Can I see why a card was declined?

The decline reason comes from your client's bank and is shown to your client on Stripe's checkout page, not stored on the invoice. Ask your client what the checkout page said, or check the payment attempt in your Stripe Dashboard.

My client paid another way after the card failed. What do I do?

Record the payment on the invoice yourself with Add Payment, choosing the method they actually used. WorkZen only records card and bank payments automatically when they go through Stripe.

Can a client pay by bank transfer in Canada?

Not online. The Pay by Bank option is only offered to clients of US companies whose Stripe account has bank payments active. Other companies' clients see card only.

Does a failed payment still add the processing fee to the invoice?

No. On a card payment, the processing fee and tip lines are added only after the payment succeeds. On a bank payment they are added while it is pending and removed again if the transfer fails.

Why did a payment fail or stay pending?

Most failed payments fall into one of four cases. Find the one that matches what you or your client saw.

Your client's card was declined online

When your client clicks Pay with Card on the invoice, they review the total (including any Processing fee), click Proceed to Payment, and land on Stripe's secure checkout page. A decline happens on that page, and Stripe shows your client the reason there.

What that means for you:

Nothing is charged and nothing is recorded. The invoice keeps its full balance, and no payment appears in your Payments list.
Your client can simply try again. If they leave the checkout page, they return to the invoice and can click Pay with Card again, with a different card if needed.
WorkZen cannot override a decline. The decision belongs to your client's bank. Common fixes are another card or a quick call to their bank.

WorkZen also sends a Payment Failed notification, naming the invoice, to the person who created the invoice and to your admins.

If the invoice page itself shows "Unable to process payment. Please try again." before Stripe's page even opens, the checkout could not be started. A message such as "This invoice has already been paid" means there is no balance left to charge.

The Pay with Card button is missing

The button only appears when online payments are fully working. Check these in order:

Stripe is connected and ready. Go to Settings > Integrations > Stripe Payments (web). The status badge must read Connected. If it reads Pending, Stripe is still reviewing your account, and a Complete Setup button reopens Stripe's onboarding so you can finish anything it still needs. If there is no connection at all, connect Stripe first.
Your plan includes online payments. A Paused badge means Stripe is connected but your current plan does not include online payments. Your Stripe account stays connected, so charges resume once the plan allows them.
The invoice still has a balance. A fully paid or voided invoice has nothing to pay.
A deposit is due. When the invoice requires an unpaid deposit, the page shows Pay deposit and Pay full balance instead of Pay with Card. That is expected.

If Stripe later stops card payments on your account (usually because it needs more verification information), a Card payments disabled alert appears. See Needs attention alerts for how to clear it.

Tap to Pay fails on your phone

Tap to Pay runs in the WorkZen Android app. If a collection goes wrong, the sheet shows Payment Failed with the reason underneath and a Try Again button. Try Again starts the payment over from the beginning.

What you see	What it means	What to do
Accept card payments on this phone instead of the payment	Your company's Stripe account is not connected or not ready	An admin connects Stripe on the web under Settings > Integrations > Stripe Payments
Nothing happens after Review Payment	The app does not have Location permission, which Stripe requires to collect in person	Allow Location for WorkZen in your phone's app settings, then try again
"No Tap to Pay reader found on this device"	This phone cannot act as a card terminal	Use another NFC-capable Android phone, or a card reader
Payment Failed with a card message	The card was declined or the tap did not complete	Ask your client to tap again or use another card

A declined tap records nothing on the invoice, exactly like online.

On iPhone, Tap to Pay is not available yet. The iPhone app's Collect Payment button works with a registered Bluetooth or smart card reader. If none is registered, the app says no card reader is registered yet and points you to Card Readers in Settings, where an admin adds one.

A bank payment shows Pending

For US companies, clients can choose Pay by Bank (ACH) instead of a card. Bank transfers take 3 to 5 business days to clear, so the payment does not count right away:

Your client sees Bank Payment Processing after checkout, not a paid confirmation.
You get a Bank Payment Processing notification, and the payment shows as Pending in your Payments list.
The invoice keeps its balance and is not marked paid until the transfer clears. The processing fee and any tip already appear as line items.

When the transfer clears, the payment turns Completed, the invoice updates, and you are notified that the payment was received. If the transfer fails, the payment turns Failed, the fee and tip lines are removed from the invoice, and you get a Payment Failed notification.

Warning

While a bank payment is Pending, do not ask your client to pay the same invoice again. If the transfer then clears, they will have paid twice.

Why the total is higher than the invoice

If you pass processing fees to clients, your client pays a Processing fee on top of the invoice, and it shows as its own line before they confirm. That is expected, not an error. Surcharge vs fees explains how the fee and what Stripe keeps compare.

When your client pays another way

If your client gives up on the card and pays by cash, check, or e-transfer instead, record the payment yourself. You can confirm everything that did or did not go through on the Payments page.