable payment terms at no extra cost, while also improving your credit control.
All instalments are debited automatically with notifications and reporting for you and your clients, including retries on failed payments. Payment Plans work with any card payment.
How to create a Payment Plan
Note, when you create a Payment Plan the client’s first instalment payment will be due on the start date.
Select the Create a Pay Request button.
Enter your client’s name and email address, followed by Continue.
Under Payment Type select the Payment Plan option.
Under Payment total enter the total amount to be paid by the client.
Under Monthly instalment enter the agreed amount to be paid by the client on each instalment date.
The Plan breakdown section will outline the details of the Payment Plan. Take a look at an example (screenshot below) for a total amount of £800 with monthly instalments agreed at £150:
[5] monthly instalments of [£150]: the system was able to create five monthly instalments of £150.
[1] monthly instalment of [£50]: because the agreed monthly instalments of £150 cannot be divided evenly to make up the total, the system has automatically calculated a final one-off instalment balance of £50. In cases where the agreed instalment amount can be spread evenly across each month, there will not be a one-off final instalment amount created.
Start Date / First payment date: date the first instalment payment is due and will be taken from the client - this is the same date the Payment Plan Start Date. Each subsequent instalment will be taken on the same day each month.
Should the client make an overdue payment this will not impact any future instalment dates - they will remain as per the original schedule.
After the first instalment payment has been made, the subsequent instalments will be debited automatically on the same day each month until the Payment Plan schedule has ended. If the monthly instalment date falls on the 29th, 30th, or 31st of a month, for months with fewer days, payment will be debited on the last day of the month.
Final payment date: date that the final instalment payment is due and will be taken. If this is the final/one-off instalment it will be collected on this date.
Complete the rest of payment request details as necessary, followed by creating and sending the Pay Request to the client.
How to find and view a Payment Plan
Navigate to Pay > Payments from the left-hand menu.
Locate the Pay Request created for the associated Payment Plan.
Select the View button to open the Pay Request drawer.
Select View Payment Plan details.
The full ‘Plan details’ and ‘Plan schedule’ will be outlined, as per the screenshot below.
Select View next to instalments ‘Paid’ or ‘Due’ to see the individual instalment payment details.
How to filter payments associated with a Payment Plan
Navigate to Pay > Payments from the left-hand menu.
Select the filter Payment Source and select/tick Payment Plan.
This will filter and display all individual payments which are associated with a Payment Plan (including any other filters you have applied).
How to cancel a Payment Plan
To cancel an existing Payment Plan, please follow the steps below. Please note, this cannot be undone.
Select the three-dot menu from the top right corner, followed by Cancel Plan.
Confirm you wish to cancel the Payment Plan and select the reason for canceling.
Note: To make changes to an existing plan (such as instalment amount or due date), you will need to cancel the existing plan and create a new one following the steps above.
Payment Plan email notifications
Client notifications
Payment Plan schedule: once the client has made the first instalment payment, they’ll receive a breakdown of their instalment schedule.
Advanced warning: 3 days prior to each scheduled payment date, they’ll receive notification of the upcoming payment date and the amount that will be taken.
Payment confirmation: following each successful card payment, they’ll receive receipt of payment made.
Unsuccessful payment: following a declined payment, they’ll receive notification of this including the reason for the failed payment (e.g. insufficient funds, or card expiry).
Law firm notifications
Successful payment: the creator of the Pay Request for the associated Payment Plan will receive email notification after each successful instalment payment is made.
Advanced warning: the creator of the Payment Plan will receive an email alert if a newly created plan has not been started by your client after 14 days. This happens if your client has not entered their card details. The email contains a link to the payment, so you can share it with your client if helpful.
Unsuccessful payment: following a declined payment, the creator of the Payment Plan will receive email notification of this including the reason for the failed payment (e.g. insufficient funds, or card expiry).
