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How ACH (Bank) Payments Are Processed

Updated

Card payments are confirmed instantly, but ACH (bank) payments are asynchronous — they go through a bank settlement cycle that typically takes 2–4 business days. PSS is built for this: it records the payment right away as pending, then updates that same entry once the bank confirms (or rejects) it.

When an ACH payment is first submitted

  • PSS immediately creates a payment entry in the invoice’s payment history, marked as pending, with the note “ACH Payment Submitted — Pending Settlement (2–4 business days).” The Last Activity line shows an ACH In Process badge.
  • The invoice’s Balance already reflects the submitted payment, so the client sees the amount they paid come off straight away.
  • The invoice is flagged as having a payment in progress. While that flag is set:
    • the invoice is not marked Paid yet,
    • automatic reminders are paused, and
    • autopay will not retry the invoice.
  • The invoice keeps its current status (Sent or Late) until the payment clears.

What the user can expect

  • The pending entry stays on the invoice for the 2–4 business day settlement window.
  • During that time the client is not chased with reminders, and you do not need to do anything — PSS is waiting for the bank.
  • No money has settled into your account yet; the payment is still in flight.

When the payment clears (confirmed)

  • PSS updates the same payment-history entry from pending to completed (badge ACH Confirmed) — it does not create a second entry.
  • The “payment in progress” flag is cleared, the invoice balance is recalculated, and if the balance is zero the invoice is marked Paid.

When the payment fails or is returned

  • The payment-history entry is marked failed (badge ACH Failed) and shown struck through, so the record of the attempt is preserved but no longer counts toward the balance.
  • The invoice balance is restored and the invoice stays in its open status (Sent/Late), so it can be paid again.
  • PSS sends a payment-failure email to the client.

Note: Because ACH takes a few days to settle, an invoice paid by ACH will briefly show a pending payment while still reading Sent or Late. That is expected — it updates to Paid automatically once the bank confirms. Card payments do not go through this cycle; they confirm immediately.