How families pay

What parents see when they pay a balance, save a card, turn on autopay or fix a failed payment.

Parent portal3 min read

Parents handle most payments themselves in the Billing section of the family portal. This article walks through what they see there, so you can answer questions and talk a family through it over the phone.

Online payments only work once you've set up card payments. Until then, parents see "This studio doesn't take online payments yet. Contact the studio to pay." See Set up payments.

What they owe#

When a parent opens Billing in the portal menu, the top card shows their Balance due, or You're all paid up. when there's nothing to pay. If your studio owes them money, it shows as Credit on your account. Below that, Next charge shows the amount and date of their next scheduled charge.

These numbers match the family's account history on your side, so if a parent questions an amount, open their family page and check there.

Paying a balance#

The parent selects Pay (the button shows the amount).
Under Pay with, they choose a saved card or bank account, or Use a new card or bank account.
They confirm the payment.

They'll see Payment received when it goes through. Some payments, like those from a bank account, take longer to clear. The parent sees Payment is processing until their bank confirms it.

Good to know: if you add a surcharge for credit cards, parents see the exact amount before they pay. Debit cards and bank accounts don't have a surcharge.

Saving a card or bank account#

Under Payment methods, parents select Add a card (or Add a card or bank account) and enter the details. Card details are handled securely by Stripe, the payment company FrontRow uses to process cards. You never see the full card number.

For each saved method, they can choose Make default (the one autopay uses) or Remove.

You can also add or remove a family's cards yourself. See Payment methods.

Autopay#

Under Autopay, parents switch it on to have charges paid automatically from their default card or bank account on the due date. They need a saved method first. Autopay is the parent's choice, so if a family asks you to turn it on, point them here. See How autopay works.

Payment history#

History lists every charge, payment, refund and credit, newest first, with what each one was for and when it was due. Parents select Show all to see older entries.

When a payment fails#

If a payment doesn't go through, parents see Your payment didn't go through in Billing and at the top of Home, with the reason and when you'll try again. Emails and texts about the failed payment link straight there.

To settle it, the parent selects Fix payment, chooses another card or adds a new one, and confirms. You can follow along on your Failed payments list. See Failed payments.

Store purchases#

When a parent orders from your store in the portal, they can pay now with their default card or choose Add to my balance to pay later along with their other charges.