Manual payment methods cover any payment you collect outside of an automated gateway, such as cash, check, or bank transfer. For card and bank debit payments, see the Automated Payment Methods guide.
Setting Up a Manual Payment Method
You set them up in the same place as automated methods, under Setup » Payment Methods » Add Payment Method » Add Manual Payment Method.
Add a name and any relevant details for the method.
If you are adding bank transfer as an option, include your bank details in the Instructions field so members have what they need to pay you.
Assigning a Manual Payment Method to a Member
Once a manual payment method is set up, you can assign it to a member's profile under Manage » Members » Payment Method » Change Payment Method.
Visibility Options
By default, manual payment methods are visible to members at checkout. If you want to keep a method for internal use only, check the 'Hidden from members' box when setting it up. You can still assign it to a member's profile manually, but members won't see it as a self-serve option.
Manual payment methods can also be made visible to Visitors booking through the External Bookings, Drop-in Pass and Event's portals. This is configured per method when you set it up.
How Manual Payment Methods Apply to Member Invoicing
Cobot generates member invoices automatically on each member's billing cycle. If a member pays with a manual method, the invoice stays unpaid until an admin records the payment.
To do this, go to the member's profile or Manage » Invoices and do one of the following:
Click on the hamburger menu on the right side of the invoice » Record Payment.
Click into the Invoice » Click 'Add' in the Payment records box » Record Payment.
IMPORTANT NOTES
Recording a manual payment marks the invoice as paid right away. There's no gateway confirmation to wait for, unlike an automated payment method, so make sure the payment has actually been received before you record it.
Marking an invoice as paid does not automatically email the invoice to the member. Do this manually at the top of the invoice after recording payment.
See the Member Invoicing guide for the full billing cycle and everything else you can do with member invoices.
How Manual Payment Methods Apply to Visitor Invoicing
Visitors only encounter manual payment methods when they book through External Bookings, Drop in Passes, or Events portals if you have activated it in the payment methods visibility settings.
If a visitor chooses a manual method at checkout, their booking is reserved, but the payment still needs to be reconciled manually by an another admin afterward. The same rule applies: whichever manual payment method the admin selects when recording payment is what gets posted to the invoic, and the invoice is marked paid as soon as this happens.
Free form invoices created for Visitors follow the same reconciliation process. See the Non-Member/Visitor Invoicing guide for details on creating and managing these invoices.
How Payment Method Names Appear on Invoices
When you reconcile an invoice and record a payment, choose which manual payment method the member or visitor used from the drop-down. Cobot then posts that method's name to bottom of the PDF invoice.
The name you give a manual payment method is what shows up on the invoice. For example, if you name a method "Bank Transfer", any invoice paid using that method shows "Paid with Bank Transfer". This makes it easy to see, invoice by invoice, exactly how each payment came in.
IMPORTANT NOTES
If you rename a manual payment method later, the new name only applies going forward. Invoices that already show the old name stay as they are. Cobot doesn't update past invoices retroactively.
The payment method only appears on the PDF invoice that is emailed to the member or downloaded from your admin portal. The web invoice does not show this information.
Tracking Manual Payments Separately
If you want to see how much of your revenue comes in through cash, check, or bank transfer versus card payments, use Accounting Codes to tag manual payment methods and track them separately in Analytics.
This is especially useful if you reconcile cash and bank transfer income differently from card payments.
Refunding a Manual Payment
Refunds work differently depending on how the original payment was made. See the Refunding Members and Visitors in Cobot guide for how to handle refunds on invoices paid with a manual payment method.
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