> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.rubica.au/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.rubica.au/proposals/sending-a-payment-schedule.md). # Sending a Payment Schedule When a client is paying an invoice off in instalments (see [Payment Plans](/proposals/payment-plans.md)), they usually want to know exactly what comes out of their account and when. **Payment schedule** builds that list for you from what's already set up on the engagement. You can then email it to the client in the firm's branded email, copy it into your own email, or download it as a spreadsheet. It covers everything still to be debited on the engagement: * **Payment plans**: each payment left on an invoice that's being paid off in instalments. * **Invoices**: invoices waiting to be debited on their due date. * **Fees still to be invoiced**: recurring fees that will be invoiced and debited later, such as a monthly fee. The amounts and dates come straight from the plan and the billing schedule. You never type them in, so what the client receives always matches what will be debited.
The payment schedule email open in a desktop mail app: the firm's logo, a summary with the next payment, what's been paid and what's still to pay, the message, then every payment by month

What the client receives

*** ### Open it On the engagement (Opportunity), go to the **Invoices** card. You can open the schedule three ways: * Click **Payment schedule** in the card's header. It opens with everything on the engagement. * Click **Send to client** inside an invoice's payment plan. It opens with just that plan ticked. * Right after you set up a payment plan, click **Send schedule to client** in the green bar that appears. > **Tip.** The **Payment schedule** button only shows once at least one invoice on the engagement has a payment plan. *** ### Step 1: Choose what goes in it
The Payment schedule window: a payment plan and the fees still to be invoiced are ticked on the left, with the client's email updating on the right

Tick what goes in. The email on the right updates as you go.

1. Under **Pick what goes in the schedule**, tick the payment plans, invoices and fees to include. Each row shows how many payments are left, the next and last dates, and the amount still to come. 2. To show the client the whole plan, tick **Show payments already made**. Payments already taken are listed in grey and marked **Paid**. If you leave it off, they're left off the list, but the email still says how much has been paid. 3. Check the **Message**. It's written for you from your firm's template, using the client's first name and the figures on the plan. Change anything you like. If you change what's ticked afterwards, click **Reset to default** to rewrite the message to match. The right-hand side shows the email exactly as the client will see it, with the number of payments to come. **Some rows can't be ticked.** A row is greyed out with the reason underneath when nothing on it will be debited. For example, the invoice is set to be paid manually, or direct debit is stopped on the engagement. Nothing is debited from those, so they're left out of the schedule. **Don't want to send it from the firm?** * **Copy text** copies the message with the list of payments under it, ready to paste into an email from Outlook. * **Download CSV** saves the schedule as a spreadsheet: date, what it's for, invoice, amount and status.
Download CSV saves a file named after the client and today's date; opened in a spreadsheet it lists each payment's date, what it's for, the invoice, the amount and Scheduled, with Still to pay totalled at the bottom

The CSV opened in a spreadsheet

The file is named after who's billed and today's date, for example *Payment schedule - Whitfield Family Trust - 20 Dec 2026.csv*. It lists the same payments as the email, with **Still to pay** totalled on the last row. Tick **Show payments already made** first if you want those in it too. *** ### Step 2: Preview and send Click **Email to client**.
The Email the payment schedule window: two people from the household are ticked, an extra email address is added, then Send from the firm shows a confirmation

Choose who gets it, check the preview, then send

1. Under **To**, tick everyone who should get it. The engagement's invoice recipients are ticked for you. To add anyone else, type their email address and click **Add**. 2. Check **From**. **Send as Me** shows your name with the firm's, and replies come to you. **The firm** sends it in the firm's name, and replies go to the firm's reply address. The sign-off at the bottom of the message changes to match. 3. Choose **Copy me**: **No**, **CC** (the client sees you on the email) or **BCC** (you get a copy and the client doesn't see it). 4. You can still edit the **Message** here. It's the same message as in step 1, so your edits carry across both ways. 5. Click **Send from** *your firm*. The email can't be unsent, so check the preview on the right first. Once it's sent, a copy is saved on the engagement's activity as a sent email, and the send is recorded in the engagement's log. > **Tip.** If the message box is left empty, the client still gets your firm's standard wording. The email never goes out with a blank message. *** ### What the client receives The email comes in the firm's branded layout, the same one as your invoice emails, with your firm's logo (or name) at the top. It reads well on a phone.
The same payment schedule email on a phone, scrolling from the summary through the message to the full schedule

The same email on a phone

* **Your payment schedule**, with **Debited automatically ยท no action required**. * **A summary**: the next (or first) payment and its date, how much has been paid so far, the total still to pay, how many payments are left and when the last one is, and the card or account they're paid from. * **Your message.** * **Full schedule**: every payment by month, with the date, what it's for and the amount. Payments that fall on the same day are added together. Some payments carry a note: * **today**: the payment is being debited today. * **retrying**: an earlier attempt didn't go through and it's being tried again. * **date may move**: the payment depends on an earlier one that hasn't gone through yet. The footer says each payment is debited on the date shown, or the next business day. *** ### Changing the standard message (admins) The message each schedule starts with comes from your firm's **payment plan email template**. Edit it once and everyone's schedules use the new wording. Staff can still change the message on any single email before they send it. The template holds the **subject** and the **message** only. The logo, the summary and the full schedule are added automatically and can't be changed. To edit it: 1. Go to **Setup**, search for **Classic Email Templates** and open it. 2. Open the **Payment Plan Email Templates** folder and click your firm's template. 3. Click **Edit Template**, change the **Subject** or the text, and save. Use these merge fields anywhere in the subject or message. Each is filled in from the schedule when it's opened: | Merge field | What it becomes | | --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `{{FirstName}}` | The first name of the first person ticked under **To** (or *there* if they have no name on file) | | `{{PlanSummary}}` | A sentence about each payment plan: the invoice, what's been paid, what's left, and the next and last payment dates | | `{{InvoicesSummary}}` | A sentence about invoices waiting to be debited | | `{{FeesSummary}}` | A sentence about fees still to be invoiced, for example *Your monthly fee of $440.00 is debited on the 15th of each month until 15 Jun 2027.* | | `{{NextPayment}}` | The next payment and its date, for example *$1,640.00 on 15 Jan 2027* | | `{{TotalToPay}}` | The total still to pay | | `{{LastPaymentDate}}` | The date of the last payment | | `{{PaymentCount}}` | How many payments are still to come | | `{{PaymentMethod}}` | The card or account the payments come from | | `{{Firm}}` | Your firm's name | | `{{SenderName}}` | Your name if you send it as **Me**, or the firm's name if you send it as **The firm** | If a merge field has nothing to say (for example `{{FeesSummary}}` when no fees are ticked), its line is left out rather than leaving a gap. The window notes which template the message started from. If no template is set up for your firm, it uses standard wording. Contact rubica support to have a template set up. *** ### Common questions **Why can't I see the Payment schedule button?**\ It only appears on an engagement where at least one invoice has a payment plan. You can also open it from **Send to client** inside a plan. **The window says the firm's email can't be used.**\ Sending from the firm needs the firm's invoice emails to be switched on, with a "from" address. Until that's set up, use **Copy text** or **Download CSV** instead, and contact rubica support. **A client's plan changed after I sent the schedule. Do I need to send it again?**\ Yes. The email shows the schedule as it was when it was sent. If a payment moves or the plan is changed, open **Payment schedule** again and send a fresh copy. **Can the client pay from the email?**\ No. Everything in the schedule is debited automatically, so there's nothing for the client to do. The email says so at the top.