How to track and manage payments

The **Payments** page records what your clients owe, connects each payment to a client and a reminder flow, and gives you a portal link clients can use to pay online.

### Overview

Payments in eCourtDate are records you create, edit, search, and export from one page. Each payment holds an amount, a reference, dates, a status, and free text fields for a case number and citation. Attaching a client and a flow is what turns a payment into scheduled reminder messages, and assigning a portal is what produces the payment link and QR code your clients use.

- Create one-off payments from the **Create Payment** card
- Attach a client so reminder messages can generate
- Assign a **Flow** to control which reminders send and when
- Assign a **Portal** to produce a payment link and QR code
- Filter the payments list and export the results as PDF or CSV

Clerks, finance staff, and agency administrators who track fines, fees, and other balances use this page day to day.

### Prerequisites

- Access to **Payments** in the top navigation
- A role that includes the payments permissions, set under **Admin** > **Users** > **Roles**
- Client records for the people who owe the balances ([How to Manage Clients](/how-to-manage-clients))
- At least one payment status defined under **Admin** > **Settings** > **Statuses** ([How to define custom statuses](/how-to-define-custom-statuses))
- A payment flow if you want reminder messages to generate ([How to Create a Flow](/how-to-create-a-flow))
- A portal if you want clients to pay online ([How to Create Web Portals](/how-to-create-web-portals))

Field labels on this page come from your agency's custom field names, so **Amount** or **Payment reference** may read differently in your agency.

### How-To Steps

#### Create a payment

1. Click **Payments** in the top navigation.
2. Enter a name or reference in the client search box above the **Create Payment** card.
3. Click the matching result to attach that client to the payments you create next.
4. Enter the **Amount** in dollars.
5. Enter a **Payment reference** that matches the record in your case management system.
6. Select a **Due at** date.
7. Select a **Flow** to control the reminder messages for this payment.
8. Click **Create**.

New payments are created with an outstanding status and a type of fee. Change either one on the payment editor.

#### Edit a payment

1. Click the edit icon in the first column of the payments results table.
2. Update the **Amount** and **Payment reference** at the top of the form.
3. Enter a **Contact**, which is the phone number or email address of the payer.
4. Select a **Flow**, a **Location**, and a **Portal**.
5. Set the **Issued at** and **Due at** dates.
6. Select a **Status** from your agency's payment statuses.
7. Enter a **Type**, which is a free text field on the editor.
8. Enter a **Case number** and a **Citation** to tie the payment to the originating case or ticket.
9. Enter a **Description**, and use **Notes** for the internal notes your staff needs.
10. Click **Save**.

#### Attach or detach a client

1. Open the payment.
2. Enter a name in the client search field in the right column, then click **Search Clients**.
3. Click **Attach** next to the correct client in the results.
4. Click **Detach** in the client card if you attached the wrong client.

#### Share the payment link

1. Open the payment.
2. Select a **Portal** and click **Save**.
3. Click **Go to Portal** in the page header to open the client-facing payment page in a new tab.
4. Copy the address from your browser to send the link to your client.
5. Use the QR code next to **Go to Portal** for printed notices, since it points at the same page.

#### Send a message about a payment

1. Open a payment that has a client attached.
2. Scroll to the **Send a Message** card in the right column.
3. Enter a **Subject** and a **Message**.
4. Click the options button in the corner of the card to reveal **Send Date**, **Send Time**, **Auto Messages**, and **Insert Files**.
5. Click **Send Message**.

Messages already queued for the payment appear in the **Scheduled Messages** list below the form.

#### Search and filter payments

1. Click **Payments** in the top navigation.
2. Enter a payment reference in the search box at the top of the **Search Payments** card.
3. Narrow the list with **Payment Type**, **Payment Description**, **Status**, **Case Number**, **Citation**, **Contact**, **Location**, **Portal**, or **Flow**.
4. Set **Issued From**, **Issued To**, **Due From**, or **Due To** to limit the list by date.
5. Select a **Creator** to see only payments a specific staff member created.
6. Check **Archived** or **Trashed** to review payments removed from the default list.
7. Click **Search**.
8. Click **Load more** below the table to pull the next page of results.

The **Payment Type** and **Payment Description** lists show the values already used in your agency's payments, and the **Status** list shows your agency's payment statuses.

#### Export payments

1. Apply the filters you want in the **Search Payments** card.
2. Click **CSV** above the results table to download the filtered payments as a spreadsheet file.
3. Click **PDF** to open your browser print dialog with the full filtered list on screen.

