Payment FAQs

I already have a Stripe account. Do I need to create another one?

Otto Flow uses Stripe Express rather than a normal Stripe account. So if you do not already have a Stripe Express account, you will need to create one to take payments in Flow.

Will terminals work offline?

No, terminals must always be connected to the internet to function properly. Normally this is done by connecting the terminal to wifi. However, if a clinic has a poor wifi signal, a dock can be purchased that will allow the terminal to be plugged in via an ethernet cable for a more consistent connection.

If needed, terminals can work off a cell phone's personal hot spot.

Will terminals work if they are not plugged in?

Yes, terminals have an internal battery and can function without being plugged in. They do still need to be connected to the internet to function.

When selecting a terminal to have a client pay with via Flow, there will be a green dot next to the terminal name if it is ready to receive payment; or a red dot if it is not. The most common reason for a red dot next to a terminal name is that the terminal is out of battery and needs to be plugged back in to charge.

Can I provide a refund through Flow if the payment was accepted through a different merchant?

No, Flow can only refund transactions that were processed by Stripe.

How do I refund a client?

There are two ways to issue a refund to a client through Flow.

1. Within the conversation with the client the invoice should be visible, stating the amount and confirming that the money was received. Beneath this confirmation will be a button labeled ‘Issue Refund.’ Clicking this will refund the payment of that invoice.
2. In the Reporting tab, there is a report called ‘Payments’ which will display all invoices for the clinic, whether they are paid or still outstanding. Each invoice will be a line item in this report and have three dots in the far right of the column. If the invoice has been paid, its status will display as ‘Complete,’ highlighted in green. And if the invoice has been paid, clicking the three dots in the right of the line item will give two options: ‘Issue Refund’ and ‘View Receipt.’ Click ‘Issue Refund’ to issue a refund to the client. (If a refund has already been issued for this invoice, ‘Issue Refund’ will be grayed out and not selectable.)

In either case, the client should get an alert in their conversation that the invoice has been refunded.

How long does it take for a refund to process?

The amount of time that it can take for a refund to process depends on the method of payment. For example, for Visa and MasterCard, the refund should be almost instantaneous; but for American Express, the refund can take a business day or two.

Is inputting a client’s email required when sending an invoice?

An email is required when requesting payment so that Flow can send the receipt for payment. Stripe, our payment processor, requires that an email or printed receipt be provided, and our terminals do not currently support printed receipts. However, if the client has an email address associated with their account, that email address will pull automatically into the payments field as the destination for the receipt.

If the client’s settings specify that they should not receive email alerts, they will still receive the emailed receipt. An alternate email address can also be given at the time of invoicing if the client wants the receipt sent somewhere besides the email in their client profile.

Can Flow generate itemized receipts?

That depends on your practice management software. We can currently support itemized receipts for clinics that use Cornerstone or Impromed. There is some backend configuration required to set up itemized receipts, so if you are interested and use one of our supported PIMS, speak to your customer success manager (CSM) and they can start that configuration.

Are Apple/Google Pay terminal payments considered 'card present' or 'card not present'?

Apple and Google Pay are considered to be card present when paying at a terminal. “Card not present” will refer to payments that are sent digitally, rather than paid via terminal.

How will I know that a payment was successful in writing back?

In Flow, navigate to Reporting > Payments. This report will display all of the payment taken in via Flow, whether from a terminal or digitally. (If it looks like there are invoices missing in this report, click the filter option in the upper-right corner and confirm that the date and time range for the report is correct.)

Once the correct invoices are showing in the report, ensure that the ‘Invoice #’ column is showing. (If the column is not showing automatically, it can be added to the table by clicking the ‘Show’ icon in the upper-right corner. This allows selecting the columns that will appear in the report, including ‘Invoice #.’)

Once the Invoice # column is showing in the table, it will display any invoices that have attempted to be written back into the PIMS. If the write back was successful, the number will display with a green background; if it was unsuccessful, the number will display with a red background.

Our clinic is noticing a discrepancy between what Otto Flow reported as Net Proceeds and what was deposited into our bank account, what should we do?

The Net Proceeds will be accurately reflected when viewed from the payout. To view this, go to Settings>Payments, chose the date by clicking on Filter By Date, and then click on the Disbursements tab.

Then click on the 'View' link under the View linked transactions column.  A list of transactions will appear that match the disbursements. 

How back dated is our clinics bank deposits?

For payouts to clinics, they are paid out based on a UTC time stamp due to Stripe's payout schedule.  The payouts get batched based on a nightly 24 hour window through 7pm - 7pm CST (March Through November) and 6pm - 6pm CST (November through March).