How autopay works

How families turn on autopay, when it charges, and what happens when it can't.

Billing and payments2 min read

Autopay charges a family's saved card or bank account automatically when each charge comes due. It saves you chasing payments and saves parents remembering to pay.

How a family turns it on#

Parents turn autopay on themselves in the parent portal:

  1. They open Billing in the portal.
  2. They add a card or bank account under Payment methods.
  3. They switch on Autopay.

Autopay can't be switched on until there's a card or bank account on file. Once it's on, the portal tells them which card will be charged and the date and amount of their next charge.

Tip: To help families who struggle with the portal, you can add a card or bank account for them. Open their profile from Students, then in Saved payment methods select Add card or bank account and enter it with the parent on the phone or at the desk. It becomes their default payment method.

When autopay charges#

  • Autopay runs on each charge's due date and charges the family's default payment method.
  • A charge you add with no due date is posted right away, and autopay picks it up on its next run.
  • A charge with a later due date waits until that date.

You can see who's on autopay on Billing, then Family balances: each family shows an Autopay badge or Pays manually.

When autopay can't charge#

  • The card is declined: the family moves to Failed payments, and FrontRow tries again on your retry schedule. See Failed payments.
  • No payment method on file: if a family has autopay on but no saved card or bank account, autopay skips them. There's no charge attempt and no failed payment notice, so check the Payment methods page, where they show as Skipped.
  • The card is about to expire: the Payment methods page lists saved cards expiring soon, under Cards to update before they decline, so you can ask for a new one first.

Changing a family's card#

On the family's profile, select Make default to switch which saved method autopay uses, or Remove to delete one. If you remove the only method on file, autopay turns off until a new card or bank account is added. Owners, admins and front desk staff can do this.

Paused while you switch systems#

If you're moving from another billing system, autopay stays paused in FrontRow until you confirm autopay is off in the old system and approve the first billing run. This stops families being charged twice. See Move billing from another system.

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