Setting Up Offline Payments

Last edited 9/13/2021
You may want to allow your users to pay offline, e.g. mail a check or apply credit from a unit account. This can be accomplished in Form Builder with a few steps:

Step 1: Edit - Add a Payment Options Page

At the bottom of your form, add a new page for Payment Options. Multiple pages are required for the logic that allows offline payments, and a separate page for payment questions helps them stand out to users.

Step 2: User's Preference and Administrative Notes

Add a new multiple choice field to your form, so that users may select different payment options. This field should be required and on the final page of your form.

Also add a paragraph text field, making it admin only, for staff to collect offline payment details such as date and check number. List which details you wish to document as default text. Optionally, check "Auto-hide Default Text" so your prompt goes away when you start typing.

Save and select "I'm finished."

Step 3: Logic - Enable Rules to Skip Pages

Save and return to Form Manager, then click on "logic." In the logic builder, select "Enable Rules to Skip Pages" (the red box). From the "Select Destination Page" dropdown, choose "Success Page." Select the payment option field you created in Step 2 (such as, "How would you like to pay?"), then the appropriate user response. If your field had more than one option for offline payment (such as both "Mail-In" and "Unit Account), change "Go to this page if" from "all" to "any," and click the plus sign to add another condition. Once you have a condition set up for every offline payment option, click on "Save Settings" at the top of the page.

Step 4: Logic - Conditional Notifications

Also in the logic builder, select "Enable Rules to Send Notification Emails" (first green box). In most cases, you will want one email rule for each payment option you offered users, including online payment. You can create additional rules by clicking on "Add Email Rule," next to the plus sign.

For each email rule:

  1. Set up a single condition, similar to the ones you created in Step 3.
  2. Select "Email" from the "Send email to:" dropdown; this will address your notifications to the user email entered into your form.
  3. Select "Custom" from the "Using email template:" dropdown.
  4. Fill in your email details, including instructions for your users in the "Email Content." See Notifications (Basic) for explanations of each notification field.
  5. Check "Delay Notification Until Paid" for CREDIT CARD/ONLINE payments. Leave unchecked for offline options.
Best Practice: BCC appropriate staff in the emails sent to users so they know to expect payment in the mail or to apply credit and follow up.

Step 5: Disable Standard Notifications

Now that you have logic-based notifications set up, you'll want to disable user notification settings your form inherited from a template. Once you've saved your logic, return to Form Manger.

  • First, open "Notifications" and simply disable "Send Confirmation Email to User." Click "Save Settings" and return to Form Manager.
  • Next, go to "Payment." In "Payment Options" (the red box), disable "Delay Notifications Until Paid" and save.

Step 6: Logic - Conditional Success Pages

Similar to notifications, the success page seen by users can communicate instructions for offline payments. Return to your form's logic builder and check "Enable Rules to Display Success Page" (the final box). This will allow you to create rules to alter the content of your form's success page depending upon the payment option selected.

Create a rule for each payment option, setting up conditions identical to your notification rules. Then, enter an appropriate success message for each, including any necessary follow-up instructions, and click "Save Settings."

 

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