#### Review the payments for one client

1. Click **Clients** in the top navigation.
2. Open the client record.
3. Click **Payments** in the client section list.

The **Payments** page opens filtered to that client.

### What to Expect

A new payment appears at the top of the results table right away with a confirmation that the payment was created, and eCourtDate immediately processes it so any flow messages can generate. Status badges are color coded in the table, with outstanding shown in red and paid shown in green. Saving the editor confirms the update and refreshes the **Go to Portal** button and QR code, so a portal you just assigned becomes shareable on that save. Archived and trashed payments drop out of the default results and carry an ARCHIVED or TRASHED badge when you filter for them.

### Best Practices

- **Attach a client to every payment.** Without a client, no reminder messages can generate for the payment.
- **Assign a flow.** A payment with no flow has no message schedule, so nothing sends even when a client is attached.
- **Set a due date.** Time based reminders cannot be scheduled for a payment that has no **Due at** value.
- **Assign a portal.** The payment link and QR code only exist once a portal is saved on the payment.
- **Fill in the payment reference.** It is how you match an eCourtDate payment back to the record in your own system when you export.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Which statuses can I choose for a payment?**

A: The **Status** list comes from your agency's payment statuses under **Admin** > **Settings** > **Statuses**, so the options differ from agency to agency. Every new payment starts as outstanding until you change it.

**Q: Can I link a payment to a case or an event?**

A: A payment has free text **Case number** and **Citation** fields on the editor rather than a record picker, and there is no event field on a payment at all.

**Q: How do my clients pay online?**

A: Select a **Portal** on the payment and click **Save**. The **Go to Portal** button and the QR code beside it then open the client-facing payment page you can share.

**Q: Why is there no Send a Message card on my payment?**

A: That card only renders once a client is attached to the payment. Use the client search field in the right column, click **Search Clients**, then click **Attach**.

**Q: Can I copy an existing payment?**

A: Yes. Open the payment, then click **Tools** > **Duplicate**. The copy carries the same details but no client, so attach one before you expect messages.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** No messages generate for a payment.

**Symptoms:** The **Scheduled Messages** list on the payment is empty and your client has not received a reminder.

**Solution:**

1. Open the payment and click **Tools** > **Troubleshoot**.
2. Work through anything listed under **Critical Issues**, such as a missing client, a missing flow, a flow with no messages, or a client with no valid opted-in contacts.
3. Return to the payment and fix the flagged fields.
4. Click **Tools** > **Sync Messages** to regenerate the messages.
5. Click **Re-run Checks** on the troubleshoot page to confirm the issues cleared.

**Issue:** The payment editor shows a MESSAGES DISABLED badge.

**Symptoms:** The badge sits in the page header and no messages generate no matter how many times you sync.

**Solution:**

1. Check the **Status** on the payment, since a status can be configured to disable message generation.
2. Select a status that does not disable messages, or update the status configuration under **Admin** > **Settings** > **Statuses** ([How to Disable Messages based on Status](/how-to-disable-messages-based-on-status)).
3. Click **Save**, then click **Tools** > **Sync Messages**.
4. Click **Tools** > **Troubleshoot** if the badge stays, since a location with messages disabled also blocks generation.

**Issue:** The **Go to Portal** button and QR code are missing.

**Symptoms:** The payment header shows only **PDF**, **Tools**, **Save**, and **Close**.

**Solution:**

1. Open the payment and select a **Portal**.
2. Click **Save**. The button and QR code appear once the portal loads.

**Issue:** A CSV export is missing records.

**Symptoms:** The confirmation reads that only the first batch of records exported and asks you to narrow the filters for the rest.

**Solution:**

1. Add filters in the **Search Payments** card to reduce the result count, such as a date range or a single **Status**.
2. Click **Search**, then click **CSV** again.
3. Repeat with different filters until you have exported every record you need.

If you still have trouble, open the **Help** menu in the top navigation and click **New support ticket**.

### Related Articles

- [How to manage payments](/how-to-manage-payments)
- [How to Create Payments via Bulk Actions](/how-to-create-payments-via-bulk-actions)
- [How to define custom statuses](/how-to-define-custom-statuses)
- [How to Create a Flow](/how-to-create-a-flow)
- [How to Create Web Portals](/how-to-create-web-portals)
- [How to issue and manage citations](/how-to-issue-and-manage-citations)