Getting paid, without the chasing.
StoreBay collects by Direct Debit or saved card, tries a declined card again, and emails reminders on a schedule you set.
Direct Debits go through your own GoCardless account. StoreBay adds nothing to GoCardless’s fee.
Illustration: a Direct Debit of £126.00 for unit 9 that has failed, with the emails StoreBay sends by default after it: a payment reminder on day 2, a second reminder on day 5, a late fee notice on day 8 with a £15.00 late fee, and a final notice on day 14.
How payments and chasing work.
Customers pay without you asking.
- Customers set up a Direct Debit or save a card online.
- Each invoice is then collected automatically, so nobody reads out a card number every month.
- You can still take a card payment over the phone.
- A customer’s credit is spent on their next invoice as it is issued, so the invoice shows what is left to pay.
- Complete a move-out and their regular billing stops.
Illustration: the payment method choice on a storage operator’s checkout. Direct Debit is selected and marked Recommended, with the note Automatic monthly collection. The other choice is Debit / credit card, with the note Pay now, then we collect monthly from this card automatically.
A failed payment is tried again.
- A declined card is tried against any other card the customer has saved, then again over the following days.
- The customer gets an email with a link to update their card.
- When StoreBay retries a failed Direct Debit automatically, it does so after fresh notice to the customer.
Illustration: an email to a customer from “Your site”, titled “We couldn’t take your payment”. It says a payment of £96.00 did not go through and that their storage isn’t affected, and it has a button to update their payment details.
Reminders go out on your schedule.
- By default, a failed payment is followed by an email on day 2, day 5, day 8 and day 14.
- A £15 late fee is added on day 8.
| Day after the failed payment | What happens |
|---|---|
| 2, 5 and 14 | What happensThe customer is emailed a reminder. |
| 8 | What happensThe customer is emailed a reminder, and a £15 late fee is added. |
- Change the days or the fee, remove a reminder, or switch the late fee off.
Illustration: the operator’s Payment reminders settings, headed What happens when a payment is missed. The ladder reads 4 reminders from day 2, a late fee on day 8: email reminders on days 2, 5, 8 and 14, each with its day, channel and template and a Remove button, a late fee of £15.00 on day 8 that includes VAT, and an Add reminder button.
You can see who has paid.
Every invoice and payment shows its status on the customer’s record and in your payments list. A Direct Debit moves from Requested to With the bank to Collected, so you can see where it is.
Illustration: one Direct Debit of £126.00 shown two ways. In the operator’s payments list it reads With the bank, collecting on 8 September. On the customer’s screen it reads: Collecting, we’ve asked your bank for £126.00, it’s taken on 8 September.
Invoices go out by email.
- Monthly invoices are emailed to the customer, with the PDF attached.
- In their own account, customers can pay, download an invoice and change their card.
- A protection plan is a line on the same invoice as the licence fee.
Illustration: an email to a customer from “Your site”, titled “Your invoice for October”, with the invoice attached as a PDF. Below it, what the customer can then do in their own account: pay an invoice, download invoices, change their card or ask to move out.
Questions about getting paid.
A bank can reverse a Direct Debit after it has cleared. When that happens, the invoice goes back to owing and the chasing picks it up again.
For Direct Debit and card payments, yes. Direct Debits go through your own GoCardless account, and cards through your own Stripe or Global Payments account. You connect them in Payment providers. What they charge is on the pricing page.
Record the payment when it arrives: cash, cheque, bank transfer, standing order or a card taken on your own terminal. If an invoice is still unpaid 30 days after it is due, the customer gets one reminder email.
Direct Debits through your own GoCardless account
Guides for this job
- Bacs Direct Debit for self storageGlossary
- DunningGlossary
- Late fees and interest on self storage in the UK: what the law says16 min read
- Taking payments for self storage: Direct Debit, cards and the UK rules17 min read
- Abandoned storage units: the Torts Act process for operators10 min read
- Unpaid Self Storage Fees UK: The County Court Route in Numbers25 min read