Your website is usually the first place a customer looks when they want to stop receiving paper. This guide covers what to put on that page, where each link should take the customer, and how to keep the page accurate as your account changes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Before you write the page
- What the page should contain
- Where each link should go
- Sample wording you can adapt
- Options that do not have a Payreq link
- What to avoid
- Questions worth answering on the page
- Keeping the page current
- How this varies by account
- Related articles
It is written for the people who own your website content. It does not require access to the Payreq Delivery console.
Before you write the page
Confirm three things with your Payreq account manager or Payreq Support first. Each one changes what the page should say.
- Which delivery channels your account offers. Channels are set up during onboarding. Payreq Delivery supports Payreq Mailbox, email, BPAY View and Peppol eInvoicing, and recipients can also connect Xero, MYOB or Reckon Accounts Hosted. The options available to customers depend on what your account offers. See Subscription channels: what's available in Payreq Delivery.
- Your FastForm path, and the fields it asks for. The production structure is
https://go.payreq.com/fastform/<your-path>/create. The path and the fields on the form are specific to your account. Ask Payreq to confirm both. Do not copy another organisation's URL. - Whether you have an active payment gateway, and your payment page path. The structure is
https://go.payreq.com/pay/<your-path>. A payment page only exists once a gateway has been set up and activated. See Payments overview.
Also decide which document types the page covers. If you issue rates and water notices under separate references, each one may have its own FastForm, and the page needs to make the difference obvious.
What the page should contain
A page that works usually has four parts, in this order.
A short introduction. One or two sentences on what the customer gets and what they need to have ready. In most cases that is a recent notice, because it carries the account or reference number and the name as it appears in your records.
The options you actually offer. List only the channels enabled on your account, with one short description each and one clear action. A list of options a customer cannot use creates support calls.
What happens next. Say that some registrations are checked before they take effect, and that the customer may receive a verification email. Registration details are matched against your Contact records, so a mismatch produces a pending or failed registration rather than an immediate start. See How are Subscriptions created?.
Where to get help. Distinguish between questions about the bill, which come to you, and questions about a Payreq account, which go to the Payreq help centre.
Where each link should go
| What the customer wants to do | Send them to | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribe to email delivery through your hosted form | https://go.payreq.com/fastform/<your-path>/create |
Confirm the path with Payreq. The form asks for the fields configured for your account, commonly an account or reference number, the name as it appears on the notice, an email address and an optional contact number. One email address is supported and the customer does not manage the subscription afterwards. |
| Create a Payreq Mailbox and subscribe to your service | go.payreq.com | The customer creates an account, verifies their email address, then opens Subscriptions, selects Subscribe and searches for your organisation. Link to the sign-in page and describe those steps, or link to the two Payreq guides below. |
| Understand what a Payreq account is before signing up | What is Payreq and how does it work? | Recipient-facing overview. |
| Follow the account and subscription steps | Creating your Payreq account and Creating and managing a subscription | Use these instead of writing your own step-by-step instructions, so your page does not go stale when the screens change. |
| Compare the delivery options | Choosing how to receive your documents | Recipient-facing comparison of the methods an organisation may offer. |
| Manage notices for many properties or accounts | Getting started with Payreq Group | For property managers, accounts teams and others handling documents in volume. |
| Pay a bill from your website | https://go.payreq.com/pay/<your-path> |
Only where your gateway is active. accountNumber and amount can be pre-filled. See the note below before adding this link. |
| Get help with a Payreq account | help.payreq.com | The recipient help centre. Keep your own contact details for questions about the bill itself. |
Payreq preserves or redirects published help-centre article URLs, because organisations link to them directly from their own sites and correspondence. You can link to the articles above with reasonable confidence that they will keep working.
Add a pay-now link with care
The payment-page structure and its two parameters are confirmed, and the page can be reached without a QR code. What is documented is the pre-filled link built for a specific customer from data already printed on their notice, as described in Creating customised pre-filled URLs for QR codes.
A general "Pay your rates" link on a public page carries no customer data. An unparameterised payment page presents empty reference fields for the customer to complete manually. Confirm the correct payment-page path for your account before publishing it. Do not place customer account numbers or amounts into links on a public page.
