Payment and Billing Issues

Having trouble with invoices or payments? Find your issue below for steps to resolve it.

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A parent says they didn’t receive an invoice

Problem: You sent an invoice but the parent says they haven’t received it.

Solutions:

1. Check the invoice status in Hub → Invoices. Confirm it shows “Sent”.
2. Ask the parent to check their spam or junk folder. Invoice emails come from Clefora and may be filtered by aggressive spam settings.
3. Verify the parent’s email address on the student’s profile. A typo in the email means the invoice went to the wrong address.
4. Resend the invoice. Open the invoice and select Resend. The parent receives a new email notification.

Tip

Ask parents to add Clefora to their email contacts so future messages aren’t filtered as spam.

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A payment failed

Problem: A parent tried to pay an invoice but the payment was declined or errored.

Solutions:

1. Ask the parent to check their card details. The most common cause is an expired card, incorrect CVC, or insufficient funds.
2. Try a different payment method. The parent can enter a different card on the Stripe checkout page.
3. Check for bank restrictions. Some banks block online payments by default and require the cardholder to authorise the transaction via their banking app.
4. The invoice remains “Unpaid” after a failed payment. The parent can try again at any time by selecting the payment link.

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The invoice amount is wrong

Problem: An invoice shows an incorrect total — too high, too low, or doesn’t account for credits.

Solutions (for teachers):

1. Check the student’s lesson rate on their profile in the billing section. If the rate is wrong, update it.
2. Check the number of lessons included in the invoice. For termly invoices, confirm that holidays are correctly entered on the term so excluded lessons are not counted.
3. Check for applied credits. Open the student’s profile to see if a credit should have been applied.
4. Void and re-issue. If the invoice hasn’t been paid, you can void it from the invoice detail page and create a corrected one.

Note

You cannot edit an invoice after it has been sent. To correct an error, void the original and create a new invoice with the correct amount.

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A refund hasn’t appeared

Problem: A teacher issued a refund, but the parent hasn’t seen the money returned to their account.

Solutions:

1. Check the refund status in Hub → Invoices → [Invoice]. The invoice should show “Refunded” with a date.
2. Allow time for processing. Refunds through Stripe typically take 5–10 business days to appear on the parent’s bank statement, depending on their bank.
3. Check the correct card. Refunds are returned to the original payment method. If the parent has since changed cards, the refund still goes to the card used for the original payment.

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Stripe Connect setup is failing

Problem: You’re trying to connect your Stripe account in Settings → Payments but the process fails or gets stuck.

Solutions:

1. Complete all required fields. Stripe requires business information, personal identity verification, and banking details. Missing or incomplete fields prevent activation.
2. Try again later. Stripe occasionally experiences service issues. Wait a few minutes and retry.
3. Check your email for Stripe verification requests. Stripe may have sent you an email asking for additional identity verification (photo ID, proof of address).
4. Use a supported browser. The Stripe onboarding flow works best in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge. Avoid using in-app browsers.

Note

Clefora uses Stripe Connect so payments go directly to your bank account. You do not need an existing Stripe account — one is created for you during setup.

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I was charged twice for the same invoice

Problem: A parent sees two charges for the same invoice.

Solutions:

1. Check the invoice list. Ask your teacher to confirm how many invoices were sent for the period. If there are two separate invoices, they may be for different billing periods.
2. Check your bank statement carefully. Some banks show a temporary hold (pre-authorisation) alongside the actual charge. The hold disappears within a few days.
3. If the charge is genuinely duplicated, ask the teacher to issue a refund for the extra payment.

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Still stuck?

If none of the solutions above resolve your issue, contact support with:

• The invoice number (visible on the invoice detail page)
• The student name and billing period
• A screenshot of any error message