Autopay takes care of paying a vendor for you. Once you set it up, Melio automatically pays that vendor's approved bills on the timing you choose. This means no manual steps and nothing to remember, so you can spend more time running your business.
This guide walks you through the following:
Any user with the Owner, Admin, Accountant, or Contributor role can set up Autopay. If you have the Approver or Viewer role, you won't see this option. For more information, you can check out Melio Roles & Permissions.
What to prepare before you set up Autopay for a vendor
Before you set up Autopay for a vendor, keep the following in mind:
- Your desired vendor needs a delivery method on file. If they don’t have one yet, you can add it during setup.
- Your business needs a funding source on file. If you don't have one yet, you can add it during setup, but payments won't be scheduled until it's verified.
- Autopay can only be set up on a desktop or mobile web browser, not in the Melio app.
Autopay isn't available for international vendors.
How to set up Autopay for a vendor
1- Sign in to your Melio account and select Pay on the left sidebar.
2- Now on the Vendors tab, find and select your desired vendor.
You can also select the vendor’s three-dot icon, then select Set up Autopay to proceed to step 4.
3- On the Vendor details page, select Set up under Autopay.
After paying a vendor manually, you may see the option to select Set up Autopay on the payment confirmation screen. This will take you to the Autopay settings page where you can continue following the steps in this guide.
4- Now on the Autopay settings page, enter the Maximum bill amount you're comfortable paying automatically for this vendor.
This cap applies to each bill individually. It isn't a running total across bills.
Any bill that comes in over this amount stays in your dashboard for you to pay manually. It will never be paid in part.
5- Choose a Bank account or Card for the Payment method. Then select the correct account you want to use by expanding the dropdown menu.
If your business doesn't have a funding source on file yet, you'll see options to Add bank account or Add a card. Select whichever option you'd like to use, then enter the details as prompted. Autopay won't schedule payments for this vendor until the funding source you add is verified.
Autopay doesn't support Pay over time as a payment method. Choose a bank account or card instead.
6- Select the Delivery method that Autopay will send the vendor’s payment to. If your vendor has multiple delivery methods on file, use the dropdown to select the correct one.
To add a new delivery method, or manage this vendor’s existing ones, select Manage delivery methods in the dropdown. From there, you can add a method (ACH Transfer, Wire Transfer, Virtual card, or Paper check), or ask the vendor to choose their own.
Autopay currently supports standard delivery speeds only. Same-day and Instant ACH aren't available. For more information on standard delivery speeds, please check out this guide.
7- Select the dropdown menu under When to pay, then choose from When a bill is due, As soon as a bill is approved, or Before a bill is due.
If you choose Before a bill is due, also select how many days in the Days field that appears. You can choose anywhere between 1 and 5.
If your chosen payment date falls on a weekend or holiday, Melio shifts it to the next business day.
If a new bill from this vendor arrives with its due date already passed, Autopay still pays it right away as long as it's less than 30 days past due.
A bill more than 30 days past due goes to your dashboard for manual review instead.
8- Review the estimated fee shown under Fees, based on the payment method and delivery method you selected. More information on payment fees can be found here.
9- Read the summary of what you're authorizing, then select Save.
That's it! Autopay is on for this vendor. It won't affect bills already in your dashboard, but starting with the next one, Melio pays it automatically once it's ready and within your set maximum bill amount. Payments created by Autopay are marked with an Autopay tag in your Payments tab, so they’re easy to spot. To edit or cancel this rule later, see How to manage a vendor’s Autopay rule.