When designing features for Client Center, we are always focused on delivering convenient self-service 24/7 options for your insureds. By doing so, we allow your day-to-day to be more focused on bringing in new business and building those customer relationships. It is imperative that insurance customers have the ability to make payments with flexibility. Using the Payment option in Client Center, your insureds can make payments on policies, invoices, or even one-time payments using payment integrations your Agency Admins enable through our Connect Marketplace.


It is also important for your agency to be able to request payments when needed. Using the Payment Request feature in Client Center, you have a simple and efficient way to request electronic payments from your insureds using the same payment integrations enabled through Connect Marketplace. This functionality eliminates the need for your insureds to visit your office or provide their credit card information over the phone.


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Payment Settings - ADMINS ONLY


Since only Client Center Admins can access Client Center Settings, this section is meant for admins. If you are a Client Center Admin, you can manage who gets the notification from Client Center when a payment is received and when the task is due. These settings will help make sure your agency handles any outstanding tasks in a timely fashion. To modify these settings, check out the steps below.


1. Hover over the Settings icon.

2. Click Client Center. 



3. Under the General Settings tab, scroll down to the Tasks Scheduling Preferences section.

4. Under the Payment Processor section, you can update who gets the task and when the task is due. 

5. Once you make the necessary changes, click the Save Changes button.



How to send a Payment Request


If you have a payment integration enabled, you can now see the Payment Request dollar sign icon on an insured's account under their name. To generate the payment request, simply click this icon and select what the payment request is for - Policies, Invoices, or One-time Payments. Please note, if you do not have our Accounting Product, then you will not see the option for invoices.


When generating a Policy Payment Request, you can select single or multiple policies, and will need to enter the desired payment amount for each respective policy. Please note, this policy list only displays active policies. 



When generating a One-Time Payment Request, you will be required to enter the amount as well as a description of what the request is for. 




When generating an Invoice Payment Request, you can select single or multiple invoices and send the request to your customer. 



Attention! - If you do not have any active policies or any invoices on the customers account, then you will only see the One-Time Payment option.



Once you have selected what the payment request is for, you can select how you would like to communicate this to your customer - Email or Text. Since our goal is to enable you to quickly send these request, we prefill the information related to the request

 based on what you choose. You can always edit this information if you would like. 





After you send the payment request, your customer will receive the Payment Request via the delivery method you selected. From there, the customer can follow the link to the Client Center Portal and log in. Once logged in, the system will automatically take the customer to the page with the policy, invoice, or one-time payment information pre-selected. Please note, customers can not modify details of the request. They can either pay it or contact the agency if they have any questions about the request.


It is imperative that the activity around payments are tracked. Upon generating the request and sending it, a note is created, and then a follow-up note is added to the same thread when the customer makes the payment. In addition a copy of the email gets sent to the customer and everything is logged under the customer's Activity Tab. 


How to Absorb the Convenience Fee


For your every day situations you would use the How to Send a Payment Request steps through EZLynx like we discussed above. But what if you wanted to absorb the convenience fee so your insured didn't have to pay it on a one-off situation? You can do this by sending a payment request through the Applied Pay Portal! To learn more about Applied Pay & how to set it up check out our Applied Pay - Registration & Training article!


To send a payment request via Applied Pay, navigate to the Applied Pay Portal by hovering over the Connect Marketplace icon and clicking My Integrations. Click on the More Action icon and click View. Then, click on the Go to Applied Pay button. This will redirect you to the Applied Pay Portal.



Once inside the Applied Pay Portal, click on the Make a Payment option. You'll need to fill in all the required information. For the Allowed Payment Methods, select whether you want to allow the insured to pay via Credit Card, ACH, or both. To remove a payment method simply click the X to the right of the option. 



For the Fee fields, delete the default that prepopulates and leaves these fields either blank or set to 0. Remember, the only reason we would be using the Applied Pay Portal to make a payment is because you want to absorb the convenience fee so the insured doesn't have to pay it. The responsibility of any absorbed or waived fees will fall onto the agent or agency, so please use this option based on your agency's guidelines. 



Now that the information is all filled out we need to decide how we are sending the request. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will see you have two options: 


  • Generate Payment Link - This option will allow you to create a link that you can email to the customer so they can make the payment in their own time. Please note, the link expires after 7 days and once it's expired you will need to send a new link.
  • Pay Now - This option allows you to pay on behalf of the customer by redirecting you to the Make a Payment page where you can enter the customer's details and payment information. 