Send customers to a Payreq Mailbox
The documented route into a Payreq Mailbox subscription is for the customer to sign in at go.payreq.com, open Subscriptions, select Subscribe and search for your organisation. A link that takes a customer straight to your organisation's subscribe screen inside Payreq is not documented, so do not promise one on your page. If you want that, ask Payreq whether it is possible for your account.
Sample wording you can adapt
This wording is neutral and product-accurate. Replace the bracketed text and check it against the options your account actually offers.
Get your [rates notice] by email or online
You can choose to receive your [rates notice] electronically instead of by post. Have a recent notice with you, because you will need your [account number] and your name as it appears on the notice.
Receive your notice as a PDF attachment at the email address you nominate. Register using our online form: [link]. One email address can be registered this way.
Payreq Mailbox
Create a Payreq account to view, download and keep your notices in one place, and to manage how you receive them. Create your account at go.payreq.com, then open Subscriptions and search for [organisation name]. Depending on what we offer for this service, you may be able to add extra email addresses to your Payreq Mailbox subscription.
BPAY View
Receive your notice in your online banking through BPAY View. Set this up in your internet banking using our BPAY biller code and the BPAY View reference number shown on your notice. Not every bank offers BPAY View.
Accounting software
If you use Xero, MYOB or Reckon Accounts Hosted, you can have your notices delivered into your accounting software. Set this up by connecting your software to Payreq.
What happens after you register
The extra information you provide is used to confirm your identity. We do this by checking your name against our records. Sometimes this takes a little longer, for example if the mailer needs to review your details. Once confirmed, your registration takes effect and your next notice will be delivered digitally.
The email-address options available with a Payreq Mailbox subscription depend on what the mailer offers. Keep the wording general unless you have confirmed what applies to the service.
Options that do not have a Payreq link
Two of the channels are set up somewhere other than a Payreq page. Describe them, and do not invent a registration link.
- BPAY View. The customer registers in their own internet banking, using your BPAY biller code and the reference number on their notice. Their bank, not Payreq, notifies them when a new bill arrives. Not all banks participate.
- Peppol eInvoicing. Invoices travel through the Peppol network to the recipient's accounting or eInvoicing system. This suits business customers and is arranged through their own system, not a Payreq sign-up page.
What to avoid
- Copying another organisation's page or URL. FastForm paths and fields are specific to each account. A copied link sends your customers to someone else's form.
- Promising an outcome Payreq does not control. Avoid wording such as "your registration is confirmed instantly" or "you will stop receiving paper from your next notice". Registrations are matched against your Contact records and some are reviewed first.
- Listing channels you do not offer. Check the list against your account before publishing.
- Publishing customer data in a link. Pre-filled links belong on an individual customer's notice, not on a public page.
Questions worth answering on the page
These are the questions customers most often ask, and answering them on your own page reduces contact volume.
- What do I need in order to register?
- Will I still receive a paper notice?
- Can more than one person receive the notice?
- What if my details do not match?
- How do I change my email address later?
- How do I go back to paper?
- Who do I contact about the bill, and who do I contact about my Payreq account?
Where the answer is about the Payreq account rather than the bill, link to the relevant help-centre article instead of writing your own.
Keeping the page current
Review the page at these points, not on a fixed schedule.
- When your channels change. Adding or removing a channel changes what the page should list.
- When your payment gateway is activated or deactivated. This adds or removes the pay-now link.
- When a new document type or reference is added. A new notice type may need its own form and its own wording.
- Before each major billing cycle. Follow every link on the page and confirm it opens the page you expect, with the fields you expect.
- After any Payreq notice of a change to a URL, a form or a delivery option.
A short annual check is also worth doing: confirm the channel list, the help-centre links and the product names are still correct.
How this varies by account
- The fields on your FastForm, and their number, are configured for your account.
- The number of email addresses available with a Payreq Mailbox subscription depends on what the mailer offers for that service.
- Whether new registrations are approved automatically or reviewed first depends on your configuration.
- A payment page exists only where a gateway is active.
- BPAY View availability depends on your biller code arrangement and on the customer's bank.
Confirm each of these for your own account before publishing. If you are unsure, ask Payreq Support rather than assuming another organisation's page applies to you.
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