Each invoice can only have one payment plan at a time. If you need to adjust the payment schedule, use the Modify action on the existing plan instead of creating a new one. Alternatively, cancel the current plan and create a new one with different terms.
Payment Plans
Payment plans let you break down an invoice into scheduled installments instead of requiring a single lump-sum payment. This is useful for customers who need flexibility when paying larger invoices while still maintaining predictable cash flow for your business.
When to use payment plans
Use payment plans when:
A customer requests to pay a large invoice over time
You want to offer flexible payment options for high-value services
You need to maintain ongoing payment schedules with specific customers
Payment plans work best for invoices with significant amounts where the customer has agreed to a structured payment schedule upfront. For standard invoices with immediate payment expectations, use regular billing instead.
Accessing the payment plans page
Navigate to Billing → Payment Plans to see all installment plans across your customers. The page displays the subtitle "Manage installment payment plans across all customers."
Payment plans dashboard
The dashboard provides an overview of all active and historical payment plans with quick insights into your installment receivables.
Summary cards
Four summary cards appear at the top of the page:
Active Plans — The number of payment plans currently running
Outstanding — Total remaining balance across all active plans
Upcoming this week — Installment payments scheduled within the next seven days
Failed — Installments that failed to process
Filtering payment plans
Use the filters to find specific plans:
Status filter — Choose from All statuses, Active, Paused, Completed, or Cancelled
Customer filter — Search for a customer by name to see only their payment plans
Click the clear icon next to the customer filter to remove it.
Payment plans table
The table shows each plan with the following columns:
Customer — The customer associated with the payment plan
Total — The total amount being paid through the plan
Progress — How many installments have been completed
Frequency — The payment schedule (Weekly, Biweekly, or Monthly)
Next Payment — The date and amount of the upcoming installment
Status — Current plan status (Active, Paused, Completed, or Cancelled)
Click any plan row to open the associated invoice detail page where you can manage the plan.
Creating a payment plan
Payment plans are created from individual invoices, not from the payment plans page.
Navigate to Billing and open the invoice you want to convert to a payment plan
Click Create payment plan on the invoice detail page
Configure the payment schedule:
Installments — Enter a number between 2 and 24 installments
Frequency — Select Weekly, Biweekly, or Monthly
Start date — Choose when the first installment should be scheduled (defaults to 7 days from today)
Review the estimated per-installment amount shown below the form fields
Click Create plan to confirm
The system automatically divides the invoice amount evenly across all installments, with any remainder added to the final payment. Each installment is scheduled based on your chosen frequency.
You cannot create a payment plan if the invoice has no amount due or already has an active or paused payment plan attached.
Managing payment plans
Once a payment plan is active, you can manage its lifecycle from the invoice detail page.
Plan statuses
Active — The plan is running and installments are processing on schedule
Paused — Installment processing is temporarily stopped; no payments will be attempted
Completed — All installments have been paid successfully
Cancelled — The plan was terminated before completion
Available actions
Pause — Temporarily stop an active plan; no installments will process while paused
Resume — Restart a paused plan and continue processing installments
Cancel — Permanently end the plan; remaining scheduled installments are cancelled
Modify — Adjust remaining scheduled installments, provided the revised amounts still sum to the outstanding balance
Installment lifecycle
Each individual installment within a payment plan has its own status:
Scheduled — The installment is waiting for its scheduled date
Processing — Payment is being attempted
Completed — The installment payment succeeded
Failed — The payment attempt failed; the system will retry based on retry logic
Cancelled — The installment was cancelled (typically when a plan is cancelled)
When all installments in a plan reach Completed status, the payment plan automatically transitions to Completed and the invoice is marked as paid.
Customer experience
Customers can view their active and paused payment plans from the customer portal. They see the installment schedule, amounts, and remaining balance. Customers can also pay installments early or pay off the remaining balance in full at any time through Stripe Checkout.
Troubleshooting
A payment plan creation failed with "Invoice already has an active payment plan"
A payment plan creation failed with "Invoice has no amount due"
Payment plans require an outstanding balance to split into installments. If the invoice is already paid or voided, you cannot create a payment plan for it.
An installment shows Failed status
Failed installments typically indicate a payment processing issue such as an expired card or insufficient funds. The system will attempt automatic retries based on your retry schedule. Contact the customer to update their payment method if failures persist.
How do custom installment amounts work?
The standard creation form splits the total evenly across installments. If you need custom amounts for specific installments (for example, a larger first payment), contact your administrator or use the API directly with the customAmounts parameter. Custom amounts must sum exactly to the invoice total.
Was this helpful?
Was this helpful?