Regardless of which option you choose, the insured will receive an email upon successful payment. 


How does an Insured make a Payment


Using Client Center, your insureds can make payments on policies, invoices, or even one-time payments using payment integrations your Agency Admins enable through our Connect Marketplace. Check out our Connect Marketplace - How to Enable, Disable, & Hide Integrations help article to learn more about enabling integrations! Once a payment integration is enabled, an insured can make a payment in Client Center.


If you've sent them a Payment Request, your insured will receive an email or text with a link that will take them directly to the Client Center Portal login screen. From there, it will redirect them to the payments screens. However, if the insured is trying to make a payment without a payment request prompt, they would follow the steps below.


1. First, the insured must log into the Client Center portal. Check out the Customer's Client Center section from our Client Center - Accessing Client Center help article to learn more on how insured's log into Client Center.


2. Once logged into the Client Center Portal, they will click the Payments icon. 




3. Then, click the Make a Payment button.



4. A payment can be made in one of three ways: 

  • One-Time Payment - A one-time custom payment amount 
  • Policies - Payment on an existing policy/policies
  • Invoices - Payment on an invoice(s). This option is only available if the agency has our Accounting product 


Once decided, the insured would click on the card in question.



5. Input the payment amount.

6. Input the reason for payment.

7. Check the box to agree to the Terms and Conditions. 

8. Click the Continue button.



Attention! - The payment amount must be greater than $1.00. 


This will redirect them to the integrations payment screens where they can input their payment information. 



Upon successful payment transaction, the insured will see the payment confirmation page and be redirected back to the Client Center portal. From there, they will be able to see paid transactions in the Payment History section. They will also get a copy of the receipt emailed to them.



A successful payment will automatically create a notification in Workspace notifying your agency that a payment was received. You can see this in the Activity tab on the insured's account.

If you have Accounting, check out our latest release to see how Applied Pay and Accounting now automatically generate receipts! 


How to make a Payment on an Insured's behalf


Using Client Center, your insureds can make payments on policies, invoices, or even one-time payments using the Applied Pay payment integrations your Agency Admins enable through our Connect Marketplace. Check out our Applied Pay Press Release FAQ help article to learn more about the Applied Pay integration! Once a Applied Pay is enabled, you can make a payment on behalf of the customer using the steps below.


1. On the customer's account pane, click on the Payment icon under the Account Name.

2. Then, click on the Take Payment Now option.


 




3. Next, select what the payment collection is for - Policies, Invoices, or One-time Payment. 




When generating a One-Time Payment Request, you will be required to enter the amount as well as a description of what the request is for.



When collecting a Policies Payment, you can select single or multiple policies, and will need to enter the desired payment amount for each respective policy. Please note, this policy list only displays active policies. 




When collecting an Invoice Payment, you can select single or multiple invoices. Please note, that in order to see the Invoice Payment option, there must be an open invoice on the customer's account.



Attention! - If you do not have our Accounting Product, you will not see the option for invoices.



Once you have selected what the payment collection is for, click the Collect Payment button. 



This will redirect you to the integration's payment screens where you can input the insured's payment information. Because this involves sensitive information, it should only be done on a secure phone line or in person and with the customer's permission. 


We highly recommend making it a best practice to utilize the payment request feature on a pre-emptive basis to eliminate the need to provide such sensitive information. Check out the section in this article about Payment Requests to learn more!



Once you've completed the payment, you will be redirected to the Payment Confirmation page back in EZLynx. On this page, you able to view Confirmation#, Amount, and Date. 




Your customers will receive a confirmation email to the email on their account. The email is great for a customer's records and mentions the amount, confirmation number, name of your agency and date of payment.


You can also see confirmation information under the Activity tab when you make this sort of transaction. You'll be able to see the customer's name, email address, premium amount, who made the payment, payment confirmation #, and the payment description.


If you have Accounting, check out our latest release to see how Applied Pay and Accounting now automatically generate receipts! 



Finally, you can also confirm the payment processed under the System Log. There you will see payments details under the message displayed "Payment Processed - Date and Payment Confirmation #".