Saving and Managing a Customer's Card on File

Availability: all plans

A card on file lets you charge a customer later without asking for their card again. You add it from the customer's record, entering the card in your payment processor's secure form, and you confirm that the customer authorized you to keep it. ServiceVisit never stores the card number. This guide covers adding a card, choosing which is charged first, removing one, and what the customer is told.

Before you start

You need a connected payment processor. Without one, the add page shows "Connect a payment processor first" with a Set up payments button.
Adding a card needs permission to process payments. Making a card default or removing one needs permission to create customer relationships.
Get the customer's agreement first. The confirmation you tick is your attestation. ServiceVisit records it with the wording shown, but does not verify it, and you are responsible for keeping evidence of the customer's authorization.

Steps

Add a card.

Open the customer, then the Billing tab, then Payment Methods.
Select Add Payment Method. The page is titled Add a Payment Method.
Tick the confirmation: "I confirm that the customer authorized: Keep the card entered here on file so this provider may charge it for amounts the customer separately authorizes." You cannot continue without it.
Enter the card in the secure form. The customer's first saved card becomes their default.

Choose which card is charged first.

In Payment Methods, find the card that is not marked Default.
Select Make Default. The page confirms "Default payment method updated."

Remove a card.

Select Remove beside the card. A window asks "Remove ... ?" and explains that the card will no longer be chargeable and is detached at your payment processor. The customer is not asked first.
Select Remove card, or Keep card to cancel. The page confirms "Payment method removed."

What the customer is told

When you save a card, ServiceVisit sends the customer a notice by email naming your business and the card's brand and last four digits. If they are not yet linked to your business it can include a link to connect their account. A customer who is linked can see the card, see how it was authorized, and replace or remove it themselves. When they do, your staff receive a notification and a note is added to the customer's history in their name.

Tips

The list shows brand, last four digits, expiry, the date added, and the processor that holds the card. A card past its expiry month shows Expired. Two cards that read the same show the time as well as the date so you can tell them apart.
If you save a card that is already on file for the customer, the existing card is kept rather than a duplicate being created, and your new attestation is recorded against it.
Card details go directly to your processor, not through ServiceVisit.

If something goes wrong

If the add page says it could not open or the card is not accepted, return to the customer and try again. Nothing is saved until the processor confirms the card.
If removal is refused because a payment plan collects automatically from the card, the message says how many plans rely on it. Change that plan's card first, then remove it.
If the default or removal fails, the page says it could not be updated or removed; try again.

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