Getting Started with Pay Now (v71.33+) in Synergetic: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Brooke Noble
- Jinny
- Monika Przybylska
Why Use Pay Now?
Pay Now links are integrated within existing billing functionality, allowing payments to be made from anywhere with no login required, seamlessly incorporated into Synergetic’s finance module – reducing admin hassle and ensuring timely payments.
How to Configure Pay Now
To use Pay Now, you must be on Synergetic version 71.33+
Prerequisites:
You have signed the Synergetic Stripe Product Agreement, available from your CSM
You have completed Stripe registration using the provided Connect account URL (refer to this article)
You have been informed that your secure Stripe integration connection has been completed
Service Suite, Events Portal, and Core API are active on your site (installation of Service Suite will be confirmed when your site connection is configured)
When upgrading to 71.33, the systems team can assist with activation of the modules above at no additional cost. Please make an upgrade booking and let the team know you are interested in trying Pay Now.
Other tasks you may wish to complete:
Configuring your Connected Stripe account to enable automatic email receipts
Attend a Stripe webinar and / or request professional services assistance with financial reconciliation procedures when using Stripe for Synergetic payments
1.) Configure Stripe Merchant and Pay Now base URL
Navigate to System → Online Payments Maintenance
If it does not already exist, add a Merchant with the “Gateway Provider” of STRIPE
Leave the Password blank (your Stripe details have already been configured and are stored elsewhere in the system)
With the Stripe merchant selected, click the “Pay Now URL” button to populate the base URL for your site.
2.) Activate Pay Now feature toggle
Navigate to System → Configuration Maintenance
Search for PayNow to find the FeatureToggle | PayNow key
Set the Value to “true” by ticking the box
3.) Verify and Test
Create a test statement run for a few “friendly” users. Many schools like to use staff who also have children at the school
In Email Statements / Invoices, you can add a Pay Now link as a merge field into the accompanying email
TIP: If you would like the Pay Now link to appear as a button, set the “Message Type” to “HTML Raw” and use the following code to represent the button:
<a href="{PayNowLink}"
style="display: inline-block;
background-color: blue;
color: white;
padding: 10px 20px;
text-align: center;
text-decoration: none;
border-radius: 5px;
font-size: 16px;">
Pay Now
</a>
Use the “test mode” to send all statements in the run to a test email address
When you receive the email, click the link and your browser will load the PayNow payments page. This is a live page. You can make a small payment (>$1) with a valid credit card to test the payment page.
To check the status of a payment, use the Online Receipts Report
Successful payments will be automatically recorded in Synergetic finance
4.) Configure your statement email template to include Pay Now by default
When you are satisfied with your Pay Now email format, you can configure your statement email template so that all Statement / Invoice / Reminder emails include the Pay Now link. Refer to the following documentation:
Synergetic Financial Configuration - Debtors tab - Page 3 sub-tab
Synergetic Financial Configuration - Debtors tab - Sub Ledgers sub-tab
Pay Now URLs are unique to a debtor
A big benefit of Pay Now is that the URL allows payment into a particular debtor’s account with full integration into Synergetic. Importantly, this means that Pay Now URL that is generated from the merge field is unique to a single debtor! Any payments made via that URL, will be applied to that debtor’s account.
Therefore, it is critical that schools do not attempt to “copy and paste” Pay Now URLs from previously generated emails and send them to other debtors!
5.) Communicate with Your Community
Inform parents about the new feature. You may wish to provide screenshots and inform them that they can verify the base URL in their browser when making a payment. This will help them feel confident their payment is going straight to the school.
6.) Configure header logo (Optional)
You can either replace the Synergetic logo in the header or keep the default setup.
Logo specs:
Recommended dimensions: 1773 x 328 OR 470 x 75
Aspect ratio: 5:1
File format: png
Steps:
Rename your file to logo2.png
Navigate to EventBooking > assets > img
Replace logo2.png with your file.
If you replace the logo, make sure to clear the cache so the changes are applied correctly.
Enjoy the Benefits
Use the power of our partnership with Stripe and our unmatched school financial management software to get your school paid quickly and safely, with less administration for schools and more convenience and choice for parents.
For further assistance or detailed instructions, please contact your CSM or our support team.