How does the Process a payment now checkbox work?
If you edit a recurring plan or activate a previously canceled recurring plan, you may see a checkbox labeled Process a payment now. This checkbox can be confusing, so this article explains what it does, when it appears, and what happens if you select it.
What the Process a payment now checkbox does
The Process a payment now checkbox lets you charge one extra installment immediately, in addition to the regular schedule of the recurring plan.
- It creates an additional charge right away.
- It does not change the plan schedule or the date of future installments.
For example, if a recurring plan charges monthly on the 20th and you check Process a payment now on the 10th:
- A charge is made immediately on the 10th.
- The regular charge on the 20th still happens as usual.
This means there will be two charges in that month: one on the 10th and one on the 20th.
The recurring plan continues to follow the date in the Starting on field. Checking Process a payment now does not change that date.
When the Process a payment now checkbox is available
The Process a payment now checkbox is not always shown. It only appears when it is possible to charge an extra installment without overlapping with another payment in the same period.
The checkbox is not available in these cases:
- The next installment is scheduled for today.
- The plan frequency is daily.
- A payment has already been made in the current billing period:
- For weekly and biweekly plans: a payment already happened this week.
- For every 4 weeks, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, semiannual, annual plans: a payment already happened this month.
If any of these conditions apply, you will not see the Process a payment now checkbox when editing the recurring plan.