About the class
This class is a 5-part video series that covers processing Online Payments in SimplePractice.
In this guide, we’ll cover:
- Part 1. Quick tour: Online Payments
- Part 2. Account set up
- Part 3. Using Online Payments
- Part 4. Managing Online Payments income
- Part 5. Declines, refunds, and disputes
- Helpful guides
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Part 1: Quick tour
As an introduction, we'll take a quick tour of the Online Payments feature.
Part 2. Account set up
In part 2, we'll review how to verify your SimplePractice account and set up your Online Payments account.
You can complete these steps at Settings > Payment processing > Online payments.
Part 3. Using Online Payments
In part 3, we'll review how to use Online Payments on a day-to-day basis.
You can access service settings at Settings > Services and products > Services.
For more information, see Processing Online Payments, and Online Payments FAQs.
Part 4. Managing Online Payments income
In part 4, we'll review how to keep track of your card transactions and payouts.
The Card transactions report details all of the credit card charges processed through your Online Payments account, making it easy to to keep track of transactions associated with your account. You can access this report by navigating to your Calendar homepage and clicking Billing > Card transactions.
Payments processed using our Online Payments feature will be deposited as a total amount, known as a payout. Payouts are sent to the bank account associated with your Online Payments account on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
Note: For more information, see Keeping track of your payouts.
Part 5. Declines, refunds, and disputes
In part 5, we'll review common situations when accepting card payments, including what to do if a card is declined, how to process a refund and handling a disputed charge.
Online Payments declines
Payments can be declined for various reasons. For an overview of steps to take when a client’s card is declined, see Handling credit card declines.
Online Payments refunds
If you need to refund a client for any reason, you can perform a full or partial refund. To do this, navigate to Billing > Card transactions.
For more information, see Refunding a client.
Online Payments disputes
Disputed charges are transaction reversals initiated by the cardholder’s bank. For an overview of handling a disputed charge, see Steps to take when a client disputes a charge.
While disputes are an unfortunate part of accepting online payments, the best way to manage them is to take steps to avoid them. Here are some important steps you can take to avoid disputes:
- Maintaining clear and frequent contact with your clients can help prevent many of the reasons for disputes. By responding to issues and processing refunds quickly, your clients are less likely to take the time to dispute a payment. Additionally, by making your contact information prominent and keeping clients updated throughout their payment process, you can actively work to avoid disputes.
- Including a clear description of both your refund and cancellation policies in your practice documents.
- Using a recognizable name for your Statement descriptor. This can be updated at Settings > Billing and Service > Online Payments. We recommend using your business name, as this helps avoid client confusion when they look at their bank statements.
Note: Every cardholder ultimately has the right to dispute charges with their card issuer. While you can take steps to minimize the likelihood of disputes, they aren’t entirely preventable.