Taking invoice payments with Tyl by NatWest using the FreeAgent mobile app

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

You can also collect invoice payments online using PayPal, Stripe or GoCardless.

Taking invoice payments using Tyl by NatWest

Tap the three-lined 'hamburger' icon at the top-left of the FreeAgent mobile app and select 'Invoices'.

Tap the ‘+’ at the bottom of the screen and follow the steps for creating an invoice using the FreeAgent mobile app.

In the ‘Payments enabled’ section, make sure the Tyl option has been selected. To choose Tyl, or set Tyl as the default payment option for all future invoices you create, select 'Manage' and toggle the Tyl option.

Select ‘Create invoice & add line items’ and enter the necessary details for the invoice.

When you’re sending the invoice to your customer, toggle ‘Include online payment button’ if you’d like to add a payment button to your invoice email.

How this works for your customers

This will add a button to your invoice that allows your customer to pay the invoice 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.

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.