How can my customers pay invoices?

An invoice is issued for each notice after submission. Customers can pay individually or in bulk using one of the payment options below.

1. Debit or credit card

2. ACH bank transfers or ACH credit transfers

3. Checks (government customers only)

Customers who have open invoices at the end of the month will receive a monthly summary listing all unpaid invoices on the first of the month. Customers can check their monthly summary throughout the month by clicking on the Invoices tab in their account: Monthly Statements.

When you create an invoice, your customer will receive an email notifying them that it is available in their Column account. The invoice and the payment link in the email notification include payment instructions and available payment methods, along with the deadline or due date and time if upfront payment is required.

When a customer opens a link to pay an invoice, here's what the payment page looks like:

Each publication date for the notice appears as a distinct line item. If the notice includes additional fees, such as affidavit fees, those will also appear as distinct line items.

Customers can pay online using a credit or debit card or linking their bank account. Here are relevant Help Center articles you can share with your customers:

• What payment methods do you accept?

• How do I save my credit card information?

• How do I link my bank account?

• ACH Payment Instructions

The easiest option for customers is to pay invoices by card in bulk. Customers can go to column.us/payments and select multiple invoices to pay.

Full instructions for customers to pay in bulk online are available here: Monthly Statements.

Column previously shared an update to our policy that we no longer accept checks from non-government users. We strongly encourage non-government customers to pay online to ensure prompt payment and receipt of their affidavits after publication. Non-government customers who want to pay by check can mail them directly to the newspaper. Once you have received the check, please mark the notice as paid promptly. A customer is paying me directly. How do I mark the invoice paid?

Government customers must ensure they are registered as government organizations. This can be verified under their Settings > My Organization, and they will see 'Government Info' under their account. If a customer's organization isn't listed as a government organization, they can contact Support, help@column.us for assistance changing their organization type. Users who are registered as individuals can create an organization or request to join an existing one:

How do I join my organization's account on Column?

Can I create an organization for my government agency, law firm, or business?

Government users can mail checks to our check-processing address:

Column Software PBC
PO Box 208098
Dallas, TX 75320-8098

Our payment processor, Stripe, will automatically deposit checks upon receipt and reconcile payment to the enclosed invoice information. To ensure prompt reconciliation, we ask customers to enclose a printed copy of their invoice and, if paying multiple invoices, list all invoice numbers in full with the corresponding total amounts. Missing information or incomplete invoice numbers may result in delayed reconciliation or refunded checks.

We recommend customers contact Column Support at help@column.us and include an image of the front and back of the check showing where the check was mailed to and when it was deposited. Our team will then review our payment processor to ensure the check was reconciled correctly. If the check has not been deposited yet, it's likely still in transit.

If you prefer to handle check payments, you can direct customers to mail checks to your address. Please contact your Customer Success Manager or Support help@column.us to update your invoice template and include your address as the check processing address.

Once received, please mark the invoices as paid to you. Full instructions are available here: A customer is paying me directly. How do I mark the invoice paid?

We have publishers who restrict payment methods, such as only using cards. If you are interested, please contact your Customer Success Manager or Support help@column.us, and we will update this for your newspaper.