Card on file
Card on file lets a supplier keep one of a restaurant's cards and charge it for an invoice, without the restaurant having to pay each invoice themselves. The card gets onto file in one of two ways: the supplier emails the restaurant a link to save a card, or the supplier types in a card the restaurant has authorized on paper. From then on, the supplier opens an invoice's Manage Payments panel and charges the card for the balance due. The invoice reads Paid as soon as the charge goes through.
Clipp never sees or stores the card. The card details go straight to Stripe and live in the supplier's own Stripe account. Clipp only asks Stripe which card is on file and tells it when to charge.
Who uses it
- Supplier staff with full access to invoices request a card, enter a card themselves and charge it. By default that's the Admin and Clerk roles.
- Restaurants receive the request email, open the link and save a card on a Stripe page. They don't see the card in Clipp afterwards and can't charge or remove it there.
- Clipp turns the feature on for each supplier and handles refunds of charges an invoice couldn't record.
Card on file at a glance
- Clipp turns it on for the supplier. The supplier must have connected Stripe for online payments.
- A card gets onto file. On any invoice for that restaurant, the supplier clicks Request card on file (the restaurant saves it) or Enter card yourself (the supplier saves it). The card belongs to the supplier–restaurant pair, so it shows on every invoice for that restaurant. Once a card is on file, both buttons disappear until a charge is declined in a way only a new card fixes (see Which card is on file).
- The supplier charges it. On an invoice that's Ready for Delivery or Delivered, they click Charge $X, check the amounts and confirm. The restaurant is charged the balance due plus the card fee, unless the supplier covers the fee.
- The invoice reads Paid. An Online payment appears in the invoice's records, and Clipp books the income and, later, the supplier's share of the processing fee.
- If it fails, the panel says why and offers the right next step: ask for a new card, try again, or contact Clipp support.
In this section
| Page | Answers |
|---|---|
| Request a card from the restaurant | The email, the link, what the restaurant sees, and Resend |
| Enter a card yourself | Saving a card from a signed authorization form |
| Charge an invoice | The Card on file section, the confirm step, and what changes after a charge |
| Card fee & platform fee | Every amount on the confirm step, worked out, and how it's booked |
| Failed charges | Every result message and what to do about it |
| Which card is on file | Replacing, expiring and removing a card |
Before it can be used
Card on file only appears when all of these are true. None of them has a screen in the supplier app; Clipp sets them.
| Requirement | Where it's set | If it's missing |
|---|---|---|
| Card on file is turned on for the supplier | Clipp, per supplier. Off by default. | The section never appears, and the app refuses every card-on-file request. |
| The supplier has connected Stripe | The supplier's online payments setup (see Payments & refunds) | The section shows only its title and Refresh button, with no message (see Known limitations). A restaurant's link fails with "Something went wrong. Please try again." |
| The staff member has full access to invoices | The staff member's role | The section is hidden. |
| The invoice isn't cancelled or void | — | The panel is read-only and the section is hidden. |
Settings that change how it behaves
| Setting | Default | Effect on card on file | Who changes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card on file enabled | Off | Shows or hides the whole feature. | Clipp |
| Supplier covers the card fee | Off (the restaurant pays it) | When on, no card fee is added, the confirm step reads You cover it, and the consent text on the save page leaves out the fee sentence. See Card fee. | Clipp (no supplier screen) |
| Platform revenue share (%) | None | Sets the Platform fee (deducted from payout) line. A value outside 0–100 is ignored. | Clipp |
| Supplier's email muted | Not muted | The request email isn't sent. See Request a card. | Clipp |
Where it shows up
- Supplier app: the Card on file box at the top of an invoice's Manage Payments panel. The charge itself appears in the panel's records as an Online payment.
- Email to the restaurant: "{Supplier} would like a card on file for your invoices".
- Restaurant's browser: the save-card link, Stripe's card page, and the "Your card is saved" page.
- Supplier's browser tab: Stripe's card page and the Card saved / No card saved page when the supplier enters a card themselves.
- Supplier's Stripe account: the restaurant as a customer, the saved card, and each charge described as "Invoice {invoice number}".
- Supplier's books: an income entry for the payment and an expense for the part of the processing fee the supplier bears. See Card fee & platform fee.
- Restaurant app (order page): once a charge is recorded, the order summary shows the card fee as Processing Fee "+$7.55" under the order total. The supplier's invoice and its PDF don't show it.
Permissions
| Action | Admin | Clerk | Driver | Warehouse | Sales Person | Restaurant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| See the Card on file section | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Request a card / Resend | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Enter a card yourself | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Charge the card | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Save a card through the emailed link | — | — | — | — | — | Anyone holding the link |
The columns are the default roles. What counts is full access to invoices: a supplier who edits a role to give it full invoice access gives it card on file too. The emailed link needs no sign-in; whoever holds it can save a card until it expires, is replaced, or is used.
Known limitations
- The box hides its own errors. If Clipp can't read the card from Stripe (Stripe not connected, Stripe unreachable, or a Stripe account reconnected since the card was saved), the box shows only its title and Refresh, with no message.
- No way to swap a working card. While a card is on file, Request card on file and Enter card yourself are hidden; they come back only after a decline that needs a new card. See Which card is on file.