Overdue instalments
Instalment payments can become overdue if:
The first instalment payment has not been paid on the date that the Payment Plan was created.
Important: If the first instalment payment (which is when the client is required to enter their card details) is not paid before the second instalment date, the Payment Plan will be unable to debit the second instalment.
An instalment payment has been declined. The client will receive an email notification that their payment has failed, including the reason for the declined payment. If the payment failed due to insufficient funds, Legl will retry the payment for four days. See the below FAQs for more information on declined instalments.
An instalment payment has been paid via a different method. If the client paid one of the plan instalments outside of the plan (e.g. over the phone, BACs, separate Pay Request or Checkout payment) this instalment will appear as "overdue" and the plan will ultimately need to be cancelled.
If the client paid the plan instalment via another method through Legl (e.g. via the Checkout Portal, Phone Payment or separate Pay Request): we recommend you simply cancel the entire Payment Plan and create a new one as required. It's worth leaving a note on the plan you cancel explaining what has happened, referencing the instalment that was successfully paid.
If the client paid the plan instalment outside of Legl (e.g. via BACs): we recommend you mark the overdue instalment from the plan as "Paid" (so you have this logged for your records in Legl) and cancel the plan before creating a new one as required.
Actioning overdue instalments
You have different options available to progress with an overdue Payment Plan:
Retain the Payment Plan: Remind your client to complete the overdue payment. You can send automated reminders via Legl by navigating to the payment and switching the Reminders toggle on, or send a manual reminder via your own communication.
If the first instalment payment is overdue, the client will need to pay this before the second instalment date. If left unpaid, the system will not be able to debit the second payment.
Re-start the Payment Plan: You can cancel the plan and set up a new Payment Plan anytime - particularly useful if you wish to change the start date and/or amounts for your client’s monthly instalments.
Cancel the Payment Plan: Cancel the Payment Plan without setting up a new series of monthly instalments. This option also applies if you have created a plan to test this feature only. You can easily mark the plan as Cancelled by viewing the plan details and cancelling the plan.
FAQs and Troubleshooting
Is it possible to pause an existing Payment Plan?
It’s not currently possible to pause and restart an existing Payment Plan, however you are able to cancel and create a new plan. Follow the steps above to cancel a plan.
Can I refund one or more parts of a Payment Plan?
Yes - please see our refund process for more information.
How can I make changes to an existing Payment Plan (e.g. schedule, amount, payment details)?
In order to make any changes to the monthly instalment date, the instalment amount, or to allow the client to update their payment details you will need to cancel the existing plan and create a new one with the agreed changes.
My client paid one of the instalments via another method (not from the plan), and now the instalment on the plan appears as "overdue" - how do I action this plan?
If the client paid the plan instalment via another method through Legl (e.g. via the Checkout Portal, Phone Payment or separate Pay Request): we recommend you simply cancel the entire Payment Plan and create a new one as required. It's worth leaving a note on the plan you cancel explaining what has happened, referencing the instalment that was successfully paid.
If the client paid the plan instalment outside of Legl (e.g. via BACs): we recommend you mark the overdue instalment from the plan as "Paid" (so you have this logged for your records in Legl) and cancel the plan before creating a new one as required.
In any scenario, if an instalment from the plan was paid outside of the plan itself, the entire plan will need to be cancelled and a new plan created.
How are the client’s payment details stored?
The client's payment details are encrypted and securely stored for Payment Plans with our FCA regulated processing partner, Stripe (PCI Compliant Level 1).
What happens if a client’s payment is declined?
If the payment has been declined due to insufficient funds the client will be notified via email. Legl will automatically retry the payment for four days, to allow the client to add sufficient balance to their bank account.
If the payment fails due to card expiry, the client will be notified of this via email and the plan will need to be cancelled and re-created by the firm, which will enable the client to update their payment details upon the first instalment.
Still have questions?
If you have any further questions about Payment Plans, please contact [email protected].