Take invoice payments with Tyl by NatWest

This article explains how to start accepting debit and credit card payments for your FreeAgent invoices using Tyl by NatWest.

You can also collect invoice payments online using PayPal, Stripe and GoCardless. Find out more about online payment solutions in FreeAgent.

1. Connect Tyl by NatWest to your FreeAgent Account

Navigate to the drop-down menu at the top-right of the screen and select ‘Connections & Add-ons’.

Select 'Get started' in the 'Tyl by Natwest' section.

Select ‘Connect with Tyl’.

Already a Tyl customer

If you already have a Tyl account, enter the email address and password associated with that Tyl account and select ‘Sign in’. Then, follow the on-screen instructions to connect your FreeAgent account with Tyl and start taking invoice payments using Tyl.

New to Tyl

If you don’t have a Tyl account, select ‘Get started now’ and follow the on-screen instructions to create a new Tyl account.

Next, select ‘Complete my application’ to complete the setup process. If you receive an error message, please try again in 24 hours or contact Tyl for further assistance.

2. Take invoice payments using Tyl by NatWest

When you create an invoice or recurring invoice profile, select the 'Tyl by NatWest' checkbox in the 'Payments' section. You can use Tyl by NatWest as a payment option for any invoice in a currency supported by your Tyl account.

If you’d like Tyl to be selected by default when creating future invoices, find out how to set up default payment options.

Once you’ve entered the relevant details for the invoice, select ‘Create new invoice’ at the bottom of the screen.

Next, when you’re preparing to email your invoice to your customer, select the checkbox next to 'Include online payment button below content' or include an [online_payment_link] tag in the body of the email. This link will let your customer pay your invoice using a debit or credit card, via your Tyl account. Please note the online payment link will only work if the invoice value is equal to or greater than Tyl’s current minimum fee.

Once you’ve entered the relevant details for the email, select ‘Send Email’. Find out how to style your Invoice and Estimate emails.

How this works for your customers

When your customer receives your invoice via email, they can follow the online payment link which will show them your invoice, along with the option to pay by card via Tyl. Please note that your customer may need to go through 3D Secure 2 Strong Customer Authentication before they can make a payment for your invoice.

Receiving payments

As soon as a payment is made by your customer, you should receive a confirmation email. This confirmation email will be sent to the email address of the registered FreeAgent account owner. Payments made with Tyl on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday should appear in your bank account the same evening. Payments made on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday should appear in your bank account on Monday.

While payments are pending or being processed, FreeAgent will stop sending automatic email reminders.

Once the payment is transferred into your bank account, you’ll see a 'Payment Authorised’ status in the 'Tyl payment status' area when viewing the invoice.

Please note that when you see the ‘Payment Authorised’ status, you’ll still need to feed in or upload the transaction from your bank account and explain it as detailed below.

How to explain Tyl payments and fees in FreeAgent

The way you’d explain any payments and fees in your FreeAgent account will depend on whether you’ve set up your Tyl account to deal with fees via the gross method or net method.

Gross method

If you’ve set up your Tyl account to deal with your fees via the gross method, you’ll receive the full value of your invoices into your FreeAgent bank account if you’ve enabled a bank feed. Once the payments have been imported into FreeAgent, you can explain them as an ‘Invoice Receipt’ and allocate them to your invoices. Find out more about how to mark an invoice as paid.

Tyl will automatically take any fees that have been accrued out of your bank account at the end of each month. These will need to be explained to the appropriate cost category, such as ‘Bank/Finance Charges’. If you’re unsure which category to select, please ask your accountant.

Net method

If you’ve set up your Tyl account to deal with your fees via the net method, you’ll receive the value of your invoices into your FreeAgent bank account with the fees already deducted. Therefore, once the payments have been imported into FreeAgent, you’ll need to manually increase the value of the transactions to ensure that the invoices are fully paid and fees recorded. Find out how to split a transaction for charges deducted.

If you encounter any issues when setting up the integration or adding payment links to your invoices, please contact Tyl for further assistance.

How to disable Tyl by NatWest in FreeAgent

To disable Tyl by NatWest in your FreeAgent account, navigate to ‘Connections & Add-ons’, select ‘Manage Tyl by NatWest’ and select ‘Disconnect Tyl by NatWest’.

Please note that any payment links that have already been sent within invoices will be removed from the online invoice. Once disconnected, new invoices will no longer include the Tyl by NatWest payment option. Your invoices will still contain all the information needed for them to be settled without the payment link.